Thank you...

Hey everyone,

Just a short note to thank you--yes YOU--for reading and supporting this blog.  I wanted to express my appreciation, call a few people out, and thank everyone else.

Thank you to Rich Deruter, who commented on a post I did years ago.  You were my "God sighting," as it were, telling me to continue the Blog that I let go for a while.  You helped me decide to get back and write again.

Thank you to the Gravel Hill Church Community for your support over the years, especially over the last year during my wife's Chemo and Radiation.  She is on recovery road, but has a way to go  (The after effects can last for years)  Many of you have taught me patience, endurance, and have encouraged me to use my gifts to help others.

Thank you to my children and step-children for making sure I know there is more to life than just myself.  Growing up as an only child can keep you gaze inward.  You are helping me to look outward more and more.

Thank you to my friends, both virtual online, and in person.  I appreciate your encouragement and comments.  You keep me grounded.

And Thank you to my wife for her unwavering support.  I am not easy to live with, believe me.  While we admit, we are both a mess, we somehow fit together, using our separate talents to compliment our weak areas.  You have been an inspiration to others during your Cancer fight (which by the way everyone is in remission, and her latest mammogram was given an all clear!!!!)
You let me write about whatever I want, and still put up with me.  I love you.

There is a place on my Blog where you can choose to follow me.  I am currently working on adding Facebook and Twitter tags, and figuring out how you can subscribe to the blog so updates get sent directly to you.  This blog is hosted on blogger.com, which is Google based and wants to build you follows off of Google+  (We all know how that turned out....does anyone use Google+?)

Anyway, look for more updates soon.

I want to be a Clone....

When I was in college, Christian Musician Steve Taylor was one of premier artists of the time.  Known for his satire and wit in songs, he was sort of the Christian "Weird Al."

For (3) years, I had a radio show on campus with cohort, Brian Johnson.  Our show was called "THE MEN," and ran from 9 pm to Midnight every Thursday.  In between our banter, skits, sound effects, and other related tom-foolery (Remember the "Shave Alert" John Bell?), we managed to actually play some music.

One of our favorite songs was "I Want to Be a Clone," by Steve Taylor.  Somehow this song was always dedicated to Jim Langan.  It was back in college, I don't remember why anymore...

Anyway, the song is about church conformity and the rules in the way to worship.  Here is a sampler:

I Want To Be A Clone.
I asked the Lord into my heart.
They said that that's the way to start,
But now you've got to play the part.
I Want To Be A Clone.
Be a clone and kiss conviction goodnight.
Cloneliness is next to godliness - right!
I'm grateful that they showed the way
'Cause I could never know the way
To serve him on my own -
I Want To Be A Clone.

At the time, I enjoyed the melody and the lyrics. And I understood that to be a clone was to copy others.  I never thought about what it would be like to really be cloned until later on.  There was a movie called "Multiplicity," with Michael Keaton.  In the movie, our protagonist is an overworked construction foremen, who through a project, with the Gemini Institute, agrees to be cloned.  Think of the possibilities?  All his problems would be solved.  What could possibly go wrong?  (a whole lot it turns out)

"You can't be in two places at once"...you have heard that saying.  I have wondered,  "Well, what if you could be?"    Cue the dream sequence...For starters, I could be at work, but getting things done at home.  I could be on vacation, and another clone be at work. Clones would clean the house.  Get groceries and run errands. Heck, I would probably retire, and let the other clones do all the work.  But would the clone that works want the money they earn rather than give it to me?    Hmmm....dream sequence over.

Then I thought about the memories and emotions we experience.  Would my clones feel the same way I do?  Would their personalities be different.  Would my wife know the difference?  For example, if the real me is on a roller coaster, I would experience all the emotions while riding. But if my clone is riding it, would they experience the same thing?  I would not be able to experience the same thing.  I would be watching my clone. Hmmm.  I don't think I would like that.  Then on the other extreme, if I could feel everything the clones did, I would go crazy processing all the emotions and feelings going on all the time.  It would drive the real me, and the clones crazy.  Or make me feel like Professor X does.

I think we all sometimes wish we could clone ourselves, and let them do all the things that we don't want to do.    That got me thinking deeper that while we cannot clone ourselves, we often copy others.  This can be both good and bad.  On the good side, an athlete can try to copy the successful moves of others in order to better their skills.  We can copy a recipe to try and replicate it at home.  Or, we can copy the attitudes of others who have positive things to say and do.  On the negative side, we can try to live and be like "The Joneses."  To want and live like they do, even if we cannot afford it.  Or we can copy a bad habit or wrong way of thinking that we inherited from our parents or others. 

