Wasn’t Sunday wonderful!  Even though I wasn’t able to be there as Ben shared I felt as if I was there!  Such a joy to have the hearts and insights of so many people!  To Anita – our “angel among us”- who shared her gift of making cookies and the story behind it.  To Deb who reminded us that the frayed, torn scraps of our life were what God used to make the beautiful quilt!  To James who affirmed the mission of One Morgan County.  To Pastor Ben who wove it all together and challenged us to be grace-givers to the world!  To target others with the focused love of God… taking frayed, torn scraps of “fabric” and being a part of God’s grace to others so that it can be made into a beautiful “quilt” in their life!

God has placed gifts inside each of us – unique to us- with His desire for those gifts to flow thru us with the love of the Father!  Touching the world!  Blessing others in Jesus Name!  Making our world more like heaven on earth!  Turning scraps into beautiful quilts!

On your way, from beginning to end, be a grace-giver!  And as we do we will feel His pleasure!

This week may His grace flow through you as you are on your way!

I’d love to hear your thoughts or your God stories about grace moments you’ve experienced or observed on your way… our everyday- just- walking thru life- way … or about your “scraps” becoming a “quilt”.

Till Sunday,

Brenda

Sunday- it was so fun to gain God insight — about being people of The Way… about doing God’s will – and what that is!  Here are a few reminders to jog your thinking for the week …  well for a LIFETIME!!

1. In Matthew 28 Jesus says:  “GO and make disciples…”  The word “GO” in the Greek tense gives this  meaning:  it talks in a moment of time- “Go”- about something that happens for a lifetime!!… so it could read:  “”GO – from the start of your journey to the end—and make disciples.”  Think about that for a moment…

1. Ben suggested that we read Romans chapter 12 everyday this week… letting it speak to us.  He talked about the will of God being “life time” oriented… while you’re on the “GO” giving yourself away selflessly – not like the world which gives selfishly.  In the first few verses of this chapter it talks about offering your body selflessly to God with the person God has made inside of YOU!!

1. The “Will of GOD” definition:  That which is willed, purposed, designed, and desired.

So as I selflessly give in the way God has designed me I accomplish the will of God.  Very simple…

So “go” (for a lifetime) and “do the will of God” ( selflessly giving yourself away in the way you are designed!)

Simply… Love God/ Love others/ Be you!… at 10 AM … or 4 PM… or anytime!

“GO!”

Until Sunday,

Brenda

PS… This Sunday we’ll honor our mothers… and talk about the grace of God… IN YOU… and THROUGH YOU!… targeted Love!  Come as we learn together! J

“I’m dreaming of a White Christmas…”  What a view out my window. I’m in awe!

Don’t forget our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service will start at 5PM tonight. This one hour of remembering the incredible story that we still celebrate two millenniums later is a wonderful way to start your Christmas holiday. Come early as seating fills fast!

What if God hadn’t sent Jesus? What if He had just sent us another set of laws?…or a business plan?…or an ultimatum?…or a dictator that would make us do His will?…or, or…or… . Aren’t you glad He sent us Jesus? And aren’t you glad He sent him as a baby? And in a manger? And announced it to shepherds? I can’t imagine one detail of the story being better if He changed it. The mystery and magic of this incredible world changing story makes me laugh and cry and rejoice. It brings a deep settled peace and assurance that I am loved and everything is going to be okay in the world. It makes me want to be more loving and kind and protective and good and just. It makes me fall in love all over again.

Jesus… I’m so glad this is how God showed us who He really is!

See you tonight!

Don’t forget to join Pastor Paul and the worship team for an evening of gratitude and communion at 6PM on December 27^th.

Liz Gorham will be sharing her heart Sunday Evening, January 3^rd. You won’t want to miss either of these.

Brenda and I will fly back in on January 5^th.

Pastor Ben

Hmmm…

“The Shack” you say, yes that’s a strange one. It sure makes you think.

