Couldn't think of a better title but feel obligated to have one since the empty box is there waiting.

I don't really remember where I left off last time and don't really care to go back and read it so I will "wing" it, so to speak.

Life has been fairly routine (or some might say boring) but I usually like it that way.  I spent about three weeks out of town before and after Thanksgiving working and while there caught a cold.  After the cold went away I still didn't seem to feel all that well.  About two weeks before Christmas I had a terrible pain across my gut right below my rib cage.  I sat up quite a while that night before I was able to finally fall asleep.  I felt okay the next morning though iw as glad I had taken the day off as I couldn't have gotten up at 5:00AM to go to work.  Anyways, the Monday night/Tuesday morning before Christmas I again had the pain and there was no sleeping that night.  Very early in the morning I asked my wife to take me to the emergency room as I couldn't stand the pain anymore (even though I prayed and prayed for it to go away but that's another story).  At the hospital I was taken right in and spent most of the day, until sometime late in the afternoon, laying in the emergency room and being taken for tests.  Turns out I had a seriously diseased gall bladder and they told me I wasn't leaving until it was removed.  I had surgery in late afternoon and was taken to my room sometime around 5:30 - 6:00PM.  I can't remember the exact time as the pain killers were really good!  To make a long story short, I was released and home by 5:30PM the next day.

So I did not get much visiting done this Christmas and spent a lot of time sleeping on the couch and watching TV. I had scheduled time off until after New Year's so I didn't have to return to work in the 3-7 day time span the Doctor gave me.  I doubt that I could have.  I feel pretty good right noew but am still feeling some of the effects of my body taking healing.  The worst thing for me is to try and drive too far as it makes my side hurt for some reason.  I will need to drive about 125 miles (one way) towards the end of February while I do a couple of more weeks of work at one of our field sites. 

So, that's my only memorable news to update on here.  If you do Facebook, I occasionally update there though not anything as long as this!

Oh wait, I did get a new phone: an Eris Droid smart phone which I really like and don't know how I lived without it.

Be Blessed - Dale

I am still around and need to do an update here one of these days.  I've connected with a couple of you on Facebook but that forum doesn't really seem to allow for the types of updates we have done here.  Take care and Be Blessed! 

 Not sure how I ended up here but, as always, I am way overdue for an update.

I was at Patrick's site and he had some poetry that stated "Will I see the man of God I someday hope to be" which got me to thinking just who is the man of God I someday hope to see?  Just as I asked last time "Where is all the Godly Spirit-Filled teaching?" I find it hard at times to figure out just what we are aiming for in trying to conform to God's image of us.  Are we really trying to be the men and women God wants us to be or are we trying to conform to some image that "Godly" Bible teachers have convinced us is what God wants?  The longer I walk this Christian walk the more I think I am seeing that alot of what has been passed off as God's desires are really just man's interpretation filtered through the eyes of worldy people and/or traditions that no one evens remembers from whence they came. 

I, for one, think that we need to spend alot of time studying the Bible and communing with God (being led by the Spirit) by I also think that there are those who are deceiving themselves because they think they are digging deeper when all they are doing is complicating something God never intended to be complicated.  Makes me think there are alot of us still trying to eat from the Tree of Knowledge rather than from the Tree of Life.  Anyways it makes for some interesting, and sometimes angry on my part, discussion with my Christian friends and Pastor. 

Work has been moving along at a quick and busy pace but, by the grace of God, I have been able to accomplish most of it and get it right.  I am sometimes so far behind on getting everything in order for the repair crews to start that it looks like it will be impossible to get done, but things always seem to fall into place and work out for the best.  God Is Good!!  I still have several jobs coming up to complete this fiscal year which ends September 30th.

