Bike

Well, yesterday was good. I rode my bike, with saddlebags full of clothes, to Bucky's to breakfast with the men. After - I rode to church and changed my clothes - and had an awesome work day. We're rethinking the way we do groups around here, and elevating the value of community - and so I conducted a few meetings today with our small group leaders, brainstorming on a new way and emphasis. What a great group of people, who heartily jumped into the convo!
Then, back on my bike and a nice ride home - the long route, which took me by the skate park where I munched on a snack and worked on the sermon a bit. Then home for dinner.
Evening meetings filled up the rest of the day - but being in the sunshine a bit was way good.

For Heidi

Well, Heidi rightly pointed out that I've not posted in "about a year!" and she then asked to at least post a picture of my nostril.

So, since Heidi is the only one that reads this blog... there ya go - enjoy!

So, Heidi - I will once again post regularly. I will tell of my running and biking.

Yesterday, I biked to work - I have new panniers, better known as Saddle Bags. I filled them with books, left my office and went to WaterStreet Coffee and enjoyed 3 hours of uninterrupted study in the outside cafe. Rode my bike home afterwards. Probably 18 miles total. Nice day.
Today, I ran 3+ miles to start the day, and then rode my fully loaded bike to work. Brought a change of clothes with me. Nice.
Last Friday, I rode 33 miles with Clarence, came home and then Mary and I went out for 16 more. We ended up at a nice little (and I mean little!) cemetery to share a coffee and snacks. Nice.
So that's it for now - see ya tomorrow Heidi.
Ya know, we could just talk by phone - but this will work!

Bongbong and RiverChurch

Meet Glenda Bongbong of the Philippines.
She needed a loan. Wants to use her motorcycle to transport people. And then, she can pay for her 7 kids schooling and care for them properly. She and her husband Jose, live in Panglao, where the average annual income is only 1,175.00.

Last Sunday at PFM RiverChurch, we pulled the pocket change out of our pockets and dropped it on the floor. We scooped it up, and it was the perfect amount ($55.03) to complete the loan to the Bongbongs so they can provide for their family.

God is good.

Well, it's time to put your work boots on! While we hate to see calamity, it's also a call to action. Jon Hisey is working on a plan, so expect to see more... but for now, here are some details regarding the next relief project.

From Greg Nitchman, in Fayetteville, GA...
Hands of Hope is at the very beginning stages of considering support for Atlanta, GA flood victims. 2800 homes were involved, with 850 totally destroyed and 850 badly damaged. The remainder needs only minor repairs. The majority of these folks do not have flood insurance, therefore they have no way to fund repairs.

The survey question is: "Are you or your teams interested in coming to Atlanta in the next 3-6 months to help rebuild"? Cost would be close to the same as in Mississippi, $20-$30 per person per day*** plus travel.

Again, this is all tentative; we are just exploring the idea, but your feedback on this question will help us decide. One major hurdle is funding for building materials, but we already have several options we are exploring.

Bless you! I Look forward to hearing from you!

***The average Nat'l food consumption is $6.33 per person per day and the average Nat'l energy consumption is $9.00 per day; we would also need to provide paper products, cable tv/internet, cleaning services, Hands of Hope operating costs, etc.).

Don't Quit!

Nice!

Reprinted from the PFM Church Blog...

Yay! Kids' Creek begins this weekend!
This is the big Kickoff - with one combined service at 10am. We'll have the kids lead us in worship, and then after the message (which I am pumped about: Children Matter!) where everyone will get a piece of a puzzle to remember that EVERY child counts - one missing is one too many! And so we will do all we can to help the children in our towns and neighborhoods to come to Jesus! Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself.
After the message, we'll have an awesome time of prayer, commissioning this new ministry and 'blessing' the children!
Then, an open house in the New Kids' Creek wing - all decorated and beautiful! The kids will meet their teachers, get registered and the full deal happens the next week!
Yay for the awesome volunteers at the awesome Portage Free Methodist Church, where we are learning to act like a River. Wherever the River flows, everything will live!

