DOCTORS 3 FAVORITE WORDS

So, I went to the doctor's office the other day because I have some problems (insert your own remark here, at my expense, to humor yourself!). And although he would never admit to it, I think I know my doctor's favorite 3 words. I think they are his favorite because he probably knows the fear and trembling that it brings to his patients, and it must make him giggle inside (although he is very careful to veil his giggling with a look of concern). Have you guessed it yet? No, the 3 words are not: "just say ahhhhhhhhh..."; nor are they: "here's my bill."

Now, any women reading this can stop, since you just won't understand. This is a guy thing. So, now I think you guys know the 3 words: "drop your pants", followed by his next 3 favorite words: "just bend over". Am I the only guy that dreads this? I can't be. Add on to that the nice additional fear factor that I am now standing by a window, overlooking a large parking lot; and there is no covering, no shades, no blinds on the window! I am thinking: if I can see the people out there, then certainly they can see me in here.

Of course, my friendly doctor (whose giggling inside has now turned to devious laughter) doesn't say anything. He let's me bring it up, as my knees are trembling and I am diving for cover. "Hey, doc, the window...how about some blinds here!" He pauses, waits for me to have a few more seconds of trembling, and then calmly states the fact: "don't worry, it is one way glass. They can't see in." He says it in such a way to try to make me believe that he simply forgot to tell me and that I can't possibly think that he, this kind, loving doctor, would ever subject me to such a thing. He is very good at hiding his inside mocking of me with a kind gentle veneer.

Finally, he gives me the good news, which might be bad news to most people (sorry, no more explanations here). And I ask him the obvious question: "So, doc, what can I do for this?" He responds: "drink plenty of liquids, eat fiber and get exercise." That seems pretty self-explanatory, but I am pretty dense, so I ask for details: "doc, can you be more specific"? Now, you might want to know at this point in the story, that my kind (and he is) doctor has probably not missed a meal in a very long time.

With a straight face, he says to me: "Well, let me give you an example of what to do, based on what I did last night." "ok - what's that?" He said: "While watching the game last night, I drank a lot of beer (I guess that is the liquid) and instead of nachos and cheese (it was disappointing that he ruled out nachos and cheese since it is one of my favorite snacks), I ate a ton of frosted mini wheats (I guess that is the fiber); and for exercise: I played the Wii with my kids."

So, there you have it: my doctor's orders: "drink plenty of beer, eat frosted mini wheats liberally, and don't forget to play video games". Thanks doc. Then, as I am leaving, his assistant gives me her 3 favorite words: "here's the bill."

Do any of you know how to interpret dreams?I know this sounds random, but it is somewhat connected. I am having this recurring nightmare: I go to the doctor's office, he tells me his 3 favorite words, followed by his next 3 favorite words. And then, as soon as I hear the rubber gloves snap on, he reveals his new 8 favorite words: "By the way, I just read your blog."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY T

Teresa,

Happy Birthday! I want you you, and anyone else that reads this particular blog entry, how much you mean to me. God has given me a unique, incredible gift, in you. You are my confidant, my companion, my counselor, my prayer warrior, my partner in parenting, life and ministry, my lover, my best friend. Thank you.


You are an incredible woman. Yes, you are beautiful, beyond description, but as I think of real beauty, beneath the skin, biblical beauty, you are incomparable. You love God with all of your heart. You love your children and desire them to love God as you do. You love me, and want God's best for my life.

You have given yourself to your family, and have not sought after riches or honor in any other field except honoring God with your family. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your commitment to giving your life so that our 5 children will be brought up by their parents, who are there for them. You don't know how much that means to me! You never lift yourself up, but you are to be honored, as the Proverbs 31 women, among all those who I speak to today. May they read of this honor and know that you, Teresa Whiting, are a woman of God.

And that means that Alex, Isabella, Breanna, Caleb and Gabriella, and me as well, are greatly blessed to call you mom, or in my case - babe!

May God increase His blessings upon you. May He give you a great year of life, growing in Him and become a more devoted disciple of Jesus Christ. May you realize, even more, how much I love you and am appreciative of who you are and all that you do.

I love you T
Greg

For Death and Life

Recently, I presided over a memorial service for a little baby boy who didn't make it to a second month of life. It was heart wrenching. When I think of difficult things I might have gone through or am going through, thinking of that mourning family puts things back in perspective. For that day, God led me to His Word and Psalm 139. There are some familiar verses there, but I have never heard the entire Psalm used in a memorial service; until I sensed that God led me to do it.