We are still traveling to Erie the first Saturday of every month to vist my Pastor friend and help him at his monthly coffeehouse. It is always a great time which usually starts out with us having way too much to eat at the local O'Charley's restaurant, checking into the hotel, then traveling to the church for practice then the coffeehouse.  Afterwards we usually have a small meal at the church (provided by them) then back to the hotel for the night.  Sunday morning we check out, travel to the church for morning service, then head back home.  The pace is a bit hectic and we don't get to do much else, but you can only squeeze so much into a weekend.  In July the first Saturday is the 4th so we are moving the coffeehouse to the 11th.  Kathy and I are off between the 4th and the 11th so we will go up at least one day early so we can just wander around a bit.

Kathy and I took a trip to Mentor, Ohio a few weeks back.  We left on Tuesday and were to return on Thursday but decided to take a quick trip to Columbus from which we returned on Friday.  It was another one of our trips to visit the Half-Price Books stores in the Cleveland and Columbus areas.  We always return with a bunch of cheap books and CDs and always find items that are different from what we can find at the local Half-Price Books stores.

Well that seems to be about it for now.

Be Blessed!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Its been way too long but no excuses, you already know that!

Some random, off the cuff, thoughts:

Through an unrelated web search I ended up at Patrick's site and enjoyed reading some of his poetry which is always enjoyable and inspiring.  Anyways, that got me here and I decided I needed to update, if not for your edification at least for my reading pleasure in the future.

As I've alluded to in the past I work for the Army Corps of Engineers as a Project Engineer with our maintenance people, though my title is actually Electrical Engineer.  Every year (Oct. - Sept.) starts out looking like there won't be much work but always ends up with at least enough to keep me relatively busy.  Through some quirk of fate this year has proven to be almost overwhelming and I have had as many as three crews out working at the dams at our lakes at one time as well as trying to plan for two or three other upcoming jobs.  I sometimes feel quite inadequate to be doing this work let alone this much but God is always there to pick me up and bless me with some co-operative fellow Engineers as well as work crews.  I actually have to pinch myself sometimes to remind myself that this is all real as I doubt I could find a better job to suit my preferences for work.  My boss works in the city while my office is at a field site, which is a bonus, but recently I've been spending nearly all my time in the field with the work crews so I actually get paid to go out to places that others visit!  God is Good!

(I suddenly have writer's block....)

Church you ask?  I'm still not sure about our Saturday night service but I'm hanging in there hoping that even if I don't appreciate it I might be able to at least add something to it by leading worship.  Prior to this church I always lead worship alone with my guitar and for a while with a piano accompaniest but arriving at the place we worship now I was suddenly thrust into a quite good worship band as an acoustic guitar player.  Over the years this band has all disappeared leaving me all alone again with my guitar.  So I went from not wanting to be in a worship band, to being in a great one, to being alone again.  This isn't so much a problem to me but the ups and down of it all can get confusing.   The service also went from a gathering of about 150 people in the sanctuary to a coffeehouse gathering of about 12-15 people in the church social hall.  That's kind of confusing also as the kind of service we had in the sanctuary that dried up is now all the rage at many other churches in the area.  God's doing or man's undoing?

That is a good segue into wondering why do we, as people, seem to hang around when all seems well with our situation but pack up and leave when things don't seem all that well?  Do we fail with the things we attempt to do for God because we can't last through the testing that always comes to affirm our faith and abilities?

The monthly coffeehouse we've been doing in Erie has seemed to peak already with about 15-20 people also, with about 5-7 of them being us people whom travel there from here.  I enjoy going just to spend time with my great friend, the Pastor there, and get to worship through song with him, but I often wonder why somethings just seem to take off while others fall flat.  God's doing or man's undoing?

Maybe being unsatisfied with our Church situation is God's way of getting some of us to pay attention and start to seek Him more...

Where is all the Godly Spirit-Filled teaching?

Well I have other things to opine on but do not wish to write the great American novel tonight so I will close!

Be Blessed!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

 I really miss my relationships here and wish I could be more disciplined to post on a more regular basis.  I will get back here soon for an update (if anyone any longer cares )!

2:42 Coffee House at Lawrence Park UMC (Erie, PA) this Saturday at 6:00PM!!

I can't believe I haven't posted here since March but lots has been happening and it has been easy to overlook this as well as lots of other things.