I love this!

Great beginning. Although I find Conan's monologue a bit rough - I hope he'll grow into it!

Ref at the Wedding

Okay, I've done a wedding on horseback, at the beach, several outdoor weddings, one at the 18th green at a frou-frou golf course, one at Cabela's (next to the Polar Bear eating the prong horn) - and now, add to the list: as a referee!
Mike and Bre are both incredible athletes, and make their living in the sports/fitness field. They wanted an athletic themed wedding and asked me to officiate as a... Referee.
So I did.
During the wedding (held at CrossRoads Community Church in Ottawa Lake, MI) I explained that as a Referee, I am not there to tell them who is right and who is wrong, or to take sides. Instead, I am there to make sure that both play the game with the same rules and to the best of their abilities.
I went on to explain that the point behind marriage, is for a watching world to see the love relationship between Christ and His Church lived out in the way a man and woman love and submit to one another.
The wedding was fun, the crowd big and boisterous, and I especially liked my benediction.
Coming out from behind the couple, I said (with the correct referee hand signals) "My prayer is that you'd be flagged often for 'holding' each other close as you travel through life. That you'd be guilty of 'encroachment', filling up the space of each other's aloneness. That you'd find 'safety' in each others presence. That forgiveness would follow every 'personal foul'. And one more. That you'd 'score' often."
The place went wild!
Then, when I introduced the couple, I asked the congregation to respond with 'the wave'. Which they did - and well! The sound man (great job, Andrew!) then played 'The Victors' while the new 'family' marched out!
What a fun day!

Bad Run

Wow, what a terrible run. My morning 5 miler was awful. It started out kind of slow, and then got worse. By the end, I was barely moving. What a doofus! Some runs are better than others. This one wasn't.

Good Hire

I hired Jen Starr-Reivett as our Vision Implementation Pastor (VIP!) She is helping me to get this New Vision off of the ground. Specifically, she is now working on our new Bible.You - an exciting Midweek night of University style classes designed to get the Bible into each of us - knowing AND doing it! Great meeting yesterday and awesome projections for the future!

Coasting

So, I was on a nice run this morning. And I came to a slight downhill. I was kind of tired so I thought I'd coast. Remembering as a child, how I could coast downhill on my bicycle...
But with Jogging it doesn't work so well.
Coasting is more like, well, stopping.
Coasting doesn't work.
And it kind of looks foolish too. Just standing there. Staring. As cars go by.

What Would YOU Do?

What would YOU do? My weedwacker wouldn't start. I fixed the broken hose. I changed the sparkplug. I gassed it up and it ran for 2 seconds. Then I pulled that cord 100 or 200 times. I was sweating. I was mad. I threw the weedwacker up in the tree.

Worth 5 Minutes

Thanks to Jeremy W Pastor - what a great video - enjoy!

Yay - Vision Weekend!

Vision Weekend is here! I can't wait.
This Sunday, I'll get to share our new Vision. RiverChurch, from Ezekiel 47.1-12.
I'll get to baptize a few people, hear our new song, and worship my head off! Yay!

Mary on the Run!

Yay Mary - survivor of cancer - and now not just a runner, but a racer!
This morning we ran the Susan Komen Race for the Cure in Kalamazoo. What fun!

Spring in Schoolcraft

Wow - what they call "crabapple" certainly doesn't warrant that name. Instead, they are beautiful!
On warm nights, I would go out and sit under these trees, and just enjoy the smell.
I'm sure the neighbors thought "the new guy is wierd".

nice

Kingdom of Heaven is Among Us

Why do I see this as a little taste of Heaven? It matters not to me what inspires or drives this kind of thing. But that it can happen, and that it puts joy in my heart and touches me emotionally... hmmm. It makes me feel the touch of God, the joy of Heaven. For some reason, this makes me think of God!

New Mailbox

Well, Mary is painting our old mailbox, but it's taken a bit longer than we thought to get it done.

So in the mean time, here's our "new" mailbox.

It works.