Where did my life go?

I really don't remember Christmas being this busy!! Perhaps my memory is playing tricks on me, perhaps this simply is a busier season than ever before, perhaps I'm just a little older. Whichever it is, every day is a rush with much to do and little accomplished. However, despite my personal impression of the proverbial headless chicken, people are still ringing bells, people are still donating money, angels are being taken from the trees and planning district 16 is again proving that it's a community that looks after its own.

Thanksgiving Day was wonderful and our last real family day until Christmas Day. Don't get me wrong, our children still see Christi and me...just not at the same time. In fact, I get more concentrated kid time during these weeks than most as I will often take one of my children on my kettle run, and that child will have my undivided attention for three or four hours. I treasure those opportunities. Incidentally we have so far raised $49,496 in kettle money. This is about $9,000 below my very aggressive goal though $10,243 above last year through this date. The major issues, however, is the massive increase in need.

On a final note, I have lost 4 pounds now. Not a stellar start to my diet, but it is going in the right direction. The major problem...finding time to exercise!!! Go figure.

Please pray for our Christmas effort, and for The Salvation Army nationwide as we continue to try and raise money during the most difficult of economic times.

Christmas!!!!!!!!!

For a Salvation Army Officer the month of November comes around very quickly followed by the slowest two months of the year. Yes it's kettle time, that season where people give very generously one dollar at a time and, somehow, these dollars accumulate and become the most important fund raiser of our year. What a lot of work and effort, what a lot of hours and minutes, what a lot of money.

The problem is, The Salvation Army Christmas can become so busy that we (that is those in the middle of it) can be guilty of looking at the mas(s) of work while forgetting the Christ part. Its not that we don't value the Season, its just that we become preoccupied by the sheer busyness of the season...and I haven't even mentioned the Angel Tree and Toyland distribution.

Tomorrow I have the orientation with my Bell Ringers. On Friday we begin the program in earnest, and I will endeavour to update anybody that takes the time to read my blog with daily totals and how we are doing against our very aggressive $200,000 goal. When you read our totals, I ask that you pray for The Salvation Army, that those involved in the Christmas program never lose sight of Christ, and that God will bless our efforts.

Finally - I have lost 2 lbs.

I don't like chicken!

Now the title of this blog does not reflect my views on chicken...it was the cry of my children as my wife cooked a lovely chicken meal last night. Thanks to George Foreman, her barbecue chicken was seared to perfection, accompanied by some healthy green beans and pasta. I then watched as my three children picked their way through this relatively healthy dish. I know what they wanted...they wanted Pizza, they wanted a hamburger, they wanted chicken nuggets (somehow chicken nuggets are not real chicken I guess), any of which were less healthy than what was in front of us. I guess too many fast food meals have spoiled them as they've tasted the Happy Meal, complete with its alluring free gift and french fries!!!

How easy it is to apply this analogy to life. How God has given us all things good and how we, like small children, kick our feet and want some perverted version of the same thing. We can apply it to our relationships, to our temperament, to our habits and to our worship. How often we take what God has provided and then we distort it beyond recognition. Indeed, we allow sin to enter in.

Going back to food, I think my biggest vice is food...indeed...overeating. Therefore, I am going to use my blog as an accountability log. Every Friday I will post how much weight I have lost that week. I invite your feedback as either encouragement or admonishment, but it is an area of my life that I need to bring under control as I have allowed sin to enter into my eating habits. Stay posted.

Going for glory

One of the most natural things about human beings is the desire for glory. Right now the Yankees and the Phillies are fighting for glory in the world series, while Brett Farve had another moment of glory as he destroyed his old team Green Bay throwing 4 touchdown passes. Glory is desired by movie stars and musicians, and many get it..from time to time. It is the kind of glory that puts you on a pedestal, a place where people look up and they will either honor you, or will try to shoot you down...Oh, the price of glory.

In John 17:1b Jesus prays, "Father the time has come for you to bring glory to your son, in order that he may bring glory to you." (CEV) In these verses, Jesus was bringing about a whole new perspective on glory as he approached the day of his own torture and death. In this verses, Jesus is acknowledging that His torture and death will be a means of glorification to God, that the whole world will acknowledge God for the most remarkable way in which Jesus accepted what was to befall Him. On that crucifixion day such a notion seemed absurd, yet history shows us that Christians have since given God glory for that day above any other day. For Christ it was the ultimate selfless act, one that points us all to The Father who then took Jesus back to Heaven...back to glory.

My friend Jim has a rare and incurable form of cancer. Despite being given 3 - 6 months to live, he continues to soldier on some 15 months later - thanks to Gods grace and some experimental treatments. I was in Texas with him this past weekend, where Jim was a special guest who had the chance to be with people, to lead music groups and to preach on Sunday morning. Everybody was delighted to see him and marvelled at how well he seems to be doing. They interpret his well being through his smile and his love of people, to his ability to come to every meeting and his lingering at the end of the meeting to talk to anybody that wants to talk to him. But what Jim is actually doing is to glorify the Father. His body is suffering terribly and a large tumor could take his life at any time. His legs are wrapped with surgical bandages and he is terribly fatigued...but you would never know. He is proclaiming the grace of God...and he is bringing glory to God. I still believe in miracles, I still believe in healing...but Jim, by bringing glory to God, will have the ultimate reward some day. will become a recipient of God's glory for him.