Do you realize that you can never escape yourself?  No matter where you do, there you are.  You can never get away from yourself from the time you are born until the day you die.  You and I, we are originals, made by the Creator of the Universe.  We are not a copy and not a clone.  There is no one like us and there never will be.  That is exciting and sometimes a little scary.

I know that I am unique and creative.  One of a kind.  However, if I were so copy someone, to want to be like someone, who would it be?

Well, turning to the Bible in Ephesians 5, we read:  "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; ² and walk in love, just as Christ also loved ^[a]you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God ^[b]as a fragrant aroma."

When we receive Christ in our lives, and turn our lives and will over to the care of God, we begin to be more like Jesus.  And imitating Jesus--to be more like him, well that is a good thing.  To be an imitator of God is a good goal.  A life-long process.  That's something I would like to copy.  

So, I guess I am glad after all that I am not a clone.  I drive enough people crazy just as I am.  Can you imagine 2 or 3 more of me?  Scary.....

 

  

Happy Birthday Mukamwiza!

In the fall of 2013, My wife, Shari Schappell and I went to see one of her favorite Christian artists perform before his retirement.  (Bebo Norman at WJTL in Lancaster)

The concert was sponsored by Compassion International, a wonderful organization that connects families with a child in need from places like Africa, the Middle East, Far East, and here in America.  During a break, we felt led to visit the tables, and we agreed to sponsor a child.  (I had sponsored a child before, and so had Shari)  We were working on a blended family, and decided to add to that.

The tables were filled with dozens of information packets, showing the photo of a child in need of sponsorship, with information about location, family, and # months on a waiting list. The child we chose was from Rwanda, a war-torn country in Africa. Her name was Mukamwiza Appoline, and her birthday was in July. You can sign up there and register online. Your sponsorship starts right away, and for us, have it taken from our account monthly.

You communicate by writing letters. You can do this online or by mail. We write about our kids and what is going on in our lives. We ask about her and her family. We ask about school. We encourage her. And we tell her that she is loved and that God loves her and her family. I know that we don't always pray for her like we should, and we need to write more often.  We do get caught up in our own lives here, that we can forget she is over there. When we receive her letters of encouragement, it helps us.
 
They have so little compared to what we have, but she always sounds happy. Someone we have never met tells they love us and pray for us. That humbles us.

Compassion provides her with clothes, an education, meals and clean water.  This helps her family as well.   I recently received an email from Compassion that read in part, "We're excited to share an updated photo of Mukamwiza! Isn't it amazing how much a child can grow and change? And thanks to your support it's not just physical growth. Because of your sponsorship, Mukamwiza is growing spiritually and emotionally too!"

She lives in a hillside community, home to around 3,000 residents. Mukamwiza attends the Bigogwe Student Center in Rwanda. Her current schooling grade is 7 (equivalent to ours). She carries water and gathers firewood for her family. Her parents are farmers for income, and they earn around $30/month.
She just turned 15 yesterday on July 18^th, so this is a Happy Birthday to her, aside from the gift we sent her.
If you are interested in learning more, visit www.compassion.com. Maybe you will add to your family also.

I can sing a Rainbow

In some ways, TV was simpler when I was growing up.  There were fewer channels, for starters.  Saturday morning cartoons.  No reality shows, educational shows, and more comedies. 

If you lived in my area growing up, you may remember watching "Captain Noah and His Magical Ark," a syndicated children's TV show that ran from 1967 to 1994.  It originally aired around the Philadelphia area on WPVI Channel 6.  Captain Noah and His Magical Ark was created by W. Carter Merbreier, an ordained Lutheran minister an former Philadelphia Police Chaplain.  The show originally aired as a religious program before switching to a children's program in 1970. 

At it's height, the show was syndicated to 22 TV markets throughout the United States.  In my area, it attracted a larger audience than Sesame Street and Captain Kangaroo combined.  It ran on weekdays from 7 to 9 am and on Sunday morning. 

What I remember were the local guests, songs, puppets.  (His wife, Patricia, was Mr.s Noah on the show and a puppeteer.), and the organ music from local favorite Larry Ferrari.  We were taught simple things from the Captain, like respect for others, listening to your parents, (things similar to Mr. Rogers)  There were two other things I really liked, and they were both songs. 

The one song sent like this:  "Send your pictures to dear old Captain Noah.  Send today.  Send right away.  Send your pictures to dear old Captain Noah.  Send away.  Send today."
Kids would send in their hand drawn pictures and the camera would pan across the pictures.  Captain Noah would point some out, "Look at this picture of a cat from Suzie..."  I admit, I never sent a picture in, but I thought about it.

