Catching Up

My Friend Tom, I will miss you.

Today my friend, Tom Neumann, went home to be with the LORD. Tom and I went to college together and played on the college basketball team.  Over the last several years Tom was our counseling director.  When this working/ministry opportunity began to develop I was thrill because of the quality of person Tom is, both in his personal life and professional life.  From time to time Tom and I would sit down and talk about many things...some regarded our personal lives and challenges physically we both were dealing with. Some of our conversation was just kidding each other.  I will miss my friend Tom.  When news came from Tom that he had a rare form of cancer our hearts were broken.  Tom being the person is continued to counsel people almost up to his entrance in to heaven today.  Tom always was trying to gather more information about how he could help people. Reading, seminars and listening gave him the tools to assist people through the struggles they were going through.  I will miss my friend Tom.  Tom will be joined in heaven, later on, by his sife Ev and son.  He loved his wife Ev.  I remember when they were dating and when they got married.  They were a striking couple, full of life and dreams.  I will miss my friend Tom.  My loss of a friend though is heavens gain. While I will miss my friend Tom, he is enjoying and experiencing everything about what our faith points to.  Tom is in no more pain. The burdens of trying to help others are lifted and he is experiencing pure joy and happiness. I miss my friend Tom but will join him some day in a world that is beyond comprehension on this side of eternity.  I miss you Tom but I am glad you are where you are at. 

New beginnings

One of the great joys of this season of my life is  watching transitions and being a part of them. Today, Pastor Scott spoke and his wife Michelle helped out. To be able to have such a wonderful and great teacher like Pastor Scott in a leadership position has enabled Brooklake to continue to grow and reach out. After teaching in three services every week it takes it's toll on you. While team teaching has been a part of Brooklake for several years , the last 18 months has been a wonderful transition. Brooklake is blessed to have such a great teacher and a leader who has a servants heart. He has personally been  a tremendous help to me in vision casting and practical wisdom.

Tonight, the members of Brooklake Church passed a resolution for the trustees to sell the Des Moines Property our Network office entrusted us two years ago. For many years this church building was a thriving place where peoples lives were changed. Pastor Mel Delgatty and Eldred Nelson, who make Brooklake their home church, pastored at Des Moines.  Buildings come and go but the lives that are changed live on for eternity. What will the future be now with the funds from the sale of this property? Here at Brooklake it is our desire to invest these funds in outreach in the great Des Moines area. How that will look and come about is only known by God. Over the next several months and maybe years the transition will unfold.

I met with a good friend this week who is in transition, he had to make a choice of returning to this area because of a job opportunity, leaving his family behind.  How long will this transition last for him?  If you ask him the sooner the better. I admire this man who has made some tough decisions, who places his family first. A man in transition.

All three of my sons now have children.  Talk about transitions: sleepless nights,  budgets adjusted,  life insurance to be purchased, putting up with grandparents.  I love watching this transition and being apart of it.

Ruth Delgatty, my mother-in-law, is in transition from this earth to heaven.  As followers of Jesus, we are all in transition to heaven but Ruth is very close to departing her body and coming into the reality of heaven it self.  This transition is a tough one. Making sure she is comfortable during her departure, understanding the ones left behind will have great sorrow because of their love for her, yet in sadness there is joy because of where she is. 

Saturday, I had the wonderful privilege of performing a wedding ceremony for two young at heart people. Carol Chilton became Mrs. Larry Potter.  What a wonderful transition for each of them. 

Transitions are part of our lives. They don't wait for us, we can't avoid them, we can't hide from them, they are part of our lives, it's part of being human.  It's good to know that Jesus made the ultimate transition , being fully God, he humbled himself to become like us even to the point of death on a cross. Made in His image, we have a God who understand our transitions. 

My prayer is that I would embrace life as one transition leading to another one.  Life goes on. Birth, marriage, children, grandchildren, maybe great grandchildren, then heaven. 

Memory: Blessing and Curse

I hope I don't forget what I was going to share.  Let's see....oh yeah, now I remember. Quick I got to write it down down before I forget again.

That's how I feel sometimes. Probably one of the biggest area of embarrassment is forgetting peoples name, especially those who make Brooklake Church their home church.  I think it takes me about 15 times saying the person name and/or doing an activity with them, like hunting, shooting shotguns, going on a bike ride or being part of a class where discussion happens in small groups. Even then I struggle some times.  Several people in the Brooklake Church family have been a big help to me, every time I greet them they say their name...I am deeply thankful for their  understanding. In fact, I thank them for it.  There are some people who can remember a name after only one time meeting people.  I do admire them and  jealous of them.  There is one area that I don't have a problem remembering, it's numbers... I don't know why but I can remember numbers without any problem.  Now won't it be great if every person, instead of having a name had a number?  Okay, I know that would be  weird. "...the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name."Isa 45:3  When I read God knows every person who has lived and will live, by name that is beyond comprehension...billions of names. So when I talk to Him I don't have to remind Him of my name. He already knows me. In fact He knows me better than I know myself. That's why I can trust Him, even when I feel embarrassed over my forgetfulness...He even knows that. 

Catching Up

It's been quit a while since I did a blog.....I must confess the longer I delayed the harder it was to do it.  Since my last update...catching up.... Melody and I are proud grandparents of two, a grandson and granddaugther.  Orland...born to Marc and Krystn in Spain, and Caitlyn.... born to Micah and Bria in Olympia. It's great to see how sons be such great fathers..protective and caring.  It makes me very proud of them.

