People of Marion United Methodist Church ... TOO Good!

Sunday, July 19, found a host of "relatives" gathering around me to have a "family reunion" and birthday celebration. With lots of new found cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas (and a long lost "identical" twin sister, we talked, laughed, and had some stories told on me.

This was a special treat, as for most of my family reunions, I just look in the mirror, and there we are! But it was a great day for me, and your generosity IS just "too much." I'm going to have to tell people I'm not really spoiled (I just smell that way!) Seriously, the MUMC congregation is TOO good to me. That's not in the sense of TOO meaning "too much," but TOO meaning "also" -- because you are ALL SO good to me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I also appreciated the special signs made for me:

Is It About Time for Some More Funnies?

• Watching television these days often involves violence and bad language ... and that's just deciding who is going to operate the remote!
• The state highway department has announced that 5,000 road workers will lose their jobs by the end of the year due to the development of a new, technologically advanced piece of equipment. It seems that a new shovel has been invented that will stand up by itself.
• When you offer two cents for some peoples thoughts, you should get change back.
• Two political candidates were having a hot debate. Finally, one of them jumped up and yelled at the other, "What about the powerful interest that controls you?" To which the other guy screamed back, "You leave my wife out of this!"
• And here are some life lessons:

-People who believe "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" never let that dog get hungry enough.

-The line beside you always moves faster until you move into it.

-Anytime you're late, everybody else is early ... and vice-versa.

And, huh? ...

Maury visited his friend Joe and found him playing a game of Solitaire. After watching him for awhile, he saw that Joe was cheating. "Wait a minute! I just caught you cheating yourself," said righteous Maury. Joe said quietly, "Don't tell anybody, but I've been cheating myself at Solitaire for years." Surprised, Maury said, "You don't say. Don't you ever catch yourself cheating?" To which Joe retorted, "Naah, I'm much too clever."

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Cycles of Cyclists

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It's been an unusual year for cyclists riding cross country and stopping here at the church to ask for lodging. The church has been doing this for a number of years, even before I came to Marion, but what is unusual this year is the number of cyclists coming through at the right time of day to call a halt here.

While the Marion Mission Team was on its trip, overflow mission team members TO Marion were housed in our church. And wouldn't you know it ... some cyclists came asking for shelter, and there was none. But faithful members of MUMC took the cyclists over to the Bed and Breakfast, and they were thrilled with the accommodations. A short time later, I had a call from that group of cyclists asking if one of their lagging members could stay at the church. He had flown home for his grandfather's funeral, and was now trying to catch up to them. It turns out he was unable to get to Marion for the night, but we had breakfast, and I learned the group was a bunch of college grads out for one last adventure before settling down to "real life." (I also learned that he was from a family with Methodist circuit riders in their past, with collections of sermons and poems those men had written in the saddle.)

Next, a fellow showed up asking for lodging, and we learned he was from Spain. He had taken a year's sabbatical from his job (credit analyst) to work through how he wanted to spend his life -- not in the rat-race, but finding a way to live while giving and serving. But, he was called back to Madrid on business, and I took him to the airport in Nashville (at the same time, picking up Kent Underwood, and continuing on to a July 4th celebration with the whole Underwood clan). But Raul was very patient and allowed me to practice my Spanish, even though his English was quite good. (By going home for business, though, he was able to be at his nephew's baptism. And he e-mails that he is now cycling in Italy!)

Then, a group of five (4 cyclists and a support vehicle driver) from a Wesley Foundation in Valdosta, GA, came through headed East. They're project is to hold meetings in churches as they ride through, sharing how they can become involved in breaking cycles of homelessness and poverty. One of the five is beginning school soon to be trained as a missionary. He's 28, and a little nervous about hitting the classroom again!

They left one morning, and that very night, in the midst of a thunderstorm, the phone rang at the parsonage. An uncertain voice said, "This is James. Can you help us?" A new college grad and his (still in high school) sister from New York were biking westward, and needed a place to stay. They had come by during prayer meeting, but saw we were in service, and did not bother us. By the time they came back, I had left the building. But we got them in, and dry, and secure for the night. Since then, Keith Bast, John Watson, a young lady named Mary, and Phil Foster have spent the night with us.
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I want to thank our congregation for having "Open Doors" to cyclists passing through. Sure, they could camp out one more night. They could get by. But they always thank us again and again for the place to shower and rest before heading on their way. It's a good thing! And to think ... this is only ONE way you minister to people! Amen!

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P.S. Another way to minister is to pray for these young people and their safety on the roads.

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F.L.I.G.H.T. -W.

Our FLIGHT-W (That's Feeling Loved In God's House This Week) experience began aboard an old cargo plane which we adapted for passengers. Unfortunately, we hit a time warp, and were thrown back in time. Fortunately, we were able to adapt our controls to help us travel to when we wanted.