The Associate Pastor left at the end of June to lead a church in Erie, PA which is about 100 miles from where I am.  I took leave of the Saturday Night service at out church for the months of July and August and returned on September 13th to again lead worship.  The Senior Pastor has taken over the leadership of the coffeehouse but it just isn't the same as he doesn't have the same gift of gab that made the Associate so successful in the discussion-type setting.  The Senior Pastor is more laid back and feels more comfortable just teaching, which is something I can get in most any church I'd walk into and is nothing special to attract those who are looking for something different and not finding it at their present place of worship.  I sometimes wonder how long I will continue there but that is in God's hands.

The church in Erie has now started a monthly coffeehouse and I was up the first Saturday of this month to participate in making that happen.  The Pastor there (our former Associate) is trying to find some musicians to help him out but in the meantime I will travel there to assist him by backing him up with singing and playing guitar.  I must say the feeling there was quite exciting as 42 enthusiastic people showed up compared to the dozen of so we get at our church on Saturday.  Someone in attendance said he'd never heard them sing so loud.  If you live near Erie and want to attend, send me an email for directions.

Work has been very busy and I spent most of the month of July out of town (in Saint Marys, PA) working at one of our field sites.  August was almost as busy with a few nights away and September has been moving right along as we have to wrap up our work for this fiscal year which ends September 30th.  The new year has lots for me to do and lots to get ready for right out of the gates so I will continue to be very busy with work, which is good.

Kathy and I were able to get away for a few days over the holiday weekend.  We went to Columbus Ohio on that Saturday and stayed at the Marriott at Easton Town Center for three nights.  We did some shopping and lots of eating at Easton, visited the Columbus Zoo, and shopped at the 5 Half-Price Books in the Columbus area.  We got lots of cheap books and CDs, though most of the CDs I already owned so I gave them to the my Pastor buddy in Erie.  We came home on Tuesday and took care of a few things around the house then went on the trip to Erie the following Saturday and Sunday for the coffeehouse.  Someday we might take a real vacation but we seem to enjoy just getting away for a weekend once in a while.

Well that is the last 6 months in a nutshell.  I pray all of you are doing well and I speak many blessings over you!

Be Blessed!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

I had a follow-up post to my last just about ready to put up but visiting a few sites I used to visit that aren't active anymore I came across these two items that really speak a lot to me and my present mindset: (well said Revelator)

"I believe that today, but of its lukewarmness and formality, the Christian church is making more infidels than all the books that infidels ever wrote. I do not fear infidel lectures half so much as the cold and dead formalism in the professing church at the present time. - D.L. Moody"

"I've been on one of my infrequent visits to Xanga tonight and ended up just looking through "Christian" blogrings.  I can only say that the wide range of attitudes and/or freedoms expressed by those who write here is most likely the same as any random cross-section of purported Christians in this country and I can start to realize just why the unsaved are confused about Christ's followers and why they should want to be a part of it.  I guess my most vivid impression is that legalism is alive and well in the church and rather than following Jesus, His people would rather be bound by the chains of stiff rules and regulations, the do's and don'ts that guide us, rather than trusting in God and following His Spirit.  Why are the manmade (actually God inspired but warped by our poor perception of just Who God is, filtered through our comparing Him with ourselves) rules easier to believe in than the Creator of the universe.  Let's face it, we are the people of Romans who choose to worship the created rather than the Creator.  We are the Israelites who despite God's warning demand a human king, who spend aimless years wandering around in the desert because we'd rather whine and complain about everything that doesn't go our way when God's way is surely the superior to our's and would be infinitely better for us.  Let's face it, we are the very people we despise and while we are caught up playing the game of Christianity, people are heading down a one way road to hell because we want our own way at the expense of doing the will of the very God/man Who put down His very life that we might not be condemned to an eternity separated from Him, but have eternal life in His presence.  Why can't we get it?"

