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November 21

Thursday, November 21st, 2024

In the previous post (November 20) I referenced Erwin Lutzer’s book, The Eclipse of God, where he stated there were 3 gravediggers who built a coffin for God. A quick recap:

Gravedigger #1- Karl Marx: An Attack on God as Ruler.

Gravedigger #2- Charles Darwin: An Attack on God as Creator.

And today’s- Gravedigger #3-Sigmund Freud:An Attack Against God as Lawgiver. Freud saw a belief in God as a fantasy. Freud made his own rules. His real fantasy was sex, sex, and more sex. No holds-barred sex. Sex of all kinds. One of his disciples was Alfred Kinsey, a bisexual who interviewed sex offenders, child molesters, and sexual assaulters for his “Kinsey Report.” I remember hearing about that as a young pastor but was clueless as to its meaning or impact. This man is S.I.C.K. He even believed child rape poses no problem for children! SICK and WRONG! So very wrong.

The satanic spawn of the gravediggers attempts to destroy God can be found in 3 philosophies. I’m sure you have heard of: Communism, Nazism, and Fascism. We have certainly seen the children of those beliefs.

What does this all mean for we who are Christ-followers? We need to stop play-acting. We need to stop posing as Christians. We need to become real Christ-followers. For the record: I see a distinct difference between calling oneself a Christian and one being a Christ-follower. More than anything else, this world needs to see genuine followers of Jesus.

 

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November 18

Monday, November 18th, 2024

It’s been a week since I last wrote in “Shadow.” You can go back to November 11 to see I had a full knee replacement. I thought I would use my time today to bring you up to date.

The surgery went well. Least they tell me it did. I don’t remember a thing about it. That has got to be one of the greatest things about anesthesia. To go to sleep (I don’t even remember being wheeled out of the room) and to wake back up in the room like I traveled through time is a dream. I went home just an hour or so later. They did more than just the knee; he also straightened my bowed leg. To do that he had to move ligaments and tendons and told Tami “I would be sore, but in 6 months I will feel great!” I’ll take his word for it! 🙂

I did rehab exercises at home (over my body’s protest) every day and my first post-op rehab was Thursday. He said I was at 98% with my knee bent. My weakness was straightening the back part of my knee toward the table. A lot of that was the hamstrings were tight from cycling. So a lot of my rehab is working on that. I am doing that twice a day at home.

I find myself cat-napping during the day since I don’t sleep well at night. I’m up walking the house 3-4 times per night. Tami tells me she can hear the creaking of the walker.  🙂

The folks of the church have been phenomenal. We have had no lack of food, and I have been receiving texts every day from people wishing me well; that they are thinking of me and praying for me; and asking if there is anything they can do. I am getting a real chance to see the church family from another viewpoint…and it looks good!!

I have more rehab this morning and Wednesday morning with a surgery follow-up on Friday morning. I’ll keep you posted. My plan is to visit the office for a short period today to have a staff meeting. Meanwhile, please keep the prayers coming.

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November 11

Monday, November 11th, 2024

Today is the day…the day I have been waiting for!!

If I was doing a wedding I might add: “the day you have been waiting for all your life.”

But I’m not doing a wedding. And I can’t say I have been waiting for this all my life. 🙂 Since the shape of my legs is genetic (I take after my grandfather and his side of the family), I should have known it was coming. I can remember sitting with the grandfather during his knee replacement surgery around age 75 (I am 72) since my mom had to work. But when you are in your 30s and healthy, you just never think, “Oh that is going to be me in a number of years.” But here I am.

I abused my body at times. I played baseball from the time I was 8 years old until high school graduation. In 9th grade I picked up a basketball and could not chew gum and walk at the same time, let alone dribble and run at the same time. Multiple hours were spent on the sidelines learning to do just that. I was ignored in high school but when I hit college and was in full stride. I’ll not bore you with by-gone accomplishments. Trouble was the older I got I thought I could play like I used to. Aging bodies are not made to take the pounding I gave my legs. It was a matter of time until my back and legs complained. 1992 was the year when basketball went bye-bye, as did softball. Cycling, however, was a constant. No impact (except if you get hit by a car or go over the handlebars. I might know someone who had that happen to him). But still that did not factor into knee issues. Slightly bowed legs and genetics did. I had meniscus surgery at 61. At 62 I was unable to stand on my bike to pedal up a hill and a visit to the knee doctor revealed arthur had visited. He sent me to a knee replacement specialist who told me I had some arthur but not enough to warrant having a new knee at my age. “Let’s put it off as long we can” were his words and he has. Three steroid injections and one hyaluronic acid injection later, he was able to delay it 10 years. The last steroid injection lasted 1 month. Yeah…it was time.

