STEPHIE'S PREGGERS!!

HERE'S THE BELLY...AND THE RING THAT GOT HER THERE...

YOU GET THE POINT!!

AND A GRAND TIME...

WAS HAD BY ALL

HOPE YOUR CHRISTMAS WAS WELL AND TRULY BLESSED...

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL..

AND TO ALL, A BIG BITE....

YOU GET THE POINT!!!!

WHAT USED TO BE...

HEY.....A COUPLE OF TIMES

I've spoken about my lovely daughter Jess and I leading worship at our church. Well, my son in law found a pic on the Eastern Hills website that showed us singing at the grand opening a year and a half ago...

Here 'tis.....

See? Really happened. We're holding mics, up front, in red! I have the shorter hair....

HEY...SATTIDAY!

OH YEAH.........

Could be a busy one for all you folks not quite ready for the Holiday...Christmas, I assume for most of my readers...
Always a shame the frightening hustle that happens this time of year.
I know the points been over worked, but, really, it's so easy to lose the Christ part of Christmas. Especially if you have kids (or grandkids!!) there's so much to do, so many things to buy...
Can't help but think of the time when the "holiday" started. Back when the carpenter's family was on the road, Mary heavily pregnant, the census had to be taken, tough as it might be. I guess in their own way, the holy family had a bit of stress of their own. Joseph, with a wife carrying a baby he didn't father. Having to travel when Mary was due. No hospitals back then, no ambulances...They all knew that the baby could be born on the side of the road. And this was Mary's first. Her labor was bound to be long and hard. I bet she was deep into labor when the innkeepers turned them away. Can you imagine Josephs anguish, his frustration at the fact that he couldn't even find a bed for his wife, just about to deliver the baby?
We guys are fixers. We really feel the need to find solutions, to take control and carry the problem to it's solution.
So, it must have killed Joseph to be refused in their need. It sure would have killed me! I think I'd probably end up in some Bethlehem jail cell for throttling some innkeeper!!
Anyways, we all know it worked out okay. But for a while, don't the pressures facing the holy family make our search for the perfect gift, our last minute frenzy to sate some non-need, don't these things seem a little, well, silly...
I know...not to the kids...I know....
But, please, try to love this week ahead for what it really is.

And have a truly blessed and excellent Christmas!

YOU GET THE POINT!!

ARE WE READY?

CHRISTMAS IS ONLY

5 days away....wow...where did the time go? 5 days.

Usually by now I'm pretty much all set.....not!

Actually, I'm one of those guys you may see roaming around a mall about December 23rd or so, a completely blank look on his face.

At this stage, on year 36 of marriage, there's almost nothing either one of us need, or even want...
So, we both have to try to figure out some way to please the other, if it kills us!
A little crazy, I think.
But, I really do love the girl. so, I did do something for her.
Tell ya later.

I hope you're all caught up, with the kids gifts. And finding a way to please each other.
And, maybe even thinking about the Baby...


YOU GET THE POINT!!

BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP..

NOT ALWAYS....

Beauty's only skin deep...
I've so often heard that phrase
It's used to warn off fools who think
That you can trust a face
That you can safely fall in love
By judging what you see
Sweet flowing hair, two pretty eyes
A smile just for me

And they're quite right in pointing out
That pretty eyes are art
And oft beneath that pretty smile
There beats a cruel heart
The moth that flies into the flame
Will soon have burning wings
As all through time the poets write
And broken hearted sing

But hope remains I bade you look
Beyond the sage advice
And set your eyes beyond the skin
Beyond the violet eyes
Into the heart, into the mind
Into the very soul
Tread lightly,surely down the path
And see the picture whole

Guard your heart, but know for sure
That beauty does exist
A pretty face does not always
Conceal a knotted fist
Take your time with all you meet
And learn to know their ways
And that will tell you all you need
About the future days...

I write this verse to let you know
The beauty in my life
The Lord has blessed me richly with
My daughters and my wife
Their grace and lovliness have cast
A glow that lights my way
And I will love them gratefully
Until I fade away...

Okay....Enough already!!

Snow, I mean...

