What is Your Definition of Church?

Most of my life I've attended churches that met in rented halls. School gyms, community centers, hotel meeting rooms, and even some church buildings belonging to other churches. We'd show up on Sabbath, set up the sound system and the chairs, and hold church services. Pretty simple, really though it often meant a lot of work for the guys who hauled and set up the sound system every week. There were many times we thought it really would be nice to have a permanent place of our own, if only to avoid that extra work.

I'm reading the book Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola and George Barna right now. I've had it for years; just finally got around to reading it. I have to be honest - I really don't know much about the trappings such as you can get from boerboomchurchsupplies.com, ceremonies, and meanings behind most things in traditional churches - and I'm not just talking about the pagan origins, which are really eye-opening. Those I'm pretty sure most people don't know about...

The churches we meet with most of the time now do have their own buildings. And most of the time the order of services looks pretty much like it always has - songs, prayers, announcements, a sermon. There are people who don't think it's 'church' unless we have something very close to that. That's pretty basic compared to churches where the minister wears special clothing, candles are lit, and incense is burned. Really, do they actually do that? Too much singing bothers me - yes, I know, some people think that is the best part of the whole service, but I just don't get it - so I can't imagine how all that extra stuff would make me feel. Does it add to the service? Or does it just distract?


Personally, I think the most important part of 'church' is the fellowship, the gathering together, the building of relationships. If your church doesn't eat together, can you really call it a church? Candles, altar tables, and incense notwithstanding.

Tuesday Tidbits

I'm trying not to let Tuesday get away from me again - but Tuesday is doing a really good job of it anyway.

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We had a good weekend.  Saturday was the annual Barn Party our friends host at their house/barn.  We get to see lots of people we don't get to see very often.  We have church in the barn - unfortunately we can't cybercast for or Skype with our friends who can't be there because there's not enough bandwidth, but thankfully we'll see you soon, Mary!!  After church there's always lots of food - chili, hot dogs, cornbread, chips, etc.  And, of course, the desserts.  So many desserts!  Then there's the bonfire and the hayrides and talking to people....  We had lots of fun.

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Cory had to leave for a while in the evening/night to go to rehearsal.  He's understudy for 2 plays, with rehearsals for both going on, and he has to learn 3 parts for one play and 10 parts for the other - that's 13 people in his head, besides his own self.  I think he's the only person in the universe who could do it, but it's certainly going to be quite a semester!

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It's been cool and rainy the last several days.  Yes, this post has degenerated to the point of talking about the weather.  Good, huh?  That's what I get for waiting until the end of the day/night to post.  And what did I actually do today? Recycled papers, cut out coupons, worked on updating the nametags we're getting printed for the Feast, baked bread, washed towels, etc., etc., etc.  Always so much to do, and I put off the posting until the end.

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Tune in next week...

Tuesday Tidbits

Somehow, Tuesday  is almost over for this week, but if I get this posted, it will be 3 weeks in a row - and that's gotta be a record or something.  Actually, I posted Camera Critters posts almost every week for at least a year, so that's a real record.  Unfortunately, I've gotten away from it, and I just can't find my way back.  I miss all the cute critters, too.

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Cory left on Thursday and went to Michigan for the weekend.  He had a great time with a whole bunch of friends, pushing cars out of the mud, canoeing, going to the beach, getting majorly sunburned, etc.  Thankfully he didn't have to drive all the way by himself.  He drove about an hour from home, met up with some friends from Minnesota, and they all rode together.  And, thankfully, he's old enough to drive now so I didn't have to drop him off and then have to be back and pick him up Sunday night - because he didn't get home until after midnight.  Then, he had to be up the next morning so he could go to work at 7am - the earliest he's had to work since he started at Walmart.  But, he survived.

