You are currently browsing the monthly archive for March, 2008.
Each Monday I take one of the children out for breakfast at a local greasy spoon. When Caleb and I go for breakfast once a month (yet another advantage to home schooling), the young lad and I love going to the Sportland Café. Sportland has (far and away) the best Fried Steak and Eggs in the lakes area. We like to get it with biscuits and an extra side of sausage grave. It may be the death of me but I will die with a smile.
Each month we play chess as we eat.
Today was a little rough…he spanked me the first game. Caleb handily anticipated each strike. Thinking several moves ahead, he thwarted my every move. I was forced to reach down deep after that humiliating defeat. But in the end I showed him a thing or two about the game and was able to pull out the best two out of three.
This image of Christ had been floating around the Internet for awhile. Apparently, it’s “all done with a single stroke of the pen”. It is actually one of many drawings in a penmanship instructional text called “Real Pen Work 1881″.
Originally sold for one dollar, Real Pen Work boasts that it is “The greatest means ever known for learning to write in an elegant hand.”
Hudson Maxim, an inventor and entrepreneur, and Alden Knowles, and expert penman, set out by trial and error to sell their ink and instructions for elegant writing styles and ornamental pen work. The fascinating history of their friendship and business relationship is recorded in the foreword of this book.
Real Pen Work 1881 was designed to be self-taught, and it states that by following the simple instructions, even those for whom handwriting does not come natural should be able to write in a beautiful hand in an incredibly short time. In fact, it says, “There is no more doubt about it than that the sun rises and sets.”
Beginning with “How to Sit at the Desk” and “How to Hold the Pen,” the authors stress the importance of correct posture. Following are scales for slants, analysis of capital and small letters, sample alphabets, and Spencerian scripts. The authors also share the “secret” of the tracing process. There are rich examples of flourished birds and ornamental pen-work throughout.
More drawings and actual scans from the book itself can be found here:
http://www.iampeth.com/books/real_penwork/real_pen_work_index.html
In an article, “How To Buy Happiness” it is discovered that generosity can lead to happiness, saying:
“Bad news for the luxury goods market: Spending money on tchochkes doesn’t make you happier, but giving money away just might…giving away money seemed to nudge many people up the happiness scale, increasing the number of people who said that they were happy “most of the time” rather than just “some of the time,” Dunn reports.”
I can only take 14…If you can’t take at least 15 you better stick to working as an usher on Sundays!
Last night I hung out with our youth group. There was a guest band, seven adults and about 35 teens. Our Youth Pastor, Aaron Sutton has been building into the lives of our youth and his team of leaders for the past nine months.
It was great to just be with them and I was struck that one of his passions is being realized in the hearts of the youth. I sat in the back and watched as the group entered into worship. They were passionate as they sang. It wasn’t contrived or forced but had a very sweet spirit to it. The youth are learning the value of lifting Jesus high and I could sense their growing affection for the Lord.
In January while on family vacation Elizabeth and I started something new, we began praying together every morning before we start the day. I have often encouraged other couples to start their day on their knees with one another. It has long been a “do as I say not as I do” kind of thing. That hasn’t bothered me to much because I really believed that it was a good idea. I also always thought I would eventually start doing it myself. But, year after year, it was just something that was easier not to do.
So much of life is like that. It isn’t so much that beginning every day praying with my wife was hard to do, it is just easy to put off, postpone or avoid for the tyranny of the urgent.
They say it takes about thirty days to develop a habit. Now that we have begun developing a pattern that is working, I feel more comfortable saying out loud how awesome it has been.
These past eight weeks have been incredible. I feel closer to Elizabeth and better about our shared spiritual journey than I ever have. I also seem to have sharpness to my daily walk that is hard to explain. I love that we are growing closer to God and closer to each other. 2008 is going to be a great year!
Come join the revolution this EASTER at TJN and discover the powerful, life-changing teachings of Jesus Christ, the original revolutionary! Be a part of this study at The Journey North as we learn what it means to follow a 1st century Jewish Rabbi in a 21st century world. In 
these next few weeks we will be looking at Jesus’ rich teachings of the Beatitudes and see what it means to be a peacemaker, be pure, be merciful, be hungry, be influential, be sorrowful, and be happy.
HERE’S PERMISSION:
THIS IS WHAT I’M WEARING TO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY.
I got another email urging me to enter my cell phone to the “do not call” registry. In this case it is a rumor but still may be a smart thing to do. The caution may look something like this:
Reminder that in one week (2/20/08), all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls.
……YOU WILL BE CHARGED FOR THESE CALLS
To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222.
It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time….it blocks your number for five (5) years.
You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.