Okay. I've plowed out my driveway 3 times in the last 24 hours. And it's only Dec. 17th!
We've had almost 4 freakin' feet of the nasty white stuff already, and it's not even Christmas!!!

Well, you say. You chose to live here, you say. You've lived here your whole life, you say, you know what winter is like...

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!

Okay. You're right. I know better than to complain about snow.
We live in the snow capitol of the universe. And beyond.
And, my goodness, you may say...it's so pretty!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

I know, And the skiers are ecstatic. And the snowmobilers are already making their way over hill and dale to their favorite bars on their sleds..

I am alone in my contemptible ..err..contempt for this filthy white pestilence...

And it's early yet....

Well. My lovely young daughter, who loves snow, says I'm crazy for living here. I'm retired now, we can move.

I don't know why we don't. Except to say that the 6 months it's nice here, it's really nice here. We have a great home, 5 acres with woods...
Where else can we afford to live like this?
Plus, there's Jess and family, my awesome Y cycle class, our cool new church, Awana....

I guess it sorta balances out, somehow.

But. At this stage of my life, I really must say, as politically incorrect as it may be, that

I HATE SNOW!

YOU GET THE POINT!!

Sunday Night Thoughts..

Seeing Joel the other day

left me with little desire to do a blog with not much to say.
Some things in life seem to take your breath away...

Still, life has to go on, we have to hang in there.

Today we watched a presentation in church for Christmas, something called "Letters at Christmas". It was put together by Steve and Sue Case a couple of years ago.
The first time it was presented, I couldn't really watch it. I had a part in the middle that had me back stage for the whole thing. So, today was the first time I really saw the play.
Nice. Really nice. Sue wrote most of the words, Steve put the music together, including a song about his family that moved a very tough guy to tears, and a profound change in his family relations.
What an amazing gift some people are blessed with, ya know? I've already admited my love for the work that the Cases have done in the past. . Their son Mike played bass in the band today, and daughter Abby was up on stage, acting. What a family! This was just one more example of how just a few folks can do God's work and genuinely touch souls, and change lives.

My daughter Jessica also has that ability. When we worked together, side by side leading worship, I never knew what she was going to say. But, I let her do most of the talking, because she has a real gift for it. Touching hearts herself. Using her life as a springboard to bring folks closer to the Lord.
And when she sang...man...
I used to like to say that her voice was like a crystal clear brook, running through my heart. Really. You have to hear her...One day I plan to put a CD together with her on it, then you'll see....duets with her were heaven on earth....

All these talented people, right here in our midst. So much beauty, gentle majesty, waves lapping over the most desolate shores of my mind, my heart.
Thank you, Lord, for letting us be close to these folks, who are so close to you.
May I always do my best to try to follow their sweet example...

YOU GET THE POINT!!

THERE HAVE BEEN

A LOT OF ARTICLES WRITTEN

about why bad things happen to good people. Every day we read about it, or hear about it, or, it happens to us.
Tragedy.
Sickness, death, robbery, assault, jobs lost, lives lost, or changed forever.

It has broken many folks down completely. I used to work with a guy who said that he stopped believing in God when his father died. He didn't elaborate, but I'll bet he prayed like crazy for God to heal his father, and when He didn't, my friend gave up. On God.
Wow.
When we give up on God, what are we really giving up?
Are we giving up control, and trying to do what's right, for God's sake?
Are we throwing in the towel, and saying that we need to live, NOW, for the moment, grab all the gusto you can, for tomorrow we die!
Are we giving up the idea that there might be a higher reason for our existence, that we're not simply animals with animal wants and needs?

Or, bottom line, are we giving up hope. Are we deciding that this is it, good or bad as it might be, so we better just make the best of it for ourselves.

Ourselves.

Aye, there's the rub. If there's no God, then maybe that's what this whole life is about.

Back to the question of why folks like the Namy's, people who've done no harm, and a whole lot of good, loving Christians all; why them?

My own life has been truly blessed. My wife and daughters have lived healthy lives, enriched by the Lord, and sustained daily by His grace. We have done nothing to deserve this grace, in fact in my own life I am gratefully mystified as to why the Lord has been so good to me. I am truly humbled by His love.

