Missed opportunities

It's a surprise that this is my first ever blog.
It's not a surprise that I have procrastinated and waited 2 weeks.
It's a surprise that I run my life so much for my own agenda and schedule that I'm missing opportunities. But why should I be surprised, this is normal for me.
Earlier this week at work, I took my usual mid day walk up and down the halls of our large campus. I saw a woman leaving our building very slowly and in obvious pain. She was carrying a large and heavy back pack. So did I offer to help her? No. Why? Well I was too busy walking, and talking on my cell phone of course! C'mon, I'm a busy person, right? Too busy? Does that sound familiar? Disconnected from the world around us with our electronics, does that sound familiar? I went on my way and then realized what an opportunity that I had just missed. An opportunity for a small act of kindness, set before me by God. A "hello, can I help you?" or "Here, let me carry that for you, it looks like you could use a little help." Perhaps followed by a "God Bless you and have a great day!" But no, I had to finish my walk & my cell phone conversation. Selfish? You, bet. I'm the Pharisee and the Levite that passed by on the other side of the road. We can't physically see God, right? Wrong! Jesus tells us that we see him, whenever we feed the hungry or help the poor. Or help our fellow human beings and all of God's creation in any way. Maybe just a kind word will change somebody's day. Missed opportunities. Wow. Thank you, Jesus for the wake up call.
Jeff

Catch up Time

Where do I begin......The last few days has been a blurr but great. Enjoying special time with my husband on Monday, furniture shopping....but just the two of us with no schedule, no expectations of time, time to keep connected. Then off to ALPHA. Jim and I were both sceptical of this bible study... 10 weeks? Every Monday? but the draw for Jim at first, was the fact that our friend Luke would be providing the food.....that was the first decieding factor. The surprise of all of this, yes, the food is great, but we have really enjoyed Alpha. Our small group has been so great. We have non members, new faces and very familiar faces,and adults of all ages. I am so touched by the warmth and love that has been created with in this group. We all feel so comportable with each other, even though we bring different ideas and thoughts to the table. We have cried with each other and laughed also sat in silence as we ponder what God is trying to tell us. I am so thanksful to the Alpha team for making this possible. Jim and I have been in the same small group and it has been great to spend time in the word with him. Even though the concept of Alpha is to get back to the simple topics, who is Jesus...how do we pray?.....every person should experience this. It has helped me to simplify my journey with Jesus. The simple fact that he loves ME....he died for ME.....he continues to forgive ME.... he keep surprising ME..... WOW....keep asking, surprise me God.... Peace Sue

Day 14

The morning was interrupted by phone calls to Medicare to help resolve a reimbursement problem for my Father. I anticipated long wait times and less than helpful service reps when I started the process. I made 2 calls, one to Deb and another to Christina. Both could not have been more helpful or understanding. I was humbled and surprised that this process didn't take all morning. In fact when I requested that a certain process be terminated in the billing cycles for my Father, Christina said she would be able to correct it. Low and behold she said the following, "I appears that the crossover has been terminated on 2/12/08." Say what? Yes, it's all taken care of...Surprise. Now I don't know where Deb and Christina are in their lives but they were wonderful servant hearted people ready to help solve our problem. I strive to live in that way but find myself coming up short many times. It was a gentle reminder of how we should work together to make this a better world for others. God’s working on me all the time.

We had Council tonight and dealt with the on going ministry of leadership of our church family. I was impressed with the heart of these women and men for their church family and the world around us. They are going to be a very good leadership team. God was working in the group as we discussed issues and made plans for the future. They are sincere and faithful Christ followers wanting the best for the whole family. I sensed that they didn't want to leave anyone out of the realm of the ministry we offer. They problem solved by getting on the solution side quickly. I was blessed by the whole night even though it was hard work. God is working in and through each of the team and we will be well served in 2008.

