Claimed, gathered and sent

We've all heard the voice. You know: the one a parent uses and you know y0u're in trouble now. Or the unmistakable voices of Barry White or James Earl Jones. Or the friend's voice when there so much brokenness in your life, family, marriage and no one can do anything to fix it, but just hearing the love and concern in that voice somehow helps. Psalm 29:3-9 ( http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=67154999 ) speaks of God's voice. " The voice of the Lord is over the waters... is powerful... full of majesty... breaks the cedars... flashes forth flames of fire... shakes the wilderness... causes the oaks to whirl... strips the forests bare." The psalmist here speaks of a strong voice. Sometimes we need that strength when we are weak. It is the voice of the God who speaks things into being...of the eternal Word incarnated among us. It's important to recognize the voice we are hearing. Parents know their child's voic...

"Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far mor than all we can ask or imagine" (Eph 3:20). The countd0wn has begun for several things in my life. Today begins my last undergrad semester. I graduate May 10th!! One week from today I will have a total knee replacement (my left). In August we will pack up and move to Gettysburg Seminary and begin a new academic, social and spiritual life there. What I've been mostly a bit nervous about lately is the surgery and keeping up with my classwork. I'll be in the hospital 2-3 days, then in an inpatient rehab facility 2-3 weeks. I'm taking three classes, one of which is a four credit class, Biology. I will not have internet access in the hospital, but can read if I'm not too loopy. At the rehab facility I will have plenty of internet access. It will be tricky however doing all the therapy I'll need to do and doing all the school work as well. It's easy to worry and fret. ...

Main Entry: epiph·a·ny Pronunciation: \i- ˈ pi-fə-nē\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural epiph·a·nies Etymology: Middle English epiphanie, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin epiphania, epiphaneia epiphainein to manifest, from epi- + phainein to show — more at fancy from Late Greek, plural, probably alteration of Greek appearance, manifestation, from Date: 14th century 1 capitalized : January 6 observed as a church festival in commemoration of the coming of the Magi as the first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles or in the Eastern Church in commemoration of the baptism of Christ 2 : an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being 3 a (1) : a usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (2) : an intuitive grasp of reality through something (as an event) usually simple and striking (3) : an illuminating discovery, realization, or disclosure b : a revealing scene or moment 1. That...

The New England Synod of the Women of the ELCA now has its own website!. There you will find links to events that you missed, current happenings, as well as up coming events. Check My del.icio.us list on the sidebar. The url is http://www.nesynod.org/Women/women.htm. It's a very user friendly and informative site. Please check it out.

This is a very interesting post located at http://www.christianitytoday.com/leaders/newsletter/2007/cln71231.html. Powered by ScribeFire .

I was just reading this post on the "Gifted for Leadership" blog, "Create a Culture of Mentorship." http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/2008/01/create_a_culture_of_mentorship.html#more In this area, how are we doing as a church? It seems that this is part of our call. If we are to "make disciples of all nations" (Mt 28:19), isn't mentoring a large part of making disciples and helping those disciples to grow? What do/don't your churches do in this area? Thursday evening our Christian Education Committee will be working on a mentoring program for our confirmands. Any suggestions? Powered by ScribeFire .

Our Christmas celebration in Rochester was wonderful. Gracie is growing so much. When I finish my current roll of film, I'll post some pictures. We attended church with them Sunday. Sarah and Grace belong to an amazingly warm, wonderful community of faith. Here is the url to the church's website: http://www.messiahlutheranchurch.net/. If you ever find yourself in Greece, NY, that's the church to visit. The new senior pastor, Pastor Eileen, remembered our names after just a brief chat before the service. She communed us by name. Even Sarah was amazed. On a different train of thought, but not really, are we theologians of glory or theologians of the cross? Read this article by Jill Briscoe at Gifted for Leadership. You'll find it at: http://blog.christianitytoday.com/giftedforleadership/. It's a reminder we all need as God's people, no matter our vocation. Peace! Powered by ScribeFire .