I do find, though, that in my lowest moments, when the world closes in on me, and I cannot run, or hide from myself, I fall into the arms of Jesus. It is in these times that I feel closest to my savior. My need for Him, for His grace and mercy, is deeply etched in my very bones.

A good friend of ours, Alaina Kulikowsky, once gave me words of wisdom that I have never forgotten. When I asked her why she and her husband Kevin stayed working for Young Life, a worthy but extremely difficult ministry, she explained that nothing else she ever experienced brought them closer to Jesus.

And maybe, the bottom line is, that's what this difficult, often painful life is all about.

Reaching out for a Savior that longs lovingly for that reaching.

Holding our arms out to God.

Do we get the point?

WHO ARE YOU...

WHO AM I?

Are we, as people, the sum of our parts?
or something more,

and something less..

Are we the best thing that we ever did
Or the worst
Or both?

Are we, as people, the sum of our thoughts,
our feelings, our desires
our fears, our hopes,
our words, our deeds,
our aspirations, expectations,
Attitudes, climbs,
Falls....

Or something more,
And something less?

Made in His image,
What are we to do when we,
As people,
Fail?

What would Jesus do?
He never failed.
In His human perfection, can we as people find hope?

When we rend and tear,
Or are torn asunder,
When love itself is crushed,
And we feel ourselves falling,
Helplessly,

Who are we then?

What correct action will define us in our sorrow,
What will be our hope,
What will end our pain?

Who are you?

Who am I?

FAVORITE CHRISTMAS SONG

WELL....

A few days ago, mw middle daughter Becky "tagged" me. She did that once before, and I thought my, err, unusual reaction to it had cured her of evr doing it again.
Guess not. Hmmmmm..

Anyways, this time it was really a pretty easy request. At least you'd think so.
She asked us to name our favorite Christmas song.
Now, how hard can that be??

Well..I've given it a lot of thought. probably way too much thought, actually! And, I have to answer on a few different levels.

When I was a kid, about twelve or so, I was a member of a Choir that sung at midnight mass each year. It was a surreal experience for a kid that age, being up so late, in a dark surrounded church, dressed in a red cassock and white surplus, a stiff tight starched collar...
We'd wait for what seemed like hours to go on, strangely hushed by the strange magic of the moment.
As we entered the church to sing, the priest would begin to come up the aisle, swinging an incense burner...then the music would start, gigantic organ tones, shivers up my spine..

From those nights, my favorite Christmas song would definitely be "Angels We Have Heard On High" which would always prove impossible for me to sing correctly. I always ran out of air during the "Gloria" part. Always.
Still, that song carried the magic of Christmas, straight to my heart.

Later, many years later, actually, another song would distinguish itself in my mind. For ever, I tried to get my wife, Deb, to join in some kind of christmas activity with the family. Singing activity, that is..
Y'see, Becky and Jess had sung with me for years, in church, and even at the Cazenovia Winter Festival. It was a lot of fun for us, and I always hoped Deb would be a part of it. Well, one year, and I can't even begin to tell you how, I talked her into singing on stage with me. We were to open up the show that year, and together we sang "Winter Wonderland". The crowd loved her, and that song earned a special place in my heart from then on.

"Ave Maria" has a deep beauty that never fails to move me.

Finally, on a most basic note, the song "Silent Night", being the prayer that it truly is, always makes me feel closer to God.

So, Bean, there you have it. I know I gave you a lot more than you asked for, but, that's what you get for tagging your old dad again.

Bet you won't do that again!!

YOU GET THE POINT!!

GOOD MONDAY TO YA...

I HOPE YOUR WEEKEND

Rocked!

A bit quiet up here on Walton's Mountain. Went to church yesterday...we're seeing more and more folks from our old church turning up. Lots of new seekers. Nice to greet old church neighbors. Hugs and stuff. I wonder how many will actually settle into Crossroads...

I still haven't done any up front stuff. We leave for florida in about 7 weeks, so it will probably have to wait until we get back in May. They have a pretty good bunch of praise leaders now, actually. The worship is really Spirit led. Very cool.
The christmas play is this Saturday night. They're doing a play that we did at Eastern Hills a couple of years ago. It should be pretty interesting watching someone else do the part I did back then. Kinda looking forward to it....sorta.
We still need prayers for Joel Namy. No word at all on his condition. I'll call today once more to see if Bitsy can fill me in on what's what.
We'll let you know, and thanks hugely for the prayers you're all giving.