So, here I am. I have tried religiously to do all the required pre-surgery stuff. Breathing. Antibiotics. Exercises. Protein drinks (theirs and mine). Stopping my vitamin regiment when told. The nasty nose ointment twice a day to help clean out all bacteria. All that is left is the trip to the surgery center and, oh yeah, the surgery. I have a lot of people praying for me, so even though I know it will be a somewhat painful recovery, I know in WHOSE hands I rest. People have asked me if I’m nervous or scared. The answer is No.  I don’t relish the rehab, but being able to walk without pain will be a big plus. The greatest part of this is knowing I have a God about whom King David wrote: “Trust in the Lord and do good. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. COMMIT EVERYTHING YOU DO TO THE LORD. TRUST HIM AND HE WILL HELP YOU.” (emphasis mine). (Psalm 37:3-4 NLT)

I’m not sure about what I will be able to post, nor how often. I do have a guest post planned for Wednesday that I believe you will not want to miss. I had someone tell me at church yesterday that she was working on one. Gail is having trouble keeping her words few. 🙂  Lord willing, I will be back soon. Maybe tomorrow with a report. By the time many of you read this my surgery will be over (it is at 8:45 a.m.). Please pray for my recovery and please pray for Jo, Tami and Janna. Thanks. See you on the flip side.

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October 25

Friday, October 25th, 2024

“CELEBRATE!” (cue up Rare Earth from the 60s or if you prefer Kool and the Gang)

I normally don’t post on Friday, or the weekend for that matter. But this is big! Huge in fact! I know you are waiting with baited breath to hear what is so important that Bill would break protocol to post on a Friday.

OVCF, the church I have had the honor and pleasure of pastoring for 19 years (I start #20 next month) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this Sunday. 20 YEARS!!! No matter how you look at it that is quite an accomplishment. From starting out with a meeting in a hardware-type building with just a few folks and meeting at several different places in its beginning, the church found a “home” at the Owen Valley Sports Complex, where it was meeting when Jo and I moved here in November of 2005. We temporarily moved to the middle school for a few months until someone got a wild hair to get us out so we went back to the complex. We went back to the middle school when the flood of 2008 displaced us from the complex for about 4 months. In 2010 we bought an unused Mormon church building. We had our first worship in the new facility in September and were excited about the future. In January of 2011 it came to light that over $200k had been embezzled from us. But God was good. I missed one paycheck during that time and it was made up at the next pay period. In 2012 we remodeled our building to accommodate our growth. We knew when we bought the building it was too small and would require an expansion.  In 2014 we hired Ryan East to be our youth pastor. He had been working at IU Credit Union and teaching our youth group. It was a perfect fit! In 2018 we sacrificed expanding the adult worship area for a youth wing. It was a very wise decision. Along with that we became debt free thanks to someone’s inheritance. When COVID hit the generosity of the people never quit. We didn’t miss a beat. In fact, we expanded to offer live stream during that time! We also increased our mission giving.  After finishing the youth addition, we began saving for an expansion on our adult worship area. We have been in two services since 2013 and there is a strong desire for a unified body in one service. Holidays like Christmas and Resurrection Sunday will often find us at the Abram Event Venue to hold all of us at once. But that comes with a ton of inconvenience and limited ministry to the kids (like none).  We have continued saving to be able to build debt free. Along the way we have taken our Easter offering and given it away to missions, giving all of  away unless designated otherwise. We have taken our anniversary offering and put it in the building fund or given away all or part of it to missions as well. God has been more than faithful to us.

