Saturday (Almost!) Shout Outs!

Whoop whoop! Welcome to another edition of the Saturday Shout Outs! Yes- I know it's Sunday, but that is a detail you will just have to get over! My name is Carl, and for the next 9 bullet points I will be your guide through exciting adventures, prayer requests and random ramblings on this lovely Sunday morning. So strap in and hold on tight- and let's get this show on the road!!!

• Marilyn & I had to bid a fond farewell this week to the computer that had been the home of this blog since August of 2009. The new model is all loaded up and ready to rumble. And it is so stinking fast!!! We also have a new washing machine which seems really slow. The ups and downs of new technology, huh?
• My dear friend Teresa Reep Tysinger has not been feeling well and the doctors are still trying to determine the "why?" Please keep her in your prayers. And if you know Teresa, please let her know that Matilda is a fine name for her new car!
• To all of my friends in faith who insist on using Old Testament scripture to proof-text your own beliefs, here are a couple of things to remember. First of all, if you are going to hold to OT law then you need to give up shellfish and pork, straighten the tassels on your robes and find some unsuspecting lamb to sacrifice. Either Jesus changed everything or he did not change anything. Scripture is not a collection of short stories, it is a continuous narrative. The revelations of the living God did not end with the canon of scripture; God is alive and working today. And if Jesus didn't change everything, if we are under law and not grace, then there is no Good News. Thus endeth today's sermon.
• My friends Jun & Jennifer (Bob) Kuramochi have been living through a rough week over which they have no control. Keep them and their church in your prayers.
• Lisa Kraus Spires and Sara Thacker Reiter celebrated birthdays yesterday, and I hope both had a marvelous day! Insert your own "Craft Nazis" joke here!
• Last weekend the sadly misguided folks from Westboro Baptist Church came to Orlando to protest the funerals of some of the people murdered in the Orlando shootings. You may have seen on the news that they were met with a peaceful intervention by a group of citizens dressed an angels who stayed between the WBC group and the families of the victims. It was an incredible display of meeting hatred with love. What you may not know is that one of the organizing angels was Colleen Martin Hooks, a member of my Youth Group Hall of Fame. She (and her mom Cindy) was already one of my favorite people. Now she is my hero. Thank you Colleen for reminding us all that we can make a difference.
• Max Rees, who was Senior Pastor during the years I served Springfield Friends Meeting, would have been 88 years old yesterday. I think of him often, and of his children and grandchildren even more frequently. It was an honor to spend 8 years as a part of that amazing family.
• Will & Michelle rode both the new version of Soarin' and the new Frozen Ever After attractions at EPCOT on Friday. They give them both 4 thumbs way up- and that is saying something, because Will REALLY wanted to hate that Frozen ride!!!
• We hope you all are having a great summer! If you are among the bazillions coming to central Florida in the next couple of months, let us know. We'd love to see you!

That seems like a good place to quit. By the way- there are gators in Florida. Our state university mascot is the Gator. We have a road called Alligator Alley. We have a theme park called Gatorland. This is not new information. My mom and dad used to have gators who would sun themselves on their driveway. Respect the gator, but don't let recent events scare you. They have always been here. It was their state first! Take care, be excellent to each other, and let's get together again soon!

Because of Jesus,

I Am Not

When Moses asked God who he should say sent him to save the people of Abraham, God responded "tell them I AM sent you. Yahweh is the "I AM," the God who was and is and is to come; the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I am none of those things, and neither are you. We are but tiny parts of God's plan, like so many before us and so many around us. When John the Baptist was asked if he was the promised Messiah, he replied, "I am NOT...but there is one who will come and reveal everything God has promised." We, like Moses and John and Peter and so many other giants of our faith, are NOT. But we know the great "I AM." As you worship today, be WIDE OPEN to the fact that God is God...and you are NOT. Open your hearts that God might use you so His will can be accomplished on this earth. Submit yourself so that Jesus might have His way with you and that you might quit trying to have your way with Him. Only then can His light shine its brightest. Only then can Jesus truly be the hope of the world.  A sign I used to have up in my office said The Main thing is to keep the Main Thing the Main thing! I pray this prayer today in the hope that it will keep me focused on the things that truly matter.  I hope you will pray along...

Loving God, today I turn my life over to You. My skills, my failures, my sin and my joys all belong to You. I recognize that my life is not about me, but it is all about You. I realize that I sometimes like to play god, but that I am NOT..You ARE! Help me to understand that Jesus did not die on the cross so I could accomplish some political agenda or achieve some lofty position on this earth. Jesus died for my sins, because I am a sinner. Jesus gives me grace so that I might offer love and forgiveness to others, especially to the "least of these brothers of mine" who are in need and to the lost who think themselves to be beyond His grace. In the words of King David, himself a sinner of great magnitude, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit with in me, so that I might serve You." Use me, and I will give you the glory. Remind me today that I am NOT...but I know I AM, and that when I serve You we can offer hope to a hurting world.

In the name of the great I AM,
Amen

A Very Special Day

Today, my wife Marilyn and I celebrate 29 years of marriage. We have shared life's highs & lows, twists & turns and joys & sorrows- and we have survived with love. This is another milestone for us along life's highway, and it is a road that I am honored to travel with her. Today is a special day. Happy anniversary, sweetie!

One of the best parts of our life over the past few years has been how much of it we have been blessed to share with Lisa Jewett (pictured above with Marilyn). Tomorrow, Lisa faces surgery for ovarian cancer. While scary, it is also another reason that this day is very special. Today, we all become prayer warriors for her. It is Prayers For Lisa Day! Marilyn and I ask that you honor our anniversary by praying for our dear friend. Pray for her family. Pray for the surgeons and the other medical professionals at the Moffitt Cancer Center. Pray that tomorrow will be the beginning of the end of her disease. If you know Lisa, contact her and let her know you are praying, because your prayers matter to her. If you don't know her, pray anyway- and feel free to leave her a note in the comment section of this blog. Together with God, we all make up Team Lisa. And together, we can do this.

Not every guy is blessed to be able to celebrate two such amazing women on one special day. But today is that day, and I am that guy. I love them both and am blessed by them both. Today is a special day indeed. Celebrate with us!

Because of Jesus,