But, as I sit here this morning, thinking about the stuff that I am going through right now in my life and ministry, I cannot think of a better Psalm - to be strengthened by, and to possibly encourage others with. I hope you will be.


Psalm 139

v.1 - O LORD, you have searched me and known me!

v.2 - You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.

v.3 - You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

v.4 - Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

v.5 - You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

v.6 - Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.


Lord, you know everything about me. You know what I do, what I think, and the motivations of my heart. No one knows me like you. That means you also know exactly what is going on right now, in my life and ministry. But, you don't just know my part, but you know everyone who is involved. You have it all figured out. You are surrounding me. What do I need to be afraid of?
I can't comprehend this in my mind. I don't know your thoughts or your ways; but I trust you.


v.7 - Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?

v.8 - If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

v.9 - If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

v.10 - Even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

v.11 - If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night

v.12 - Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with you.


I especially think of the fact, God, that the Holy Spirit lives inside of me, since I am one of yours. There is no where I can go, that you are not there. It is not just the idea of going to the store, or to the church, or to Brazil on a trip, where I can expect to find you. It is when I am filled with joy, peace and hope; and when I am filled with discouragement and am ready to quit. You are there. When the sun is shining and things seem great and when the darkness doesn't seem to lift, you are there. You are holding my hand through this. I don't need to be afraid. You see everything; and the steps ahead are very clear to you. If you don't mind, would you please hold my hand a little tighter?


v.13 - For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

v.14 - I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well

v.15 - My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

v.16 - Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them.

v.17 - How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

v.18 - If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

You knew me, God, before I came out of my mother's womb. Your formed my body type. I am not a mistake. And I can't get away from the fact that a part of your wonderful creation was my personality. I have never called my personality wonderful, and I can't remember any human being ever doing so either; but I am going to take you at your Word: everything about me, as it relates to your creation, is just right...wonderful. Thanks for the encouragement.

Why am I trying to figure everything out. It seems all I do is think, and think some more, and then try to figure that out, and that person out and that phrase out...think, think, think. So, I think - I should concentrate, like David, on your precious thoughts. You have this all figured out, don't you? If I try to count your thoughts, and your omniscience of what has taken place and is taking place, it would take me the rest of my life. So, maybe, just maybe, I should rest in your presence, which is with me, at all times...deep breath

v.19 - Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me!

v.20 - They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain!

v.21 - Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

v.22 - I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies.

As I mentioned in the memorial service, this part seems somewhat out of place. Why would David say this? Was he sinning when he did? Why would God allow this to be include in this, otherwise, encouraging Psalm, directed at uplifting God? It speaks to me in this way, as I direct it back to God:

Lord, this is a difficult part of this prayer. I don't get it; but this is how it is speaking to me. I can't hate a person, but I do hate the sin I not only see in myself, but others. I hate the lies that have been spoken recently. They are destructive, not just to me, but to the church and to your reputation. No one can touch you, but as you know, your reputation is damaged when your people attack one another rather than follow your example of grace and forgiveness. So, Lord, even though it puts me at risk, help me to stand up for your truth, for your gospel, and for you, when others dare to challenge you.


v.23 - Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!

v.24 - And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

The only thing I can control, God, is to search my own heart and ask you to search it. I want to know if I am in the wrong. I want to know if I have sinned. I want to know if I am thinking wrong, have the wrong heart attitude, or need to do something differently. Please help me. You know my thoughts. Help me understand. I confess my sins to you. I want to honor you with my life.

You are my everything God. I am placing all of my hope on you.
Amen.

New Year's Resolutions: NONE

I haven't really even thought much about it. Usually, I do think some about it. I make some goals in particular areas; and I have not doubt that some goals will come about fairly soon. But, here on this New Year's Eve, as I write this blog, with just over 4 hours left in 2009, my total of resolutions for 2010 can be calculated this way: 4-3+6+1 divided by 2-4=
ZERO!

But, the best I can do, for now, is to give you these never changes resolutions, for anytime of year. I might as well use them, as I go into 2010. Perhaps you would like to consider them as well...along with losing those 5 pounds, making that extra money, learning a new skill, etc. etc.

Psalm 19:14 - "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."

Jeremiah 9:23,24 - "Thus says the LORD: Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in those things I delight, declares the LORD."

Acts 20:24 - "But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God."

Philippians 3:7-10,12-14 - "But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes form the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith - that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brother, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

May God be well pleased with our lives in 2010!

Second to: "Your Zipper is down"!