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We went to the bank Friday afternoon and signed a bunch of papers.  Beth needed a new vehicle because she couldn't get 3 car seats in the Regal she was driving.  For work she watches two kids, and now she has one of her own, so she needs to be able to get all three of those car seats in.  So, she got a Buick Rendezvous, which is nice, and most importantly to her it's not a mini van.  I'm not sure what the deal is with mini vans, but whatever.  She got a decent deal on it, all three cars seats fit, and she's happy - and now that all the papers are signed, she's got her very own car payment to make every month.

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Jeffrey and I went to a church conference in the Chicago area for the weekend.  We left Saturday morning and didn't get back until Sunday evening.  We had a great time with some great people, heard some good presentations, ate lots of wonderful food, and just had a really good weekend.  I had my first Lemon Drop Martini thanks to my friend Trisha, and it was yummy!  And our friends Paul and Laureen opened up their home and gave us a bed to sleep in Saturday night - which was really nice, because they're always so busy when they host one of these things, so staying with them actually gave us some time to spend with them we wouldn't have had otherwise.

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I mowed the yard Monday morning.  I can't remember when I mowed it last, and the boys hadn't mowed it for a while either because it's been so dry.  But we got some rain recently, and things have started to grow, the grass included - or at least all the weeds/extra plants in the yard - so it needed done.  It was a bit hot, but there was a breeze and clouds, and I drank plenty of water.  Then Jeffrey called late afternoon and said not to worry about it.  Too late!  Yes, I could have waited until tomorrow when it's supposed to be much cooler, but it's done now. 

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Today it was hotter, or at least that's what they said.  I was inside, freezing in the air conditioning.  For some reason it seemed colder than it has been, even though the thermostat was set the same.  I went outside to warm up several times.  By tomorrow, I should be able to turn the air off and open the windows because it's supposed to be nice for a while.  Looking forward to that!

Image via Wikipedia

And now, Tuesday is basically over, so this post must come to an end.  A gold star to you if you made it all the way to the end!

Tune in next Tuesday....

It's Good to be Home

We left home around 8am Thursday morning, December 23rd and didn't get back home until 10pm Saturday night, January 1st.

First we drove to Lexington, KY where we had a wonderful Winter Family Weekend with a lot of incredible people.  We ate together; played games of basketball, volleyball, soccer, and dodge ball; roller skated and played laser tag; had a dance; attended seminars, Bible study, and church services, played lots of Double Hearts; and just generally had a fantastic time.  From the Thursday evening meet & greet to saying goodbye in the lobby on Monday morning, the weekend was altogether too short.

When we left Lexington, we drove about 2-1/2 hours to visit my parents and brother's family and stayed with them until Thursday morning.  It was nice getting to spend some time with them, because they live too far away, and we only get to see them once in a while.  We didn't do a whole lot.  My mom and sister-in-law fed us really well.  We got to see the progress my brother has made on building his house.  We'd seen it on his blog, but it's nice to see it in person.  It was especially nice to spend time with my nieces and nephews - they really do live too far away, and they're growing up too fast!  Somebody make them stop.

Thursday morning we packed up, said goodbye, and headed for Jacksonville, IL to visit Jeffrey's grandma and aunt & uncle.  We spent Thursday night there and all day Friday, mainly just sitting around and talking.  It was really nice!

Saturday morning we packed up, said our goodbyes, and drove to Bloomington for church.  It was awesome to see our friends Mike & Brenda and their son Josh.  After church we went to Olive Garden for dinner, along with a couple of their other friends, and sat and talked and talked - until we thought we better go and free up the table - and we still had 3 hours or so to get home.

The trip home was uneventful.  We got home around 10pm, unloaded the van, and unpacked most of our stuff before going to bed.  We took it easy on Sunday not really doing much, and since then I've been trying to get caught back up, doing laundry, etc. - and fighting a cold.

It was a really nice trip, but it feels really good to be home.  Now, if I can just get back into the swing of things...

Book Review: Radical

Radical
Taking Back Your Faith From the American Dream

by David Platt

About This Book:

IS JESUS WORTH THIS TO YOU?

It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily...

BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU?

In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus.

Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment --a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.