So we celebrate Him this Sunday. We celebrate His faithfulness and goodness to us this Sunday. And yes, we celebrate the people of OVCF. They are, after all, the church. Not the building. People have come and gone-some through death, some through moving, and yes, some through discontent. But along the way, God has also brought some exciting people that I’m proud to call friends and ministry colleagues. One of them reads and comments on this blog almost daily-Ryan and his wife, Amanda. Jo and I still see them and go out to eat with them (Chili’s here we come!). People like Ryan have impacted my life in ways they do not know and words fail when I try to express them. Over my 19 years I have seen a lot happen at OVCF and in Spencer. My prayer is that the influence and legacy has been a positive one.

I’ll close this post for now and give an update on our celebration on Monday (Lord willing, of course). Until then, may I ask you to pray for us for Sunday? My deepest prayer, my most fervent prayer, is that in our celebration we will never lose sight of Who is behind it all and to Whom we give all the praise. One of the songs we will be singing, along with Good  Good Father and No Longer Slaves is  Firm Foundation (I prefer the Disciple/Honor and Glory version): “Christ is my firm foundation/The Rock on which I stand/when everything around me is shaken/I’ve never been more glad/I put my faith in Jesus/Cause He’s never let down.”

Amen!

{Note : if you so desire, we are unable to live stream from AEV due to a lack of good internet connection. My message has been prerecorded and downloaded and will be shown at 10:00 Sunday morning on our YouTube channel. It is a shortened version of the live experience but will give you a little bit of a taste of being there}.

One more thing: I did this from home on my iPhone so if you find typing mistakes, blame the phone. 😂

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October 24

Thursday, October 24th, 2024

Today is a special day! No it’s not my birthday (that was the 9th). 🙂 No, it is not my anniversary, or a job change, or any event that is a change or marks a change. Today is the day I spend my morning reading to 5 Kindergarten classes.

Several years ago (pre-COVID), the Monroe County UW had a program called Real Men Read (RMR). They extended an invitation to Owen County to be involved. The basis of the program was young children-in this case K kids-need to see men as role models, especially in the area of reading. Many kids have fathers who don’t or can’t read, and as a result these young children were left floundering, especially academically. Why read when my dad doesn’t, or worse, can’t? RMR was born.

I got involved in the program and began reading to one local K class taught by Mrs. Lee. I loved it! And the kids loved me (which I will NEVER complain about)! COVID hit and I still read. We went outside when the weather was good (Fall and Spring); I read inside when the snow was flying or it was too cold. (Mrs. Lee let me go without wearing a mask while I read inside). Fast forward to 2022. I began reading to 3 classes at the school where Tami teaches a K class; one in another district about 12-15 miles away; and two in another district about 15 minutes away. So for one year I read to 6 classes in one month! I loved it! Last year our local school added a K class; I taught 2 in the other district; and in the one furthest away the teacher had her husband read. Very cool!  This year I am teaching to 4 classes in our local school and one in another. The two large K classes have now moved up to the 1st grade.

Today I get to read The Biggest Pumpkin Ever,” a great book about working together. One good thing is our local Curriculum Coordinator was able to secure a Title IX grant which allowed us to buy enough books that each child gets to take home a copy of the book I read that day. They can then continue learning about the joy of reading (and hopefully get some help from home).

Children held a special place in the heart of Jesus. When they were being rebuked and sent away by His own disciples, Jesus put a stop to it. He even used a child as an example when He said, “Unless we have the faith of a little child we will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” “Let the little children come to me for such is the kingdom of heaven.” Children are special. They are to be loved and embraced (in the right way). One of my favorite moments is when I’m done reading and it is time for a group hug. What a joy! Just one more reason I look forward to today! 🙂

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October 7

Monday, October 7th, 2024

Have  you ever tried to understand something and after awhile you thought your mind was going to explode? I had one of those experiences last night, although my mind fell short of exploding.  In our small group last night we are beginning a short study on Essential Doctrines that are the core beliefs to our faith. You might be thinking, “What are you studying those topics for?” We spent the previous months discussing topics the young people had asked Ryan, our youth pastor.  He shared those questions with the elders just to show what our young people had on their minds and Wayne, one of the elders and our small group leader, decided to use them in our small group.  Some of the questions were related to our core beliefs as a church body so it was a good study to stimulate our thinking and our faith. To counter some of the questions, Wayne decided to tackle some core doctrines that “make Christianity Christianity.”