There are certain nightmares that pastors normally have; and the one that usually tops the list is: going up to the platform to speak, only to have your zipper unzipped. I'm sure there are different levels of embarrassment that could come with that one, but I will just leave it at that. It probably tops the list. But, the one that comes next, at least on my list, is what happened to me this past week.

I certainly do think quite a bit about going up to speak only to realize I don't have my notes. Many guys, better than me, don't use notes, so they don't worry about this. But, for me, that would not be good. However, this does not rank second on my list, because although there would be a delay, I could go to my office or get the message off my computer fairly easily.

No, what ranks second for me, and what I experienced this past week, went like this: Because of the holidays and family coming into town, I worked especially hard to finish my message early in the week. I did a great job, doing my study, and then writing my message in good time. I was pleased with it. I finished just before I needed to go home. That would give me the next day to finish some other, secondary things for the week, and then be home for a couple of days with the family, outside of participating in a Christmas Eve service.

However, just as I was getting ready to print my message and send it to the guy who prepares my power point each week, I "lost the message". Only 4 pages were still on the computer, when I had done about 20 pages of work. Don't worry: the message wasn't that long, but once you add in the power point pages, outlines, etc., it gets longer. I panicked.

I searched the computer and could find it no where. I called my friend and computer expert, Dave; and he couldn't find it after hours of trying. And if Dave can't find it, no one can (or at least that is how the saying goes...that I just made up...but I do believe it)! My heart sank. This is the second worst thing I could think of...all that work...gone!

I spent the next day, trying to remember what I had written down; and basically, writing the message all over again. I know...your problems and "nightmares" are worse than mine; but this was simply from this particular pastor's perspective. Poor me.

Have a Happy beginning to your New Year!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS

Dear Jesus,
Yes, I do know that you were not born on December 25th; but as you know, us feeble and frail and finite human beings, still feel we need to try and nail these things down. You probably are (of course you are) aware of the battle between "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas". You must laugh at that, or maybe even shed a tear. It seems to me that what is really important to you, if we are going to celebrate your birth at this time of year, is that we focus on the person rather than the product.

Your Word is full of truth about you and how to relate to you; and how you are the only way to God the Father in Heaven. That is the truth we must all wrestle with, accept by faith, and share with others. Many of the other things we spend our time worrying about, arguing about and pursuing on this day, and on every other day of the year, seem so petty, so selfish, so temporal. I'm sorry, Jesus, that I can easily get caught up in the same things.

Happy Birthday. Thank you so much for coming to earth 2,000 plus years ago, to be born of the Virgin Mary, in humble settings, for a very particular purpose. I realize that the people did not understand exactly why you were here; including your closest followers. You were not here, not yet, to set up your Kingdom; but to preach the Kingdom of God; and to do what only you could do, to allow us to be a part of that Kingdom some day. You laid down your life; and by doing so, you broke all barriers between us and God, setting aside the sacrificial system, and completing the work you came here to do.

Thank you! I am sorry, as your follower, that I get so distracted by other things, that I many times lose my focus on you. For this Christmas, and for this new year, I am re-committing myself to following you wholeheartedly, to making everything about you; and living out the purpose you have given me.

I need to go now and blow out the 2,000 candles; and then take a nap.
The herds of children will soon be thundering down...
to celebrate your birth!

A Christmas Book Review

Advent celebrations has not been a part of my family or church background, for a variety of reasons. But, this year, our family had decided to prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ is a unique way. We were introduced some time ago to a story entitled: Jotham's Journey. The book we are now reading is sort of a sequel to that story. The name of this book is:
Bartholomew's Passage: A Family Story for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide.

It is the fictional story of a young, Jewish boy, who loses his parents to slavery by the Romans, and then in his search for them and his struggle to survive, he meets some new friends along the way. All along, he is also introduced to the non-fictional truth about a Messiah, a baby that would be born in Bethlehem one day. So, the historical setting is back in the days around Jesus' birth.

This is one of those stories that has something for the whole family. We have 8-14 year old children and we all love it. There is humor, drama, adventure, and usually each chapter leaves us wishing we could keep reading on. It is fit with the advent season, so the story begins 3 weeks before Christmas. You read one chapter per night and are encouraging to use the traditional lighting of the candles. We also added the opportunity for our children to light a little candle and go to bed with it after the story.

There is also a devotional thought at the end of each chapter. We use it and then have a brief time of questions and discussion about the chapter and devotional thought. We then have a time of singing and prayer. It has really been a great blessing to our family, each night during this Advent season; and we still have almost 2 weeks to go! I highly recommend this to you and your family.