Deb is doing Caz Cares today. Helping in the food kitchen, I think. She's a keeper, that one.

Well....nothing much exciting to report, so's I guess I'll sign off for now...

Chow!

YOU GET THE POINT!!

I LOVE MY DOGS!!

MAN....

As a firefighter, it used to really frustrate me when I saw the behavior of some of our constituents towards their animals. We have always had pets around here...dogs, cats, fish, birds, even a foul, mean tempered, finger-biting rabbit once....
But I never underestood why normally sane and sensible folks would ever go back into a burning house to rescue a pet.
A kid, yes..a spouse, maybe (hee hee), but a dog??
Please!

Yet...for the first time ever, I think I might be tempted to do the same thing.
We have 2 chocolate labs now. A 2 year old mama and her 8 month old little boy. Who now weighs in at 85 pounds, and is 2 inches taller than mom...they grow up so fast!!!

Anyways...

That little saying about a dog being man's best friend has a brand new meaning with these guys.
In the morning, when I reach the first floor, a little sleep woozy, and stumble into their little world, no matter what discipline I had to administer, no matter what small or large imperfection I displayed in all its glory, those 2 labs just love me to death. I sit on the floor, and they swarm around me, licking, rubbing, sitting on my lap...making me feel pretty darn loved.
I know that it's probably because they are hungry, and need to go outside, and want to be walked and catch a frisbee...I know they have their own agenda. But, first thing in the morning, when they are covering me with furry affection, it's easy to forget their needs, because they're totally fulfilling mine.
I love my family, hugely. There is, of course, no comparison to the feelings I have for the mutts with the love I have for my girls.
But, when no one else is home, when the whole world is busy with their whole world, it's really nice to be somebody else's whole world.

I love my dogs!


YOU GET THE POINT!!

FRIENDS FOREVER..

WHAT CONSTITUTES A FRIEND?

I ask this in earnest. The term seems to be as amorphous as the definition of Love, which has as many different meanings as there are people.

Is a friend a person who is always pleasant to be around? someone who always says hi, always seems to be glad to see you, and looks for ways to hang out with you?
Is it a group thing, this friendship, where there are group dynamics involved, leaders and followers, discreet rules of friendship to follow, invisible hierarchies present at all times, pecking orders....rare or common...

Tell me.

I'm not one to make "friends" easily, no matter the definition. Never have been, really, from my earliest memories. After endless hours of contemplating the reasons this might be, I kind of eventually gave up, thinking that easy friendships, whatever they were, were just not meant to be part of my life. Call it a personality issue, whatever, it's just me.

Which makes a friend, a true friend, especially precious to me, when he finally appears.

About a dozen years ago, my wife and I began a journey in a new church direction. Catholic for most of my life, I felt a real hunger the day I began my new relationship with Jesus Christ, on a night in September, 1990, at a Young Life camp at Saranac Lake. For the next few years we tried to make it work at St. James Catholic Church, but the hunger never abated.