The other song was one he closed with.  It was the Rainbow Song.

Red and Yellow and Pink and Green.  Purple and Orange and Blue.
I can sing a rainbow.  Sing a rainbow.  Sing a rainbow too.
Listen with your eyes, listen with your ears, and sing everything you see
Now I can sing a rainbow.  Sing a Rainbow.  Sing along with me.

That song pops back into my head when I see a rainbow after a storm.  Now, the colors are not the same, but it has a deeper meaning.

Let's go way back.  Way back after a really big storm.  A 40 day and night storm.  Back to Genesis 9, Verse 8-17, and God's Covenant with Noah.


⁸ Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: ⁹ “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you ¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. ¹¹ I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
¹⁷ So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

So, when I see a rainbow, I am reminded of the Covenant and the Promise from God.  I am reminded of a simpler time when Captain Noah would sing about a rainbow, and everything felt alright.

Life is rough today and our Country needs one large rainbow from coast to coast.  Something to remind us that Black lives, White lives, Yellow lives, Brown lives, Gay lives, Straight lives, young, old, homeless, rich and poor.  ALL lives matter.  For God created all of us.  And he loves all of us.

I hope that when you see a Rainbow, you see a promise.  A promise that God made with us, and a hope that we learn to love more and hate less.

Freedom!

Happy 4th of July.  We live in the greatest country in the world.   The freedom's that we have are not available in some parts of the world.  Freedom of religion.  Freedom of speech.  Freedom to disagree.  Freedom to pursue your interests.  Our country does have many problems and issues.  Too many to discuss here.  Even with all that, there is no where else that I would want to live at.

On this Independence Day, I wanted to talk about another type of freedom.  This is a freedom found in a personal relationship with Jesus.  We are all born into bondage, caused by sin that traces itself all the way back to Adam.  We were intended to be in a relationship with God.  Spending time in his presence.  That was broken when sin entered the world.  And thus, began a journey that is chronicled in the Bible, that culminated with Christ dying on the cross for our sins, setting us free and opening up that personal relationship again.

In the Book of John, Chapter 8, verse 32, Jesus says to the Jews with him, "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."  What did he mean by that.  We learn that Jesus is the truth.  So, if you know Jesus, your will be free.  Continuing on in verse 33 "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.  How can you say we shall be set free?"  verse 34-36 "Jesus replied.  Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.  Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed"

Jesus did not sin his whole life, and was not a slave to sin.  He is God's son and belongs to God forever.  Be believing in the Son, you will be free.  Belief in Jesus will give you a freedom that you cannot find anywhere else.

We are all a slave to something.  For some it is an addictive lifestyle.  For others, it is money and the pursuit of riches.  Now living in true freedom still has boundaries.  What do I mean?  Look at our country.  We have many freedoms, but not everything is OK to do.  We have laws in place.  A governmental system over us.  We have liberty-but it needs to be kept in check.  The Apostle Paul knew what it meant to be a slave.

Read this passage in Romans 6: 22-23.  "But now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Slaves of God?  I thought Jesus said if you know the truth, the truth shall set you free?   I think Paul had a good insight.  He knew that we were all slaves to something.  We are all born into sin and were a slave to that.  We all have something that we believe in.  In Paul's day, there were people who worshiped idols of wood and clay.  Some did not believe in God at all.  Others, a God of their own making.  The same is true today.  If we are all a slave of something, Paul became a slave of God, though faith in Christ Jesus.

This freedom in Christ, sets is free from sin.  Makes us a joint heir in the Kingdom of God.  We become transformed in a new life, that marks an intentional path to holiness.  Not that we reach that in our lifetime, but that we are on a journey towards that destination. 

We have been given a free gift from God, by grace--by beveling in Jesus as the son of God and our Savior, we have eternal life.  We have a restored relationship, as it was in the beginning--only this time, there will be no sin to tarnish it.  There will be an everlasting relationship, walking with God and with other believers.

This is a freedom that was bought with a price--the blood of Jesus.  All freedom has a price.  Today, we celebrate our Independence as a free country.  Those men who signed the Declaration of Independence, they knew they were committing high treason.  They knew England would not take this lying down.  There would be a price to pay.  There would be blood shed.  Our freedom has come under fire, and been protected ever since by the blood of sacrifice.   Those who gave their life in defense of our freedoms. 

God loves you.  He died for you.  He loves us to much that he gave his Son, that we might have a real relationship with him.  True Freedom--forever.  That is something to be thankful for.   God seeks a relationship with him, not religion.

So from our family here, Happy Independence Day.  Enjoy this country and all the freedoms we have.  And thank God that he has made a way to be truly free.