Saturday, April 14, 2007

A Mountain of Junk

Two weeks ago I visited a mountain near my mom's house that I never knew existed. In the midst of all the stress of so many funerals in Jan. - March, it was a nice gift to have four church members (Thanks Jan, Wyman, Steve and Eddie!) journey to N. Augusta to help clean out two sheds and assorted yard junk. I was amazed at the mass of trash at the county landfill. It was literally a mountain of junk that they kept bulldozing dirt over, making Mt. Trash Dump, which is surely on its way to being the highest point in the whole county.

It was sobering to be reminded that what we treasure in the material world will eventually find its way to a similar fate, and that we should take God's truth seriously when it says: 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matt. 6)"

Sorry So Late

Hey everyone! I'm back from Hecticland! Easter was quite memorable. Had a great morning. Our early service was moved inside due to record breaking temperatures. I played this video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddtbkcDzu_Y) and then had everyone come up to place little garbage bags with their "sin" in them. I had put the bags and pieces of "sin" paper in the pews, and had them crumple up the paper, put it in the bags, and then process down the aisel while I played the worship video At The Foot of the Cross (you can get it for $24.99 here:http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=332118&event=CFN).

It was just a reminder of what Christ did for us on the cross. Then we had breakfast, and I was glad to see some new folks visiting with us. I had a full Sunday School class, followed by our 11am service. I spoke on John 15...with Christ being the vine and with us being the branches. Basically it was a "what difference besides heaven does a risen Savior make?" I compared real grapes to artificial ones talking about how easy it is for churches to become factories turning out people who act like grapes (i.e. like Christians) instead of "being" real grapes. It's one thing to know a lot of Bible knowledge and it's quite another to know the One who walked out of that tomb.

I went straight from church to the ER in Bamberg as Ed Chitty, husband of Pat who was my secretary for 8 years. He had been feeling bad all morning. He had a serious infection and that led to the discovery this past week that he has several blockages and will be having surgery soon. He's been in the hospital for a week.

Then I went to the graveside service for a four year old great-grand-daughter of a church member. She died in a go-kart accident involving a van. The girl (19) driving the kart is just beginning to respond to stimulus, and the man driving the van that hit them is struggling, too, as is my church member, the great-grandfather, who lost his wife a month ago, and then had to have a stint put in a coronary artery the day before the funeral (pray for them all). So that was a sad service. Then I went to Augusta to see my mom. On the way I stopped at a rehab hospital for a church member recovering from back surgery...but that was a nice visit as she is improving.

I finally got home at supper time and went with my mom to Elaine and Midge's (Elaine's mom) house (long time friends) to celebrate Elaine's birthday. Though I was tired from a long day, having supper with them was quite an uplift. Elaine is a miracle in many ways. Doctors gave her little chance of surviving, much less doing anything else when she had a horrible auto accident in the early 90's. Yet she is happy, and healthy, and, unlike many of us, very optimistic and grateful for life, her mom, friends, and her faith in the Lord. Oh, and we had SHRIMP! That's always an uplift, too!

My mom and I ended the day by running by my brother's house to see his new hardwood floor in his living room. So that was my Easter....like life...having highs and lows...and through it all, a Savior who is alive and with us through it all!