Our first stop was at The Garden of Eden. This beautiful idyllic place was spoiled by an evil serpent who tempted Eve and Adam to try to be like God. We also see here Adam and Eve in their new FALL wardrobe. He may have look like George Burns in the movies, but the Almighty appeared to US in the guise of Charles Brantley. (One little girl, seeing Charlie behind a screen, said, "I see God!" Undeterred when told it was Charlie Brantley, she said, "God smiled at me!" I hope all the children felt God smile at them during this week.)

Our next stop was that perenniel favorite of kids, the story of Noah's Ark. We couldn't find any gopher wood, so our ark was constructed as a "bubble tent" from two huge black drop cloths and inflated it with two window fans in the corners. The children donned animal masks and we marched into the ark while singing "Arky, Arky," the favorite experience of the week for some of the kids.

Our next visit was to Jacob and that rabble of raucous boys, and how they treated their brother Joseph. Joseph had quite a time in Egypt, trying to fend off the advances of Mrs. Potiphar and ending up in prison. From there, though, he rose to great power, and saved not only Egypt, but also his own family who came there seeking food. A chance to get even with his brothers? No, he had forgiven them, and brought ALL the sons of Jacob to Egypt to live.

We returned to Egypt when all the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great .... great-great- grandchildren of Jacob were slaves in Egypt. We learned about the burning bush, old hard-headed (and hard-hearted) Pharaoh, the plagues, the ten commandments, the tabernacle, and when water came from a rock!

Each night, we explained how these events pointed ahead to the coming of Jesus Christ, or how they foreshadowed the work He would do for us. A million thanks to ALL the GREAT Volunteers, and especially to Allison and Christie Hughes, our VBS directors. We had a great week and a great time.

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Another Long Absence

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If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I guess my path to perdition is smooth as glass. I just realized I hadn't been here since May 26. Lots has happened since then, but what got me out of the habit of blogging THIS time was the kidney stone ... after a blessedly easy recovery from that little setback, there came the 2009 Mission Trip, and then our FLIGHT-W Bible School.

The Mission Trip was a wonderful experience. If those we went to were even HALF as blessed as we were, they aren't able to find their socks (as in "blessed their SOCKS off"!) Our team eventually was composed of 5 adults (James and Wendy Dunham, Julie Stout, Tony Belt, and the pastor), and 8 youth/children (Cody, Shelby, Ryan & Matthew Dunham, Adam Watson, Alex Kirby, Abby Whitney, and Savannah Peek. This 13 was certainly blessed, not unlucky!

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.A couple of days were spent at Christian Communities Center, an assisted living/nursing home complex in Louisville across the street from Spaulding College. In addition to visiting and interacting with the residents, we washed buses, furniture, lawn chairs, and fountains. Here, Shelby Dunham gives a nail polish treatment to a resident ... and even some of the guys on the team got into the act (and did quite well, I might observe.)


From there it was on to Country Lakes Retreat Center for Camp Freedom, a weekend camp/retreat for special needs campers. Some were so high-functioning, we wondered why they were there. Four were totally dependent on their counselors for everything. But the joy in it for me was seeing that, once we got past the superficial things that were "handicaps," it was just like very other session of church camp I've been in ... learning individuals, idiosyncrasies, etc. The most wonderful difference from other church camps is, the LOVE QUOTIENT was even higher than usual! Here's a picture of Cory, with whom Cody worked last year.

The interesting thing for you parents is, the adult volunteers from last year all remembered our kids, and spoke of them in glowing terms. They've really appreciated our involvement with them at Camp Freedom.

I believe many are already planning to return next year! And again, a big THANKS to all of you who supported us in prayer, at fund-raisers, and all aspects of our going. May you be blessed, even as we were!

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It Doesn't Pay to Judge Too Quickly

I certainly don't mean to advertise for Ameriquest, but in terms of learning not to judge too quickly, I think these little vignettes are great. I share them for the humor, not the advertising.

Sixteen Things to get You Through Almost Any Crisis

Just a little Monday morning chuckle:

1. Indecision is the key to flexibility.


2. You cannot tell which way the train went by looking at the track.


3. There is absolutely no substitute for a genuine lack of preparation.


4. Happiness is merely the remission of pain.


5. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.


6. The facts, although interesting, are irrelevant.


7. Someone who thinks logically is a nice contrast to the real world.


8. Things are more like they are today than they ever have been before.


9. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.


10. Friends may come and go, but enemies accumulate.


11. If you can smile when things go wrong, you have someone in mind to blame.


12. One-seventh of your life is spent on Monday.


13. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.


14. This is as bad as it can get, but don't bet on it.


15. Never wrestle a pig; you both get dirty and the pig likes it.


16. The trouble with life is, you're halfway through it before you realize it's a "do-it-yourself" thing.

-- Martha Ainsworth, St. John's in the Village