First up: THE T.R.I.N.I.T.Y.

Yes, you read that right. What a subject to start with!  I must confess that I am a self-professed “I don’t want to talk about it” junkie when it comes to this particular topic. Understand: it is not because I don’t believe it. I most certainly do believe in the Trinity: that God is Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. But ask me to understand and explain it? My eyes cross, my head spins (like an owl’s) and my mind goes into convulsions. My finite mind cannot understand the infinite.

And that is the problem. Finite trying to understand the infinite. In my words: it ain’t going to happen. I proved it again last night. It’s not that I’m totally in the dark. I mean, I do understand some of it. Greater theological minds out there (the vast majority much, much greater than I ever dreamed of being) wrestle with it. Some of those who wrestle with it have forgotten more than I can remember. Maybe I’m naive, but while I understand some of it, I prefer to take some things on faith.  Knowing God is essential to our faith. Knowing all there is to know about God is impossible.  Isaiah writes, “To whom can you compare God?…’To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?’ asks the Holy One.” (40:18,25 NLT) I have come to the (awkward but humbling) conclusion that there are some things I am not to understand or simply cannot grasp.

I accept the hard teaching of the Trinity. Understand it all? Nope. But I have decided to let God be God. Understand what I can. Accept in faith what I can’t or don’t.

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October 1

Tuesday, October 1st, 2024

Every once in awhile-not often but once in awhile-I hear someone say, “God doesn’t care about me.” I could argue the point from Scripture, but for the most part, when a person’s feelings and emotions get involved that is almost an effort in futility. But, then again, that is my go-to. I can’t argue subjective feelings. And that is why we have such messed up ideas of what is right and what is wrong. Subjective feelings vs objective truth. Many don’t want to hear or follow what the Bible says because the objective truth of the Word goes against their subjective feelings. Way back in the late 70s there was a song called “You Light Up My Life” that had the lyrics “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.”  That’s it in a nutshell.

If someone is governed by their feelings how do you/how can you point out right and wrong? “The Bible says” loses out to “But I feel.” I read Psalm 118 this morning. Here are some words that set us on the right path: “The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me? Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” (verses 6-9 NLT). 

I want to add two more verses to that: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust my feelings. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to follow my heart.” Yeah…I know you are not supposed to add to the Word, but I’m not advocating that. I’m taking the current way of thinking and showing how it would work.

Objective truth vs Subjective feelings. You choose. I know which one I do.

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September 3

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024

Getting started is hard.

I suspect I am not alone. A long weekend that includes a holiday makes for a great escape from the norm. Mine was a little extra because Jo & I went to Ohio to watch our grandson play high school football on Friday night. After lunch with him on Saturday, we went back to the hotel room and basically vegged. We got together with Janna and Mike Saturday night and ate Mexican. After attending church with some long time friends on Sunday morning, we had lunch with them and then headed back home. I believe I chose correctly to come home Sunday and not wait until Monday. Monday, Labor Day, I went to the office to get my week started and then spent several hours in a storage that I want emptied by the time of my knee replacement in November. I made some headway but the holiday was appropriately named: I labored and probably sweat off a few pounds. We are giving away stuff in the storage. FREE always attracts attention. Today and tomorrow I am meeting some folks to get rid of some of that stuff.  I know money can be made but why? It goes much quicker and I avoid the headache of pricing things. Besides, I have been blessed. Why not bless someone else?

But today is another story. I was tired last night when I went to bed. My body was saying, “Why did you do this to me today?” My knee was screaming at me and this morning it continued to whine. Cry baby! Oh, but the coup de grace was the skunk that decided to infiltrate my Mancave and make its way through the house. Did you ever wonder why God made certain animals? Then you remember they like mice and other insects. Do they like moles? They could live off the ones in my yard and never want for food. Then as I was getting my ice water the ice maker decided to overflow all over the kitchen floor. Anyway, you get the picture of my morning. Oh…did I tell you about the section of my drive here to the office that a skunk has decided to call his territory?

