He is the Security you seek in money

He is the High you seek in alcohol

He is the Ecstasy you seek in sex

He is the Health you seek in doctors

He is the Song you seek in music

He is the Dance you seek in the clubs

He is the Beauty you seek in travel

He is the Wisdom you seek in books

He is the Peace you seek in worry

It is Jesus whom you seek….

Nancy Arndt

I love hearing stories of how people make decisions.  I especially like hearing of their stories on how they decided to make NewSong their church home.  I just finished talking with a young lady who told how it happened that she made her first visit to NewSong.

She had a pile of junk mail.  It was time to sort through it.  So she sat down in front of the t.v. and began this tedious task.  She was watching a Christian station.  There was a preaching program on at the time.  At the same time she heard the preacher say, “We don’t have any perfect people at this church,”  she picked up a card that asked the question, “Not Perfect?”  That got her attention!  As she flipped the card over, she heard the preacher say, “well, just come as you are.”  At the same time she read the words, “Come as You Are,” on the back of the card.  This is really getting her attention.  The next thing the preacher said was, “Let’s sing a new song…”  It was at the same time she saw the words, NewSong Community Church.  That was it!  She said, “I’ve got to visit this church!  She has been attending ever since. 

God will always send us a sign when we need it.  He gave some wise men a star.  He gave this lady an advertisement card.  Do you need direction?  Ask God.  Be open to the directions He will give you.

 Thanks to the generosity of my brother Mark, I had the privilege of visiting the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA. earlier this year.

Vincent Van Gogh is my favorite artist.  Upon my arrival at the museum my first priority was to find some of my favorite artist’s works. 

I just found out today that the picture I’m standing by (Irises) is worth $70 million dollars!  I had no idea of that at the time.  That may explain why the security guard came over immediately and asked my to move away from the painting!

If you ever have the opportunity to visit this prestigious museum, make sure you plan to spend the entire day at the Getty Museum.   The museum itself is a work of art.  Just the ride up the hill on the tram and the view of LA is worth the trip.  You will not be disappointed.

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first
telephones in our neighborhood. I remember the polished,
old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on
the side of the box. I was too little to reach the
telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my
mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful
device lived an amazing person. Her name was “Information
Please” and there was nothing she did not know. Information
Please could supply anyone’s number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one
day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself
at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with
a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point
in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger,
finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I
ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the
landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor
and held it to my ear. “Information, please” I said into
the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a
small clear voice spoke into my ear.

“Information.”

“I hurt my finger…” I wailed into the phone, the tears
came readily enough now that I had an audience.

“Isn’t your mother home?” came the question.

“Nobody’s home but me,” I blubbered.

“Are you bleeding?” the voice asked.

“No,” I replied. “I hit my finger with the hammer and it
hurts.”

“Can you open the icebox?” she asked.

I said I could.

“Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,” said
the voice.

After that, I called “Information Please” for everything. I
asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where
Philadelphia was.  She helped me with my math. She told me
my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day
before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I
called, “Information Please” and told her the sad story.
She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe
a child. But I was not consoled.  I asked her, “Why is it
that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all
families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the
bottom of a cage?”

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly,
“Wayne, always remember that there are other worlds to sing
in.”

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone and called,
“Information Please.”

“Information,” said in the now familiar voice.

“How do I spell fix?” I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific
Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the
country to Boston. I missed my friend very much.
“Information Please” belonged in that old wooden box
back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shiny
new  phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew
into my teens,
the memories of those childhood
conversations never really left me.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall
the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now
how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent
her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put
down in Seattle. I had about a half-hour or so between
planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my
sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I
was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said,
“Information Please.”

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so
well.   “Information.”

I hadn’t planned this, but I heard myself saying, “Could
you please tell me how to spell fix?”

There was a long pause. Then came the
soft spoken answer,
“I guess your finger must have healed by now.”

I laughed, “So it’s really you,” I said. “I wonder if you
have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?”

“I wonder,” she said, “if you know how much your calls
meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look
forward to your calls.”

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years
and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to
visit my sister.

“Please do”, she said. “Just ask for Sally.”

Three months later I was back in Seattle. A different
voice answered,

“Information.” I asked for Sally.

“Are you a friend?” she said.

“Yes, a very old friend,” I answered.

“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” she said. “Sally had
been working part-time the last few
years because she was
sick. She died five weeks ago.”

Before I could hang up she said, “Wait a minute, did you
say your name was Wayne?”

“Yes.” I answered.

“Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in
case you called.

Let me read it to you.” The note said, “Tell him there are
other worlds to sing in. He’ll know what I mean.”

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

Whose life have you touched today?

Do you sense that you are part of the community in which you live?  Or, do you feel like an outsider?  How do you really become one with your community?  Is that even important?  I think it is .  I also think it is something that is missing with many people.

So many people feel so alone and separate from the community in which they live.  Each day they go into their garage, climb into their cars, open the automatic garage door and speed off to work.  In our private little car world…we listen to music, talk radio, talk on the phone….and miss so much as we travel!  We return home the same way.  We go to the store the same way.  Technology enables such a private world.  This is not progress.

This weekend we had a festival in our little community called Appleumpkin.  There are a variety of vendors and crafters that set up their tents and hawk their wares on our city sidewalks.  People come out of their homes and mingle on the streets.  The smells of elephant ears, hot dogs, bbq, apples, and various other treats pull us lustily toward their booths.

You see people, talk to people, engage in activities with people.  This is consummating your community.  Get out of your home.  Walk the sidewalks.  Go to a local high school football game.  Ride your bike.  Talk to someone new.  Buy merchandise locally and get to know the merchant, even if you spend more than if you went to Wal-Mart.  Enjoy the local school play.  Volunteer.  Have a block party.

If you feel separate from your community.  Take action.  Get out and consummate your community.  It’s your choice.  What a joy to live as one in the community in which you live!  Your community is the sum result of each of the people that make up that community….how are you doing?

“You can have anything you want, if you help enough people get what they want.”  - Zig Ziglar 

“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great”-  Mark Twain

A positive Christian alternative to the bestselling The Secret, this book reveals the secret things of God — secrets about God, about happiness, about relationships, and about your purpose. These tested spiritual truths reveal principles that make life work.

With millions of copies of The Secret in print, countless readers are left wondering how its teachings fit with the truths found in Scripture. Though many teachings in The Secret may have shocked those of the Christian faith, believers have also been reminded of the deep spiritual hunger that exists in all of us — the desire for a power beyond the human to work change in our individual lives.

Even Christians who know and claim biblical truths often don’t know how to use them. Author Dr. Henry Cloud shows readers how to unlock the treasure of these truths and ignite their power in their lives.

There is, indeed, a powerful attraction at work in the universe, but rather than being between an impersonal universe and our own thoughts, this attraction is between the personal Creator of the universe and the creation he loves.

Marion Jones cheated.  She lied.  She attempted to cover it all up.  At first she was just like so many other elite athletes who have done the same thing.  But, Marion has done something very different.  She confessed her wrongs…publicly, completely and with humility.  She has voluntarily given back her medals.  She has stepped back from the sport.  She has remorsefully apologized to all she has hurt, on national t.v. and with genuine brokenness.  This takes real courage.  If only Barry Bonds, Mike Vick, Floyd Landis and many others would have the courage to do the same thing. 

Yes, Marion is my new hero.  She has exhibited true courage.  We could all learn something from her.  We all make mistakes.  We all have endless pride that seeks to do anything to cover up our failings.  Learn from Marion.  Be human.  Revealing is the first step to healing.

Thanks Marion for your greatest victory of all.  Winning in the human race.  May we all have the courage to follow your example.