I had mixed feeling as I read it. But it was strange; it’s one of those rare books that’s hard to put down. For what ever it’s worth here’s what I got out of it. The Bible begins with this thought. “So God created man in His image.” And I began to wonder, “Are we trying to create a God in our image?

But then who could swallow a large black woman who made everyone pancakes for breakfast as being God?

And then a few days later I gave the book away, because some one had given it to me. Then we got hit by an emotional and spiritual truck, Patty had cancer, now where’s God when you really need him, and if He’s any where near, what’s he up to?

Then after what seemed to be a hundred or so doctor visits and test, Patty began her treatments, it was a trip to the cancer center in Greeley every day for six weeks for radiation treatment and then the chemo. Treatment it just went on all summer.

But here’s the strange part; you’d never believe the people we began to meet.

There was this one young man taking chemo. Every day, day after day, five hours a day. One day as he was having his treatment’s they threw him a party, his wife delivered a baby boy that morning. All the doctors and nurses they went out of their way to celebrate

With him, it sure made his day.

And then there was this young lady from the Fort Morgan area, she had traveled all around the world, then cancer hit her real hard, she was taking radiation and chemo. Treatments, she had lost all her hair and her strength, yet she was happy, thoughtful, and full of encouragement, you’ll get through this she kept saying. It got so we looked forward to seeing her. And there were so many others, I met a man who is my neighbor, he lives just down the road, he’s retired and spends most of his time transporting his neighbor to the cancer center. And another lady who needed a ride and we were able to take her with us several times, how rare is her faith, she was full of happiness and encouraging words, why this cancer, it’s just one of those things that will pass on.

Then one day as Patty was taking treatment, my son David and I we stepped out in the waiting area, and in walks this young man I knew. I really did not feel like taking to him, why everyone knew he was just a bum, about six years ago he came roaring down our road and slammed his pickup right through the side of a stock trailer full of cows. He was so drunk he could not walk. The police took him to jail; good for them I thought, hope they throw the keys away; the whole community knew he was no good.

But he came over and began to talk with us, seems his father had cancer, he had come home for a few days to help him, and guess what, he was now a pastor out in California, and boy was he excited about his church. He had received Christ in some little church over in Hillrose, of all the places, who would have thought it could happen there?

And right there in front of all those people, he wanted to pray for us, and he did. As they walked away my son David turned to me and said, Dad I don’t now what this means but while he was praying I think God said, Mom will not die of this.

And right then a nurse came rushing up to us and said come with me your wife is having a bad reaction to her treatment. They had already called for an ambulance to take her around to the emergency room; her blood pressure had dropped to almost nothing, she was not responding, it really looked bad. As the day wore on all of the family and many friends began filtering into the emergency waiting room. But my son David he went from person to person telling them God said it would be ok, she would not die. And about midnight the doctor said I don’t know how it’s happened, but Patty was Ok, and the next day they sent her home. My son David and I, we had met God, he came in the form of a wild young man who liked to break up cattle trucks with his pickup And then there was all those others that we met along the way, nurses that would gather around Patty and pray before every treatment, right there in front of every one in the cancer treatment room, some times ten or fifteen other patients.

It’s hard to put it all down. God showed up in so many people and in so many delightful ways.

Oh yes back to the book, “The Shack” a few days later it was rudely shoved back into my hands and I was told , this is full of the Devil and witchcraft, don’t give me any more of your books. Golly, I hope for the sake of the church in America, Gods not a big black woman who likes to fix breakfast for everyone, why, I would bet, a whole lot of them would walk right out of heaven and not come back.

Roger

It was like God knew the way to circumvent all the proud and arrogant lookers and only make himself visible to those who’s looking for him came out of a longing for him to come.

Quite a thought, isn’t it? Do we long for him to show up or just look for him to justify our religious leanings. Do we long for the change that he’ll bring to our world or do we smugly think it’ll be an “I told you so” moment for us to revel in?, Are we living now with the deep hope, that in the less than perfect persons we know ourselves to be, He will be formed? When we see others are we looking eagerly for Him in them, or judging them with our proud knowledge?