Pastor T

Persistent Surprise

This has been one crappy Lent, in case that hasn't come across in my pessimistic blogs. I am constantly overwhelmed with classes and I haven't even finished two weeks of this new semester, I am running worse in track than I did my first year in high school, and I now have the stomach flu. But that doesn't matter to God, cause lets face it in the grand scheme of things what does it matter if I lose a few hours of sleep or lose a few lunches (I won't go into any more detail - don't worry). And in this grand scheme of things God doesn't care that I am a blip, a speck, a nothing in this immense eternity, He cares about me and He has been very persistent throughout this crappy Lent to show me, how much He cares. Today was Tuesday and therefore we had Proclaim, the student led worship service, and Chaplin Brian spoke and gave communion. That could have been the surprise, but I guess I needed more. Before communion we got into groups and held hands and prayed the Lord's prayer. I got out "Our Father" when I realized I hadn't said the Lord's prayer in over two months, then I realized that I hadn't had communion in over two months, then I realized how hungry I was. The Lord's prayer has never been so hard to say, and has never seemed so heavy. Every word had weight, every word had meaning, had a promise, had a consequence. I was taken aback by this because I know the Lord's prayer, I've been saying it since Sunday school and two months, two months were what I needed to realize its power. Two months of questioning and feeling lost to realize that the bread, the body, the wine, and the blood are what I need to survive. So this maybe the crappiest Lent I've ever been through, maybe it will be the crappiest Lent of my life, but that doesn't stop God. He's darn persistent, and He won't stop showing me all the ways I need Him, not even when this Lent is over, not even when I stop asking for surprises because God is consistently and persistently a surprise.

-Kate

TEST!!!!

In science, we are learning about the periodic table and all the elements. We also have to know all the elements and their symbols(not all at once, but in three different "stages.") Our last test of 34 elements was probably the hardest of them all. Even though I felt prepared, I did not feel prepared enough. But, "SURPRISE!" I did a lot better than I thought I did.
~Haley

Day 13

The day started out going to a medical appointment to see a new doc who seems to be the "gentle healer" we were waiting on. Peace about where we will go next was a great gift. God's in this one.

Later I had the privilege of spending an hour with one of our leaders who has "God working all over him"...what a gift. We so fortunate to have such Christ centered leaders around us! Even in the stress of leadership we get glimpses of God's hand pushing or pulling on others to be all that they can be in Christ. What surprises they bring to us as they follow the call to follow and serve.

Mom called with concerns about a letter from one of the health care providers and was wondering what should she do. After sorting out the details of what it said I assured that I would take care of it in the morning and she did not have to worry. It takes a lot of time but to hear the peace in her voice at the end is satisfying. We were cared for by them many years ago and now the roles change. A quick prayer for patience in order to help her....and God shows up again to bless us both.

Keeping the eyes and ears of my heart open for more God Surprises...
Pastor T

Subzero surprises

Today was our Skiing Adventure at Afton Alps... and boy was it cold!!! But it was a great day and - SURPRISE!! - no one broke anything. We had 34 students, mostly junior high boys, and managed to make it through 7 hours of skiing and snowboarding with not one injury. Amazing.

After Afton I met Pr Jim at a restaurant for a board meeting of a group called HMCHA (said him-cha, stands for holistic ministry for children in the horn of Africa). Yeah, it's a mouthful, but boy is it an amazing organization. I feel like a HUGE surprise me moment came from this meeting... they are based in Ethiopia, which is where Sam's dad is from. Sam and I have wanted to find a connection for Ethiopia for awhile, and it has been crazy how this organization has sort of fallen out of nowhere into my focus. It could be no one but God that put it there. I hope that not only Sam and I become sponsors of this organization, but in my dream world and what I think God is calling me to - is to bring HMCHA and POP together to bring clean water and education and basic needs to the people of Ethiopia. I get so excited just thinking about what we could do in Africa and I can hardly stand still.... eeeeee!!! I know this connection was brought by God - and I only hope that I can do this surprise justice by responding the way God is asking me to respond.
Stay warm!

Natalia