Be Blessed!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Terri (quiltnmomi) brought up a thought in her comment to my last post that I had in mind when I wrote it, but decided not to elaborate on.  Today as I read an old blog at another site I used to maintain (dalereis) I came across the following which does elaborate on her statement: "- all who are called to his service are ordained to minister "

Monday, May 30, 2005

I was putting together last Saturday’s set list and kept thinking of the verse that states “God finds pleasure in the praises of His people” (that may not be a literal rendering of the verse, but you get the idea).   I don’t often say a lot while leading worship but decided to do a Bible Gateway search on “pleasure’ to see if I could locate that verse.  While searching I came across this verse that set off some memories of things learned in the past:

Haggai 1:7-9 (NIV) 

    ⁷ This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. ⁸ Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. ⁹ "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.

The literal thought here is that God’s people were expecting a lot for themselves but had neglected to rebuild God’s house, which had been destroyed.  This also sounds a whole lot like today’s church which we will expand on as we study a couple of more verses.

2 Samuel 7:11 (KJV)

  ¹¹And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house.

The literal thought here is that David was discouraged that he had not been able to establish a permanent “house” for God which would be grand and honor Him with a place for the Ark to be permanently kept and honored through the ritual sacrifices.

As an aside, David was the one whom went and brought back the Ark, which represented God’s presence, after their enemies had taken it into captivity.  While the Ark was gone, the Tabernacle of Moses was still being used as the main center of worship with the priests going through the system of sacrifices commanded by God, but with the notable absence of God’s presence.  When David brought back the Ark, he set up a separate tent and placed the Ark there and invited any who wanted to worship to come to the tent to do so.  This was noticeable difference in attitude from the original system of only God’s priests being allowed into His presence, and David inviting all to come.  I’ll add that while this was going on, the priests were still going through the motions of religious sacrifices in the absence of the presence.  Can you see the parallel to the modern church and also note the uniqueness of David’s attitude?

This reveals even more reasons why he was known as a man after God’s own heart and was the man God chose to begin the lineage of His own Son.  That is why, in this verse, God says that He will make David a house.  He was to be the forefather of the Son of God Himself and of the family we have been adopted into when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior. We see this thought carried over into the next verse:

1 Peter 2:4-9 (NIV)

    ⁴As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

    ⁶For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him  will never be put to shame." ⁷Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,  "The stone the builders rejected  has become the capstone," ⁸and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

    ⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Jesus Christ, the stone the early religious leaders rejected, has been laid as the corner stone for God’s house, just as God promised David.  We, those who have accepted our place in God’s kingdom, have now been placed as living stones to be a part of that house with Him.  He has also made us priests and kings, as David was, to offer up acceptable sacrifices to Him.  While acceptable sacrifices covers a lot of ground, it starts here with “declaring the praises of Him.” 

So, think about this when you gather together in His name to worship Him.  Don’t be among those who would be concerned with their own tastes in music or their own brand of theology and be looking for what you can get out of the worship service because, as Haggai suggests, God will “blow it away.”    Rather, be concerned with what you can do to participate in bringing God honor and glory and in building Him a “house” which all starts with “declaring His praises.” 

Be Blessed!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Thanks for all the great comments! 

Check out http://www.xanga.com/inhisservice2day and be sure to ask where he is standing in that picture.

In response to a comment/question, I am not a Pastor.  If I had to catagorize myself I would say I am a Worship Leader though I am not sure that "term" actually means what we think it might mean.  In my last post I was refering to the Associate Pastor at our church (Rich) with whom we have had a close relationship.  We plan the services together and sing together to lead worship at our coffee house service on Saturday nights.

Be Blessed!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!

Had a few minutes to sit in front of the computer and decided to roam around a bit and leave an occasional comment.  I've been so negligent in keeping up for so many months, or out of the loop so to speak,  I find it hard to understand where everyone is in their lives now.  I need to get on here more often!

My Associate Pastor has signed up for xanga at http://www.xanga.com/inhisservice2day.  Maybe you could go there and encourage him to share something with us!!  He has found out where his next assignment will be and seems pleased. 

Not a lot of new things to say at the moment, will be back with something soon!

Be Blessed!

God IS Good!

Go Ahead: Say It! Believe It! Confess It!

You're Invited!!