Needless to say I was not all that chipper this morning as I made my way to the office. I didn’t even feel like writing this devotion from home. But as God would have it I had started playing a song for Tami last night that we sang on Sunday morning. I didn’t finish but it was in the cue on Spotify when I got in my Pathfinder this morning. Let’s just say it was just what the Doctor ordered for my morning. I heard this song just a few weeks ago when Honor and Glory/Disciple showed up singing this song on Spotify. I had not heard it before even though I understand others have sung it.   Here is the link to the song that slayed me this morning. The lyrics are in the video.  Think about these verses from Psalm 62:6-8- “He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. Oh my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” (NLT)

My prayer is that it encourages you today as it did me.

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August 7

Wednesday, August 7th, 2024

I rode my bike yesterday. I went out an hour earlier than normal. Some would say I’m not normal (the correct word is “certifiable”). They may possibly be true. It was 93 degrees with the humidity in the 70% range. Honestly it felt like 100%. I felt like I could cut it with a knife.

It was hot. No. It was H-O-T! Sticky. But it felt oh so good. I was on a limited time frame so the 15 miles was a good length. I tried to keep up a healthy pace but did have to slow down occasionally to ride smart. When I was done I was hot and sweaty. I’d gone through 2 skull caps (worn under the helmet to protect my dome from cancer). I smelled “earthy” as my wife states it (I love that word. It sounds so much better than “I stink.”) 🙂  I was glad to get out of my cycling shoes and put on my Oofos. The chocolate Recoverite drink tasted really good. The roller felt good on my lactic acid-filled legs. Taking off the helmet and gloves felt so freeing.

But even though I was sapped of strength, I felt s-o-o-o-o-o good. I don’t have ADHD but the idea of sitting around all day doing nothing but eating bon-bons and watching Hallmark movies sounds about as exciting as watching grass grow. (Then again, I might be able to kill me some of God’s most pesky creations-the moles that are tearing up my yard). My wife-who is 22 months older than me-would like me to retire and slow down. That sort of talk kills me. It makes my insides revolt. My idea of retiring is just getting tired over and over again. 🙂 I certainly don’t have money to retire-not by a longshot. I certainly don’t have the mental make-up to retire. If it wasn’t for my age, I’m not sure I could even slow down.

I know there will come a day when the body says, “Enough.” My mind will say, “Give me a break.” There may come a day when they all (body, mind and spirit) say, “Slow down Bill. Time to rest. Well done, good and faithful servant.” And, of course, only God knows that time.

Until then…I hope He allows me to keep spinning; to keep moving; and to keep smelling earthy. 🙂

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August 5

Monday, August 5th, 2024

“Every man has a battle to fight; an adventure to live; and a beauty to rescue.”

That is the moniker of a ministry called Wild at Heart that I latched onto in the early 2000s. The ministry was started and led by John Eldredge and I must have read that book 4-5 times.  I led men through that course 3 times. It reached into the depths of who I was and where I lived. As I aged and matured, I sort of settled into a pattern, a routine, of what was “expected” of an aging, maturing man.  I settled for “safe.”

  • I settled in as a husband.
  • I settled in as a father.
  • I settled in as a pastor.
  • I settled in as a man.

For lack of a better way to put it…I became predictable, reliable, and as much as I hate to say it: B-O-R-I-N-G. Not that there is anything wrong with being predictable and reliable, but give. me. a. break!

I lost my sense of adventure. I became, as I have stated, S.A.F.E. Too safe. Even though I loved watching and reading of adventures like Lord of the Rings or even Titanic or even the early MacGyver, I was too safe and too sedentary and too entrenched and too “logical” to be adventurous.

One of the teachings of Wild at Heart was the idea of finding what makes you come alive and go do that. Find out what ignites my heart- my passion- and go do that.  The world needs people today who are fully alive, not those who play at life, play it “safe,” and walking around with their heads in the ground. 

So…what makes you come alive? Do you find yourself engaged or withdrawn? Find what makes you come alive and go do that.

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