Alabama Outdoors

Ya'll, I am sitting outside on my porch meditating. It is a beautiful day with a nice cool breeze. The flowers are beautiful My backdoor neighbor must be a master gardner.

Last night we had fun playing soccer with the kids outside and cleaning up the back yard so they could play.

Sunday is called the Good Shepherd Sunday. I am meditating on the Psalm for Sunday which is Psalm 23. Today I am meditating on Psalm 23 as I sit outdoors on myporch. I don't really know about sheep, sheepherding or Shepherds, but that doesn't seem to be the point does it. I do know the Shepherd and I want to know him more, and that seems to be the point.

There are a lot of different versions that have been written of Psalm 23 from the Sailor’s Prayer to the Indian’s version to the newest version. Psalm 23 is often described as the most popular Psalm, and most well known. If it is read at funerals, people can recite it with the reader. And even though we no longer in an agrarian society we are still touched by the opening words, The Lord is my shepherd.

If you want to know more, go read my thoughts on my Preaching blog.

For Bob's Birhday

Bob's birthday was the Monday after Easter. We celebrated it with an ice cream cake from Baskin and Robbins made with his favorite flavor. Can you guess which? You would be right pralines and cream, yum, yum. Oh and it had a chocolate Easter bunny on top. Perfect.
He got some nice gifts from the kids and me. We treated him like a King. And then I gave him a different kind of gift. I gave him a sponsorship of a child from Compassion International. I have to say it was hard to choose which kid, but I chose a little boy close to Zach's age. I figured since we can't have any more children and are now too old to adopt anymore, we can sponsor a child Bob liked it and the kids really liked it. However, they didn't quite like the idea of sponsoring as opposed to adopting. They wanted us to go get him right away. We had to explain it to them, and they were okay with that after the explanation. So Happy Birthday Bob!

Earth Day

Have you hugged your earth today?

In honor of it being Earth Day, I have posted the daily devotional I sent out for today;

Thought for the day
I can see how it might be possible for a man to look down upon the earth and be an atheist, but I cannot conceive how he could look up to the heavens and say there is no God.-Abraham Lincoln

Scripture for the day Psalm 8 (New Living Translation)
1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Your glory is higher than the heavens.

2 You have taught children and infants

to tell of your strength,[b]

silencing your enemies

and all who oppose you.
3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—

the moon and the stars you set in place—

4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,

human beings that you should care for them?[c]

5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God[d]

and crowned them[e] with glory and honor.

6 You gave them charge of everything you made,

putting all things under their authority—

7 the flocks and the herds

and all the wild animals,

8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,

and everything that swims the ocean currents.
9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Prayer for the day
Based on Psalm 8
Wonderful Creator God,
the whole earth declares your greatness.
Your glory glows in the heavens and is seen in the
moon and the stars which you have set in place.
What are we that you care for us?
Yet you have made us only a little lower than yourself
and crowned us with glory and honor.
You have given us responsibility to care for the sheep and cattle,
for wild things, for all creatures that swim and fly.
Forgive us for destroying rather than restoring
and for polluting rather than nurturing.
Help us to declare your glory and the glory of your world.
Amen from The Micah Challenge

Blessing for the day
The path I walk,

Christ walks;
The land I am in,
let it not be blighted.
This is the first stanza of a poem attributed to Colum Cille, edited by James Carney in "Three Old Irish accentual poems" in Ériu, xxii (1971).

A visual meditation on Psalm 8

Ben Parr has listed Five Inspirational Earth Day Videos worth viewing.

1. Learn about Earth Day

2. Picturing Excess

3. How to Regrow a Rainforest

4. Corneille Ewango: A Hero of the Congo Forest

5. Trailer: Earth

Check them out at this link

An almost Baptismal drowning, I mean immersion

Sunday, I had the privilege of Baptising by immersion one of our young confimands.
We went over the mountain to one of our newest Methodist Churches, the Cove who has a Baptismal, to do it at. We could have done it out in the rain though it was raining cats and dogs.
I used the Methodist liturgy, had prayer, and led the young man down in the baptismal. The water inside the baptismal was cold and so we took our time going in. I explained to him how I was going to do it and the element of trust. Well, he did alright until the very moment of getting his head all the way under. He just could not do it, and so I had to um force his head under, well he fought but we got the head under all the way. He came up gasping and crying. Then I felt like a heel, and held him and talke to him calmly until he calmed down. The Youth Pastor later said that he knew we were going to have problems when he saw the tuft of hair still sticking out of the water. The parents were okay as were the church members. I asked him if he was okay and he said he was. I have never had it happen before to me. But I guess there is always a first time. I did tell him that when I was baptised, my feet couldn't touch the bottom, and I floated. He and everybody else laughed with me. Afterwords two of the young girls there told me they wanted to be baptised by immersion too. So I told them and their parents have them call us and we would set that up.

I was cautious around the baptismal because they had a microphone wire near by and other musical wiring around. I left another way, cause I was soaking wet. I just have a thing about electricity and water.

Easter Sunday at Trinity

This is a skit that was done for Easter Sunday in our contemporary worship. It is a look at the Resurrection of Jesus from the Performed on Easter Sunday 2009, this was the reaction to the Resurrection from the other side of the fence - the Romans. Written by R. Scott McCauley and Shane Kennedy ©2009 CodeName Productions called He Came Back

Monday after Easter Sunday

"And he departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here."-- St. Augustine

This quote of St. Augustine's makes me think about how has Jesus' death and resurrection made it possible for us to return to our hearts? How had we left our hearts in the first place? But I love that in our return we find Jesus there. Jesus is here in our hearts. I believe that is one of the wonders that we are struck with on Easter Sunday that Jesus is here in our hearts to return too.

I looked out over the 11 o'clock crowd that attended the traditional service as I stood at the lecturn. I realized at that moment, that most of the regulars had come to early service and the C and C service. I started praying then for those in the worship, that somehow someway they would experience Jesus this Easter Morning. Perhaps unconsciously those that we call the C and E only attenders keep coming back for those Sundays to find a way back if ever so briefly to that place in their own heart where Jesus is. Perhaps even we regular attenders are there for the same reason.

I must admit I started the Sunday in a ho hum mood, and didn't quite feel any spark in the early service. I wasn't up front leading worship or preaching, I was sitting back in the back as an attendee. I couldn't really see anything being as short as I am. But listening to Joe one of the other associates talk to the kids about God's love, started a warmth within me that grew as the morning went on.

I am exhausted today, yet happy. I enjoyed my own kids enjoying Easter. I enjoyed celebrating my husband's birthday with Easter. And I enjoyed having returned to Jesus in my heart.

Good Friday

This is my first Holy Week at Trinity, and it has been a busy one. I am tired but loving it.
I preached in C & C(contemporary worship) last Sunday for Palm Sunday. But it ended with more of Passion Sunday using a skit and the scripture reading.

Last night was the Maundy Thursday service. No foot washing. We did have the stripping of the altar. Very traditional, liturgical and dramatic. I did the Great Thanksgiving.

Tonight we are doing a tennebrae service in the New Room with a mixture of contemporary and traditional. We use the readings and extinguishing the candles. We will see how it goes.

I did have a great day off yesterday. It was good weather for once and we went for a hike on Green Mountain. Then we came home and worked in the yard. After the kids came home they were out playing and we were watching them.

I found this sms text for Good Friday on Sms ‘n’ Shayari.

I am da witness
2 his fearless death.
I am a token of his
last promise -4giveness
I am da CROSS
Blessings on Good Friday bysmsBabu

Put that in your Iphone and text it to others.