I turn 50 today...

 

  

     My parents tell me it was a very hot August 1st in 1964 and a Saturday.  Through the internet I am able to check that and though my small town that I grew up in is not recorded, it was a hot weekend in Michigan in August that year.  Isn't that amazing?  I am still in awe of what you can find out with this personal screen that we call a lap top.

     No big party today but better (probably not best because that would mean a lot of air flights to get them home) with a Google hangout with all the kids tonight.  Again, another thing that I am in awe of, that God would entrust us with these beautiful ones.  Friday is a day that I make some final adjustments to the sermon and many times do a practice run through at the church.  We will be completing 1 Peter 3 this Sunday.  More practical application of how to live in a hostile world and some great information from Peter about the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

     Some things that I do now:

1.  I drink a quart of water each morning.  This is the first thing I do before eating or drinking anything else.  The mason jar is my first companion of the day.

2.  I get some Christian world view updates from some podcasts on the internet.  Some of my favorites are:
World Magazine
Albert Mohler - The Briefing

3.  I drink a quart of vegetables/fruit as either a juice through the juicer or more of a smoothie through the VitaMix blender.  I have been doing this since October of 2011.  It is a blend that changes with the seasons and the available produce.

4.  I strive to spend time with Stephanie everyday away from the work that is in front of me.  Usually this is us walking the dog together through the woods and up an old logging road and back around to make a full circle.  We talk away from all the modes of communication that we have today.

5.  I tackle situations more slowly than before.  I think about it a lot longer before I start.  I study it from many angles and think in my mind how it will look before I pick up the hammer and saw or before I say something or present it to Stephanie or a group at church.

6.  I try to continue to educate myself on projects that I will do someday in regards to ministry.  I take notes on material that may be used in the future for a small group or men's gathering.  I flood my mind with information that might look like information overload but it finds its place in there for future use.

7.  I think I realize and see my role as pastor more clearly beyond the Sunday morning preaching slot.  Each conversation is important and although I am tempted to fall into the routine of weather and sports that I have the freedom to ask (probably in a more modern way) "How is your soul today?"

8.   I am a plant-based eater now.  I have been doing this since January of 2012.  It is more than just eating plants, it is also making sure what I am eating does not have any man-made chemicals in them that the body would not know what to do with.  The motivation has been my dealings with colo-rectal cancer in 2011 and learning about the role of nutrition to our health.

9.   I preach the Word of God systematically through a book of the Bible at a time.  This I have been doing for quite a while but I have learned to slow down and dig deeper into the text that is before me.  I look at the passage as something that God wants to say to this congregation and also the issues that He wants us to deal with now.  I long for His invitations that I get to share with the congregation or group as an invitation from Jesus to them.

10.  I am a man with a bag - a colostomy bag - and I continue to learn how to live the way that I physically am.  Sometimes I look at it and wish it wasn't there but it is now part of me.  It reminds me daily of the cancer and how frail life can be.  It also reminds me to keep on track while I am thankful for the medical know how to reroute this body and keep it going.  I still consider myself young and it is kind of scary thinking about dealing with this when say I'm 85 or so.

10 things and I am sure there are more but I have finished my water and I am onto the juice and the day is ahead of me to see what can be done.  The picture above is a recent one.  Stephanie actually is a year older than me and always gets "You don't look 51."  Let's just say that no one has ever said that to me about me.  I guess I fit the part.  Sometimes I am actually taken as being her father.  It happened the first time in college so I have had time to adjust my ego about that!  And I agree, she doesn't look 51.

Adam