Coming to the Still Waters

      It looks like we might have a late winter this year.  A standard rule for the north is that if school is cancelled then all activities at the church are cancelled too.  Usually that means that Stephanie and I get some more time at home to workout, clean the driveway, bring in wood, and study other material not destined for the next event.  Even though school is done for us in regards to kids, we still love our snow days.      Health-wise, I had my visit with the oncologist.  Blood drawn and the numbers were good.  My white blood count is almost as high as when I started all of this before chemo, radiation, and surgery.  My red blood count is maxing out.  My cancer number will come in a few days.  This is a year of follow ups with a colonoscopy in July, maybe the port removed and another CAT scan in April.  I drag my feet on these for obvious reasons.      Matthew 5:17-26 is the passage for this Sunday.  Jesus starts off talking about not abolishing the Law but rather fulfilling

     Jesus says that if we want to be "ultimately happy" (blessed) one must... *  admit spiritual bankruptcy - "poor in spirit" * be sorry over my sin - "mourn" * be humble and submit before God - "meek" * crave to live right before God - "hunger and thirst" * respond to the needs God puts before me - "mercy" * don't compartmentalize Jesus - "pure in heart" * share the ultimate answer as Jesus - "peacemaker" * stand under the pressure of being a Christ follower - "persecuted"      The ones who do this are the ones who are "the" salt and "the" light of influence to the world.  These ones, them alone and only them are the influence needed to this decaying and dark world.  Ones who have a right and ongoing relationship with God and a relationship with others that shows and speaks Jesus to them.        It makes me look inward to evaluate where I am at.  Am I com

    Here is a video update to let you know how Steph and I are doing.  Some links at the bottom are some things that helped us develop a plan to increase the healing.  We pray this is a help to you. www.msgmyth.com www.truthinlabeling.org www.momsaware.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-OzTWY2J8E - Forks Over Knives Movie Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv3vEXy_EwU - Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead Trailer http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=ZI7_8FDzuJE&feature=mv_sr - Sweet Misery http://www.youtube.com/movie?v=sbIixJI_oa4&feature=mv_sr - Gerson Miracle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoccBtYDpt4 - Food Matters http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0 - Food Inc.      Just a little of the list we went through.  If this interests you, enjoy. Adam

      It was a sleepy Sunday in church this morning.  It happens every once in awhile.  I felt like I was working really hard to keep people's attention and the flow of the service seemed bogged down.  Now I will have someone come up to me and tell me it was the greatest service but at times I feel like something was missing or maybe better yet, we weren't engaged in what we were doing as a group.  Just how I feel but I won't let that stop me from pressing on with God.      We finished the Beatitudes this morning.  The final 4 deal with our relationship with others.  Just like the first 4 were mandatory and not voluntary if we are to have a relationship with God, so the last 4 are mandatory and not voluntary when it comes to our actions as Christians.  You can not be a Christian and not be merciful.  You can not be a Christian and not be pure of heart.  You can not be a Christian and not be a peacemaker.  You can not be a Christian and not be persecuted for His sake.  It

      It was a year ago today by the day of the week but actually the date is tomorrow that I walked into the infusion center in Gaylord for my first chemo treatment.  If you look back through the archives you can see a video that Stephanie and I made on that day.  It is a little hard for me to watch because the feelings and emotions are still there for me.  I still crawl into bed at night and roll onto my right side and get in the fetal position and remember what I have been through and how many times I prayed to God to get me through the night.  Needless to say, today is a much better day than that day. I feel like I am back to "full" strength and my head is clear and nothing is off the table when it comes to the work that God has put before me.      Yesterday was another great day in the house of the Lord.  God continues to help us to grow in our individual and congregation relationship with Him.  When Paul talks of worship in Romans 12:1, 2 he calls upon the congregati

     So I am working on my sermon for Sunday, the first half of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5.  It amazes me how the Bible works together from beginning to end.  In the Old Testament we have the 10 commandments and it is divided, 4 dealing with our relationship with God and 6 dealing with our relationship with others.  In the New Testament we have the 8 beatitudes and it is divided, 4 dealing with our relationship with God and 4 dealing with our relationship with others.  When Jesus is asked to sum it all up, He tells us to love God (there is the relationship with God stuff) and to love others (there is the relationship with others stuff).  Another great thing about the Bible is to add the culture of the day in which it was written.  As you get to know more about it then you see when Jesus sat down it wasn't just because He was tired and when He opened His mouth, it wasn't just to be feed but rather to feed others.  Even before you get to the first beatitude you get a sense of ho

      Lets start out with some more quotes in the form of questions from Paul Tripp's book " What Did You Expect?? "  I am so thankful for this book because I have the potential of 3 weddings to perform in June, therefore, 3 sets of pre-marital counseling sessions with these couples to share some of this material.  I am for sure going to talk about the weeds that can grow up in a marriage that need to be routinely pulled out.  Here are the questions. "Is your communication free of hidden agenda, and is it motivated by the needs of your spouse?" "Are you serious about your promises, even when they are little, and do you do everything in your power to follow through?" "Do you quickly admit your wrongs and seek forgiveness?" "How well do you care for one another?" "Do you quickly deal with wrongs and quickly settle your differences?" "Do you respond to your husband or wife out of a sense of your own heart need?&q

     Stephanie and I started off our Saturday with the opportunity to talk about our story with the local Relay for Life group.  I talked about the patient side of things and Stephanie talked from the caretaker's point of view.  I think it went well.  The story is never so far away, especially after making my weekly bag change last night to remind me.      Sermon is ready with the second half of Matthew 4.  Matthew introduces us to some of the first disciples and also the start of Jesus' ministry, preaching and healing.  I am always interested in the "words" that are used in a passage.  I will definitely be looking up "immediately" and "follow" for this sermon.        Our winter in northern Michigan is the winter that was not.  We get some snow and then weather to melt it away.  The ground is covered but the back roads are iced up and made slick every night with a drop in temperature.  The snowshoes have yet to see use this winter.      Stephani