Some years later, our daughters tried a new place out, Eastern Hills Bible Church, in Manlius, NY. Now, a "Bible Church" really wasn't what we were looking for, at least that's what I thought. But the kids were all lit up, especially about the exciting new music they were making during worship.
At the time, I had been involved in the guitar group at St. James, but the music we were putting out there was, well, just a little boring. At best. We've always loved worship, always been involved in some active way...So, new sounds sounded pretty good to me.
We tried Eastern Hills out one Sunday...and never loooked back! By that time, there were a few worship teams working. The sound was so fresh and exciting, that we were immediately home. In fact, I was so blown away by the quality of worship, that I was afraid to join them. I waited over a year, when the worship team leaders, the Cases, announced that some teams were leaving, and that there was a real need for new worship leaders to step up, before I approached Steve and Sue.
I think they maay have been a little hesitant to , well, trust me at first. Folks who know me sometimes wonder where I'm coming from...is this guy for real, or just a show off ham bone lookin' for a crowd...
Anyways, I apprenticed a year with the Cases before I was allowed to lead for the first time. It wasn't always easy. Until then I had pretty much gotten away with some fairly mediocre singing. Now the Cases were on my, err, case. When I missed a note, I heard about it. "Try to land on the note from above (you big dummy)" was an oft heard expression. And for me, spoiled up until then by people glad to get a warm body up there to sing, this came a little hard. Eventually, Steve told me that a few singing lessons from Sue wouldn't hurt. Hmmm...not you, I thought...ahhhhh....okay...maybe it would end the gap I felt between me and them. So, I tried it.
Sue started with total basics. Breathing, phrasing, posture, not forcing, easy on the tremolo, man....she hit it all. I, at age 42, began to learn to sing. Not easy to teach this old dog new tricks. But her enthusiasm was catchy, and her communication methods foolproof...she made me understand technical moves almost instinctually. The first thing I noticed was the loosening of my throat, a lessening of tension. I began to be able to sing whole sets without getting a sore throat...amazing, because this was always a problem for me. It took Sue one lesson to fix it. Wow...

Okay...too late to make a long story short, but this was the beginning of what became the finest friendship I have known. Through trial, error and eventual success, the Cases and I, and my daughter Jess became partners in Ministry. Over the years Jess and I were priveleged to experience, over and over again, the guidance and creativity of the amazing Cases. Between them, Steve and Sue must have written dozens of scripts, hundreds of songs...and kept over 60 musicians organized and in use.
But, most importantly, they never lost a heart for us. Never.

Things have changed for them. And for us. Eastern Hills opened a new, much larger Church a little over a year ago. The new building presented a new set of challenges. For us, it lost the feeling of home we felt the day we entered the old church so many years ago. The old hunger began anew..and brought us to a sister church in a new place...much smaller, more intimate, with a wonderful preacher and worship teams much like ours used to be...home again.
And, through God's amazing, mysterious ways, Steve and Sue Case are there, in the new church, beginning the amazing work that they do so well...
I had lunch with Steve yesterday. Before we left, we prayed together, and I thanked God...for the work being done in Steve and Sue's lives, for the awesome way He has lifted them up, saw Steve ordained Minister, and especially for the amazing, enduring friendship that he has blessed us with.

Rare indeed.

YOU GET THE POINT!!

THE TREE

HERE 'TIS IN ALL IT'S GLORY

WHOOP DE DOO!

HOLY SNOLY....

WE GOT A STINKIN' FOOT

Of the white stuff out there today....man....
It took me over an hour to clear it out and they're predicting more with high speed winds and extreme cold and it's just December 4th and I think that last year we hadn't had this much snow by February when we decided to not go to Texas and then the snow started and we got over 100 inches in 6 weeks so we're convinced that we're snow gods because this year we're going south not to Texas but to Florida and Georgia instead because gas is stinkin' double what it cost just a year and a half ago so who can afford to go all the way to Texas now tell me who not us for sure so I think God is making sure we get our 100 inches before we go because He somehow thinks we LIKE IT which Deb does but I DON'T so maybe we do pay just a little for past sins and maybe present and future ones oh I don't know really but sometimes it sure feels like it anyways where was I oh yeah the weather oh well at least the house is warm even though heating oil is at an all time high at over THREE DOLLARS A GALLON who can believe that when we decided to go with oil instead of propane or electric about 8 years ago it was about a buck yes one buck a gallon and now it costs a THOUSAND BUCKS to fill our tank my God we'll have to freeze to eat this year and hey has everyone gotten their rebate from the state yet we applied on the very first day about 4 freakin' months ago and still have no check probably won't even have it by the time we're stinkin' gone nice work Spitzer oh well maybe it's just as well we'd probably just blow it on Christmas as opposed to Xmas presents hey if I ever offend anyone with my blogging drivel please forgive me I mean no harm and will cut a blog rather than keep an offense so please let me know if we say the wrong things even in a comment we mean no harm we're just politically incorrect and just plain dumb sometimes okay that's it for now I'm outta here...

YOU GET THE POINT!!