upward & inward

…Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:12b-13 Merry Christmas! What do you want to accomplish this Christmas? Give the right gifts? Get the right gifts?   Just make it through the season? Here’s an idea! Let’s just be different this year.     How different?   Consider the quality of… Compassion.   Let’s open our eyes and ears to those struggling among us.   By helping in whatever way we can, we show… Kindness: putting others’ needs ahead of our own. Whether in listening more closely, smiling more often, or providing warm meals, kindness requires us to seek… Humility. There is so much of “self” in the world, “self-serve” has a whole new meaning! And, when we’re humble, we show… Gentleness: “Power under control”. Speaking words that lift up, not tear d...

Merry Christmas! For those uncomfortable with that greeting, maybe you prefer...   Happy Holidays! Either one works for me.   Why? When someone says “Merry Christmas”, it’s as if she says,   “I'm celebrating the birth of Christ! I hope that your celebration is merry!” When someone says “Happy Holidays”, it’s as if he says, “I'm celebrating the Holidays! I hope that your celebration is happy!” Essentially, I believe these phrases are one and the same. Why? What’s a holiday? It is a Holy-Day .   A Holy-Day is a Day set apart for Divine (that is, Godly) purposes. In these Holy Days, we celebrate the first arrival of the Christ – the Son of God. The plans for this arrival began at the very beginning.   After creating the world, God simply wanted to have a relationship with His creation: with you and with me – with the whole world.   He s till does. And although that plan was interrupted by the rebellion of those cre...

Today is the day which has been set aside by our nation to give thanks.  Organized declarations of thanksgiving have been a part of cultures for thousands of years.  So, we gather to give thanks to God, not to celebrate a simple pilgrim meal that happened long ago.  Although not the first leader to do so, Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, made a proclamation of Thanksgiving in 1863.  After describing the "bounties" of harvest, new frontiers, and natural resources of a country still struggling in a time of war, the President goes on to say, [These] are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who ...

Across from me hangs a uniform coat wore by my grandfather in World War I and now displayed in my office. It's hard to believe that it has been 100 years since the beginning of "The Great War" as it was called then.  More difficult to comprehend is the incredible loss of life that was the result for both sides of the conflict . Dead:                  8,556,315 Wounded:         21,219,452      POW/Missing:     7,750,945 Even after entering the conflict toward its end, the US lost over 120,000 lives, wounding nearly twice that number. Why do I bring this up?  In the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month in 1918, the Armistice Treaty was finally signed, signaling the cessation of hostilities between the Central Powers (Germany, etc.) and the Allied Powers (France, Russia, Britain, US, etc.)....

After a 35 hour trip (from the missionaries' compound to the church parking lot in East Canton), we returned safely from Uganda. Or, did we? Although we Americans typically prefer avoiding risk, no mission trip is without it.  Sure, going to the grocery store includes risk, doesn't it?  But, traveling thousands of miles in the air, and bumping up and down along nearly a thousand miles of really bad roads, that's pretty risky. Serving in a country that has less than adequate water treatment and availability, that's pretty risky. Visiting the homes of real people with HIV, that's pretty risky. Walking around the slums of Kampala, past young men high from opium as they make make fun of the 'mzungus' (white people), that felt pretty risky. However, do you realize the risk we didn't take?  We did not risk Ebola. There is no Ebola outbreak in Uganda. The outbreak that is ravaging West Africa is thousands of miles away from our friends in Uganda...

( Continued from Part 1 ) So, we know we are supposed to go to the ends of the earth and for us, this means, Uganda. But, why go now? Why take the risk? This trip has been planned for nearly a year.  And, we believe, that God knew ahead of time that there would be this uncertainty around us - Ebola, ISIS, and so on.  Yet, His call did not waver.  In fact, many if not all of the team members can relate consistent experiences which confirmed God's direction and provision to go. Still, given all that is swirling around us, is it unwise? Let's consider the facts.   The media seem to be in full speculation mode.  This was heavy before we left (Oct. 3) and probably worse now. The facts, as I understand them, are: a) It is NOT easy to get Ebola. To contract it, one must have contact with bodily fluids - blood, stool, saliva, vomit, and urine.  It was never in our mission plan to have contact with such fluids and, given the circumstances, we have b...

Our recent sojourn in this beautiful land is almost complete.  We have traveled quite a bit - probably over 700 miles across the Northern portion of Uganda - through Lira, Gulu, Moyo, Arua, Nebbi, Murchison Falls Park, and back again to Kampala.  We have witnessed the beauty in what Churchill coined as "The Pearl of Africa."  The team has been tried, tested, blessed, and comforted as they encouraged and comforted others. Many asked before we went and may ask again upon our return: why go to Uganda?  With all the craziness of viral outbreaks, terrorism, and so much more, why take the risk?  Let's begin with a command.  Just before Christ ascended to heaven, He gave this command to His disciples: "And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) For the modern-day church, I believe that this command applies to us as we look...