Over my time in ministry I have seen a number of moral failures. More often than not, I have watched from a distance, not knowing them personally. I have watched as these “Men of God” have been reviled as having affairs that have wrecked their families, cost them huge credibility and done tremendous harm to the churches they have served and to the body of Christ as a whole.
A number of years ago one of my closest ministry partners was found to have been having a year long affair with a ministry assistant. I was crushed, perplexed and embarrassed. I couldn’t believe that it was happening right under my nose and I didn’t see it. The moment it was brought to light, I knew it was true. All sorts of “little things” started to make sense.
I’ll never forget what my friend said to me the day I helped him carry boxes from his office out to the car, “This can happen to anyone”. I don’t know and haven’t known what to think about that statement. I do know that for the past eight years it has rang in my head as a sobering thought.
This past week a fellow church planter - a dude I have respected from a distance (I’ve known him from blogging, emailing and through a pastors forum) left his wife, two children and his thriving California church for another woman. The thought of his moral failure just kind of wrecks me.
I tossed and turned all night thinking of his wife and kids, the people of his church and the pain they are in. And even as my heart aches for them I find my concern selfishly coming back to my home and The Journey North.
One thing I know that I know that I know, my love for God and my passion and affection for my family should keep me from sin like this. BUT…should is a dangerous word.
Last night as we went to bed I pledged to my wife that today I will remain faithful. Like an alcoholic, it is important for all of us to work at managing this day that God has given us. I don’t want to live in the past (where my mistakes and sin haunt me) and I don’t want to presume on tomorrow. Today, I will seek to love the Lord my God with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind…and I will strive to love my neighbor as I would liked to be loved.
To my fallen comrade - my whole heart is with you and my prayer is that God will deal with you quickly and justly. To his family and to his church – I hurt with you and am in prayer before the Father for you.
The making of the song:
We want to point people to God’
New church sprouting in fertile Brainerd lakes area
By HEIDI LAKE
Staff Writer
The Brainerd lakes area seems to be fertile ground for planting churches.
The latest sprout to pop up is Pointway Church, a branch of the Christian and Missionary Alliance’s northwestern district.
Steve Erickson, church planter and Pointway’s pastor, said the northwestern district of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, which covers Minnesota and parts of North Dakota and South Dakota, decided to plant a church in Brainerd/Baxter because of the area’s booming population. He said projected growth for the Brainerd area in the next few years is why it seems to be a popular place for churches to put down roots.
“It’s a healthy, growing community,” Erickson said. “When you look at the growth … we’ll need a number of new churches in this area.”
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In the last 10 years, Erickson said 20 Christian and Missionary Alliance churches have popped up in the northwestern district. In 1999, Erickson helped start his first church, Common Ground Church in Lake Elmo. In 2006, he was part of another church plant in Duluth.
“Then the Lord made it clear he wanted me to plant another church,” Erickson said.
Erickson, 37, his wife Anne and son Asher moved to Brainerd in November.
“I’ve always saw myself as more of a city guy, but the sense of community is important to me. We’re longing for a closer-knit community,” he said.
Erickson calls himself a “pioneer planter” - he’s building a church from the ground level. His first duty: Find a core group of about 10 families to join him in starting the church. Two families are on board and Erickson constantly recruits.
With the help of Mark Bjorlo, pastor of The Journey North Community Church, Erickson and Pointway are progressing. Erickson presented Pointway’s vision - to transform lives by pointing people to God - at a recent Journey North church service and Bjorlo encouraged members of his congregation to consider joining forces with Erickson in starting the new church.
“The philosophy of The Journey North is to not be concerned about expanding individual churches,” Bjorlo said, explaining the bigger picture as he sees it. “Our bigger passion is for seeing (all) churches succeed, rather than (just) The Journey North succeed.”
The Journey North, part of the Baptist General Conference, is coaching Erickson in how to successfully plant a church in Brainerd. The Journey North started with a core group of 14 people four years ago. Now, Sunday morning attendance averages 500.
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“The Journey North is partnering with us to see that we succeed,” Erickson said. “They’ve been a great help.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life and the greatest thing I’ve done in my life.”
It’s uncommon for churches of different denominations to work together in church planting, but both pastors agree the focus is on getting people to go to church, no matter what denomination.
Bjorlo said research shows “church planting is the single most effective strategy to reach people not going to church.”
Erickson hopes Pointway Church will open in September. The church likely will meet in its sister church’s building at Heartland Alliance Church in Baxter.
Pointway will host the first of many preview services at 10 a.m. Easter Sunday, March 23, at Heartland Alliance Church, located on Highland Scenic Drive.
“My heart is to connect all people with God,” Erickson said. “The name of our church is our vision. We want to point people to God.”
For more information on Pointway Church, call Erickson at 838-9802.
HEIDI LAKE may be reached at heidi.lake@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5879.