I don't necessarily agree with everything David Platt has to say in this book, but it definitely gets you thinking.  I think he is right on when he says that the American Dream gets in the way of our faith and often keeps us from doing what God wants us to be doing with our lives.  We get comfortable, we see the people around us doing the same things, and even in our churches we have a watered down faith that isn't remotely what Jesus intended.  I kept thinking about how Jesus kept getting after the Pharisees when he was here on earth and how their religion was nothing like He intended it to be.  I think he'd be saying the same things to us today.

This is not an easy book to read and not a book that you can read and walk away from.  It's a book that makes you take a hard look at your life and realize there are changes that need to be made.  David Platt has issued a challenge to all of us to take back our faith from the American Dream.  What will we do with it?  You can read the first chapter of his book here and request a free copy of the companion booklet The Radical Question.  (no strings, no shipping, but only while supplies last)  If these leave you wanting to learn more, and I think they will, you can get Radical here.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group

Miss Me?

We got home last night after being gone for about a week - we left last Wednesday morning and drove to Kentucky. We had a long weekend full of activities in Lexington, the Winter Family Weekend sponsored by Church of God Cincinnati & Lexington. We stayed in a really nice hotel, but they wanted us to pay for Internet in the room, which no one was willing to do. There was free wireless in the lobby, but we were too busy to mess with it much anyway.

We spent most of the day Thursday and Friday at the KBA, which is basically a huge gym with multiple courts available. There was basketball for anyone who wanted to play, volleyball, table tennis, dodge ball, games for the kids, and some amazing concessions put together by the organizers. Jeffrey played basketball. I played volleyball, and Cory played volleyball, too - I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of that. What was I thinking? I'm still sore from the volleyball, and my arms are bruised from hitting the ball, but it was a lot of fun. We also got to go next door and roller skate on Thursday, which Cory did while I was playing one of my volleyball games so I missed it, and he played laser tag, too. I skated for about an hour and realized that I hadn't been on skates in ages. I'm probably sore from that, too.

Besides all the sports and activities, there were seminars, a family dance, Sabbath services, a pizza party, some interesting activities Saturday night involving huge inflatable things, and lots of fellowship with old friends and new. The teenagers didn't get much sleep, and some of us adults didn't either!

It was hard to leave, but Sunday morning we got packed up, said a long good-bye to everyone who was left, and headed out to visit my parents. They only live a couple hours from Lexington, so we had to visit them, being so close. We got there not too much past noon and spent the rest of Sunday with them and all day Monday, then left for home Tuesday morning. Luckily, thankfully, the weather was beautiful and the traffic was not so bad - of course, anything would be an improvement over our last trip home from Kentucky - after Thanksgiving last year when the traffic was just horrendous, and the trip took us a whole lot longer than it should have. But, that was last year - yesterday we got home in a reasonable amount of time, considering the parents have to live so far away. It was nice to get home and to sleep in my own bed again!

How Was Your Weekend?

I finally got the chance to sit down and catch up a little bit. I haven't gotten to any blogs yet, but I did go through everybody's status updates on Facebook, and checked in on Twitter to see what was going on. It's Monday, and I'm doing laundry, washing dishes, changing sheets, trying to get caught up from the weekend - that doesn't leave a lot of time for hanging out on the computer. Anyone want to come do all that other stuff for me so I can catch up on my blog reading, actually post a tweet of my own or two, and find some Shop NBC Promo Codes? Oh, and I need to get my house straightened up and cleaned because my parents are coming to visit starting Wednesday evening. I wouldn't want my mom to think I don't keep my house clean.

We had a good weekend - church on the Sabbath and then again Sunday for Pentecost. We had some good discussions and good food. I wouldn't want to do it every weekend, but it's nice to have that extra time every once in a while. It was really nice of God to give us Holy Days throughout the year. Sad that so many people don't know about them, though.