The Apostle Paul makes this wonderful observation in his second letter to Timothy, chapter four, verse eight: “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”. NIV (emphasis mine)

It seems to me that longing is one of those deep emotions that cause us to make “foolish” decisions. Like saying yes to an angel that says you’re going to be pregnant with the Messiah. Or choosing to take a pilgrimage to find a baby that will bring hope to the world. Or running to a manger when my flocks are still on the hillside. Or spending my life in the temple praying for His coming. Or asking to die in peace because I am holding a baby that I just know inside is the one God told me about…Or living simply so I can bring hope from my treasures to someone whose life is empty or sad or difficult or lacks justice, and show them that I am longing for His coming to them, and am confident that He will come back like He said He would.

In other words: Our looking for Him is so filled with longing for what it means to have Him back, that the way we live becomes the red carpet of welcome that others see us putting down for His return.

Until Sunday Evening,

Pastor Ben

Back to where I was. It seems to me Jesus addresses this question of giving out of my treasures to Him directly. It goes like this:

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.  I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink?  Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing?  When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Matthew 25:35-40   NLT

What do you think? Do we need some quiet moments under starlit skies (we’ll skip riding the camels), asking what we have that we can share with someone who is in “the least of these” position (like baby Jesus) right now? Who it is we can share from our treasures with and it will make a big difference for them?

Only when you’ve been in such a vulnerable position, do you know how valuable a gift like that is.

One more thought. Can you imagine the love of God…that He would enter our story so completely that He would place himself at that risk?

I look forward to meeting those three guys we call wise someday. I’ll bet they’re a lot like a few successful business people I know today!

Until Sunday Evening,

Pastor Ben

It seems to me that most of us go from noise and flashing lights to either crashing into instant sleep, or, into fitful, worry-filled insomnia.

Where is the life rhythm that acknowledges the need for quiet nights and enough rest to lay on the grass and gaze with wonder at the stars without falling instantly asleep.

I think it’s why we don’t see and hear angels, like the shepherds did. Too many flashing lights and cacophonous noises. We wouldn’t even notice angels.

Let’s prioritize slowing down. Let’s put star gazing on the calendar. Better yet, let’s start making our “to-do” lists after we’ve lain under a starry sky in awe, or laughed with glee as we played with our kids, or talked late into the night with a friend. It seems we might hear the angels sing… and tell us that a child is born… and fill our hearts with peace and goodwill toward all people everywhere. It might make worshippers out of us and forever re-define our priorities.

One of the main reasons we moved to Sunday Evening Advent times instead of Sunday mornings, was to slow the season down. Let your Sundays be the quiet that you need to hear the angels when they speak. Don’t go shopping – don’t turn on the TV. Have an extra cup of coffee. Play with the kids while you still have your pajamas on. Go out to breakfast with friends. Then come join us for a starlit, song and story filled evening.

This kind of quiet brings a wonderful alertness with it. If I may paraphrase the author of the book of Hebrews in The Bible. When we don’t let our schedules run us, but, instead take time for important things like being hospitable, we just might end up having angels show up, even when we aren’t expecting it.

I’m for angels showing up!

Until Sunday,

Pastor Ben

The story of Jesus is like that. God knew it wasn’t enough to give us rules, so He gave us a story. He stepped into our lives and loved us, suffered with us, felt our sorrows, doubted, trusted and was betrayed. He felt what it was like to be bullied, angry at injustice, helpless in changing the way some people saw God. But he still loved; he still gave; he still willingly died for the people he believed in.

It’s so good for us to remember, but our memories fade because we’re busy.

Our hope and goal for this season is that we will slow ourselves down and take in the stories again. We will meet from 6-7PM for the next four Sundays. There will be no morning services. Our hope is that we will slow down on Sundays and enjoy a long cup of coffee and quiet and family times and friends. Then at 6PM, we will all gather for hot drinks and magical moments under a starlit ceiling and candles and Christmas trees while we share the stories of God stepping into our lives. We will have you heading home with a joyful heart by 7PM.