 

More to come with great, fabulous pictures of me and my grandchildren.

Again trying to catch up with life.  It just goes faster and faster every year.

Asking and Receiving

Coming back from Chicago after attending a one day conference on trying to getting a better understanding of what God is directing and doing at this time and season, I asked the stewardess if they had any chocolate to go with my coffee.  She smile and said in my dreams.  I thought some chocolate would go great with my coffee.  I knew they weren’t offering it on the flight but I tied just in case. I didn’t want to buy one of their box lunches because I wasn’t that hungry.  After she walk by one of the people I was sitting next to offered me some wonderful chocolate.   They said they heard me ask and they wanted to share it with me.  I felt a little embarrassed but not enough to turn them down.  It was great.  Biting in that smooth chocolate with hot coffee doesn’t getting any better.  Thank you Pastor Scott for offering that treat.  I am now indebted to you for life.  Oh, the stewardess did come back and gave me a small chocolate treat also.  I was doubling blessed.  All because I asked, in a joking way. 

God says "We have not because we ask not”.  Maybe I need to ask more….just a thought.

 

 

 

Research At Disneyland

After sitting in a conference for hours I felt it was important to investigate the theme park for future trips with potential grandchildren.....I wanted to make sure that Space Mountain was still worthy of riding...my research  confirms it.  I also took in several other rides and my research concluded they would be great for future grandchildren. 

The food stands were also researched and the findings were also good for little ones to share with me.

Well back to the conference tomorrow.  Some one had to do this research in the afternoon so I volunteered.   

A sense of fulfillment

It's been two days since we celebrated Christmas. 

Getting ready to officiate a wedding at our Des Moines campus, on New Years Eve.  It's for one of the families who have been a part of Brooklake for years.  When I got the call from the daughter about her plans to get married I was honored to be asked to perform the ceremony for them.  This is one of the many joys I have in hanging out for several years at Brooklake.  I get to dedicate, marry and some times bury individuals I have seen grow up before my eyes. 

I am a rich man.

Life on a Hog

This morning the sun was bright and I decided to ride my Harley to the office. I love getting on the bike and going for a ride no matter how short or long.  The other day I went for a day ride to Yakima with another pastor friend of mine,  it was wonderful.  The ride today was short to say the least.  One thing about riding a bike , you have to stay focused or you get into trouble right away, either by your own mistakes or most of all the mistakes of other drivers who don't see you.  I don't know if its a guy thing or not but there is something about opening up the throttle on the bike and feeling the power and surge.  It must be a guy thing.   

Last night I had a trustee meeting, it was our fiscal year end meeting with a lot of financial reports for the past two months and the year end report.  Half way through the meeting I began to feel like I was in the fog again mentally.  I don't like that feeling.  But as I sat there I knew I was grieving the loss of my granddaughter and still feeling the pain I saw my son in.   I knew I could make it through the meeting because  we weren't making any major decision, only approving and review reports for the church family. A few times I wanted to just cry, I didn't but I could of.  I left the meeting, went home and was just exhausted from the events of the day.  Let me slip into the teacher role now.  If I feel this much pain for my granddaughter and my son, how much pain Did God our father feel when he sent His son to earth to die for the mistakes of mankind?  Our death experience was not planned, I can't imagine deciding to have one of my children die for others, for their mistakes and blunders.  Yes, I know He knew that Jesus would be resurrected but the pain and agony of the cross and beatings are beyond me.  How great is His love!  Even though God didn't plan the death of my granddaughter, He knew it was going to happen.  He knew as a family, we could either get really mad at Him and blame Him for this happening or we could see that He was there with us crying and feeling our pain, able to walk with us through this time in our lives.  It really is a choice. 

I think as one walks through the various tops and bottoms of life it's important to ride a Harley , it keeps you focused.

Reflections

This last weekend I began a new series titled, “When you’re in a Tight Spot.”  During the second service I became emotionally a couple of times.  I know some of you were wondering what was going on in my life.   I want to take a few moments to share with you what our family has been going through.   That week our granddaughter, Madelyn Nicole Axton, was born but because of internal complications she only lived a few minutes. The diagnosis over the last 30 days was that the baby was going to die either inside the womb or after she was born, based on all the tests that were done.  This last Thursday was her birth and passing away.  Melody and I were grateful that her parents, our son and his wife, were able to hold her while she was alive.  Today as I write this, we have just come back from the graveside where her parents put her to rest.   To say the least we are grieving the loss of this little baby and the pain our son and daughter-in-law are going through.   

When I taught last weekend from Romans 8:28 “We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love Him….”  I stated that the “everything” that happens to you is not good, but God is able to take all that’s thrown at us, whether we caused it, or someone else or just because we live in a fallen world, God is able to take the bad and use it to work out the goodness of His plan.  It is in the midst of sorrow and broken dreams that we as followers of Jesus,  must always know that there is a God who is there who loves us and has a plan whether we know what it is or not.  Life is not fair.  Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation.  At our front door we have a plaque that quotes a verse from Joshua 24:15 (NIV)   “….But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Our hope and trust is in God.  We have chosen to serve God through the good time and bad times. I know several of you have gone through similar, if not worse, situations in your life. We have been encouraged by you and your faith through your tough times.

During these last 30 days I have kept the trustees and staff informed of our path we have been walking in and have been so grateful for all the wonderful thoughts and pray given on our behalf. We are confident that Little Madelyn Nicole Axton is in the arms of Jesus. David said in 2 Samuel 12:22-23 (NIV)   He answered, "While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, 'Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' [23] But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me."