Beth and Tim got back safely from Florida Sunday evening. Part of the reason I have this blog is to try and keep track of the things that are going on in life, and I think I forgot to even mention that they left. Thankfully, their trip was very uneventful - especially comparing it to last year's flight when they spent over 4 hours sitting in the plane on the runway. They managed to stay dry, too - a great feat since they went to Daytona while Daytona was getting all that rain, over 20 inches in a few days. Anyway, it's nice to have Beth back - I think she even missed us a little.

Next Sunday, we're going to her high school graduation.

-- one of the links in this post was sponsored. Can you guess which one? :P

It's Party Time!

A while back I mentioned that Cory was going out with some senior girls - to a teen activity at a church. He had so much fun that he wanted to go back every week. Then play practice got in the way and he had to miss a few weeks. After the play, he started going back again, and his team ended up winning the challenges. So, anyone who was on the winning team and who had attended at least 5 times won a party. Cory thought there were going to be prizes, but the party sounds pretty good.

They all dressed up, and they're going to take pictures and go to dinner and get to ride around in a Hummer limo. From what Cory said, his team was the largest one, so I'm surprised the church didn't need to buy a bus to haul them all around. I know, a limo sounds much cooler. Cory took the camera, so I hope he gets some good pictures. They're also going to go bowling - all the girls in their fancy dresses and the guys in their nice clothes. Cory wore his black pants, a black shirt, and his fedora. The other Cory, who came with Crystal to pick him up, was all dressed up in a suit and tie! (Yes, there were some other guys. Cory didn't get all the girls to himself) Cory doesn't have a suit - the boy already went through his closet and cleaned out several pairs of dress pants he's outgrown or gotten too tall for recently. Still, he looked pretty spiffy.

So, Cory is gone, and Beth is going to dinner with Tim. Once again, we're going to be home alone with no kids...

And if I Don't Want to Leave Yet?

Church today. We had a nice discussion on finances and how God wants us to handle money, etc. Afterwards, we had food, like always. We have decided that is is very important to eat together, so we always do. Somewhere along the line Beth started making noises about leaving. We were finishing up eating, and Jeffrey said something about leaving. Earlier, he had mentioned something about stopping by Best Buy on the way home to look at a tv. He's been sorely tempted to buy a nice big tv this week because he could get it for 3 years with 0% financing. So, tonight I thought he wanted to stop by Best Buy and I said, "You can't buy anything until after sunset anyway." It was still fairly early. That's when he said he didn't want to stop at Best Buy. He didn't need a new tv. That discussion on finances, maybe? So, I wasn't worried about leaving.

Peggy and I started playing with texty.com and experimenting with how we can use it on the web pages - specifically on feastgoer. We'd like to give people a little more control over their pages, without giving them access to the server. It's a little late for this year, but maybe next year. For now, we tried it on the Baraboo page so that Peggy can post announcements or whatever, and added a comment box for people to suggest study topics. We were excited about the possibilities and what we can do with texty.

After a while, Beth was getting all upset because I wasn't getting ready to leave. She never specifically told me that she wanted to leave or why. She just started getting mad at me for not somehow knowing. Regardless - even if I did know - why should I drop everything? She seems to be going out somewhere and 'hanging out' with her friends every single day of the week. Once a week, I go somewhere, and I want to spend some time with my friends and do something I want to do. Why should I have to leave before I'm ready just so she can go and do something that she does every other day of the week? Because, after all, she just wanted to make all of us come home so that she could leave immediately and go hang out with Tim. It's not my fault that she didn't see him yesterday - she's the one who spent the night with Kayla. It's also not my fault that I didn't know she thought we were going to leave early so she could do that. She never said anything. Part of that could have been because she stayed at Kayla's last night and didn't come home until after 11 this morning. It's not like we saw her or talked to her or that she let us know what she thought she was planning to do.

Yeah, no matter how often we go over it - for some reason she has this idea in her head that she gets to do whatever she wants to do, she doesn't need permission, and she wishes she didn't even have to tell us. Unfortunately, for some of her friends, that's the way it works. Their parents let them run wild and do whatever they want to do. She sees that and thinks that's how it's supposed to work. I just say, "It's too bad their parents don't care about them more."