Simply Jesus, without all the bustle of busyness, is our desire for the season. Help us make it happen. Let’s re-etch the story that makes all other stories meaningful into the meaning of our lives again.

Anticipating Sunday Evening,

Pastor Ben

I think traditions get a bad rap! And for years I was one of those giving them one. Brenda, my incredible wife, has taught me the error of my ways with her ability to create traditions that make important things come alive. Advent is an example of a tradition that made my eyes gloss over until she made it live. We’ll spend more time on that in a month or so, but I have become a great proponent of “alive” traditions. I would describe “alive” as simply meaning a tradition that has not languished into the realm of “duty” in our lives. One we constantly use to bring the reason behind it to life so that we don’t lose its importance.

So I’d like to rebuild an old tradition in a fresh way.

For the season between All Saints Day and Thanksgiving, I’d like to see us find some life-bettering ways to remember the people who have made our world a better place to live in and have somehow brought God’s Kingdom to earth by doing His will. I would also like us to become better at being alert to “seeing” when others do things that reveal God’s image is alive in them. When they do something that would “make God proud”, it would be noticed and acknowledged.

I believe we would rapidly build people’s desire to do good by practicing this as well as build our own levels of gratitude.

So, here’s one idea to get us started: A “Wall of Fame” in our homes. Many of us have a wall with family pictures on it that we walk by without even seeing because it’s been there so long. My suggestion on our “wall of fame” is that we make this a “living wall” that we constantly add to. Every time someone betters our world, we find a way of acknowledging it on the wall. Have every family member take part in this and maybe link it to an after supper activity or some other “together” time. What an incredibly interesting wall this would become, both for family conversation or intriguing discussion when guests are over. What if we invited someone over who’s name and how they had bettered our life was on the wall? What would it do for them? If a wall is a little hard on your “decorating” senses, how about a living album that is always on display.

OK, OK, enough of my idea for a new tradition. Help us out. Do you have an idea for a tradition, for this time of year or for all year, that will strengthen our gratitude and encouragement of others? Put it on the blog for all of us.

I eagerly anticipate your responses!

Until Sunday,

Pastor Ben

Before I share this week’s blog, I just want to say thanks. Last Sunday’s celebration of my #60 left me speechless. I AM GRATEFUL AND LOVE YOU ALL!

Even if we had to move it inside, wasn’t the pig roast fun. Thanks so much to all of you that made it happen!

I love the fall rhythms we sing to. Harvest songs, grateful songs, ballads of susceptibility and vulnerability if it weren’t for the sun and the rain in their hoped for times. There’s a link we feel during this time that connects us to a power greater than ourselves that we are at the mercy of. We tend toward pensiveness and awareness that we are not in this alone. In spite of our expertise and planning and hard work we are still dependent beings. There is a thinness between this life and the “Otherworld” that we can’t see but seems to have a hold on us. So we mix up our holidays from spooky to harvest festival to All Saints Day to Thanksgiving. I love it.

Maybe it’s because I was born on Halloween, but I love this time when we live with the thrill of not quite knowing what’s going to happen next. I think it gives us a more realistic view of who we really are and what’s behind us.

This Sunday is All Saints Day and I’m building around a tradition of celebrating the saints, both living or dead, who have given us life and hope and courage. The ones who have taught us how to love or overcome our fears or smile even when its dark. They may be in our family lines or friends or mentors or authors you have read. They’re the “Sister” Phoebe or “Brother” Tychicus (two saints mentioned by the Apostle Paul) that became the voices for good in my head.

Spend some time jotting down how they impacted you and share that story with someone else. Plan on sharing it at the service this Sunday. Write about  one of them and share it on the blog.

Let this be the season where we disclaim the power of evil over us and reclaim the power of good by celebrating those, who in our vulnerability, didn’t “trick” us, but “treated” us instead.

Until Sunday’

Pastor Ben