Latest Hobby

Classical guitar and tenor Ukulele

Tenor Ukulele

I love the ukuleles.  So much simpler to make music

Tenor and Baritone Ukuleles and Guitar

A Carpenter At Work Creating:

This is a photo a my good friend Mike.  Mike is a lot of things.  It is never wise to suggest that any one person is just one thing.  Mike, for example, is a faithful and loving husband.  Mike is a caring father.  Mike is an adoring grandfather whose eyes light up when someone gives him the opportunity to talk about those precious children.  Mike is also a business man, entrepreneur, manager, risk taker, hunter, student of life, lover of his God.  Mike is also humble enough to never write about himself in the way I have just written.  Mike is also a professional carpenter, and it is this characteristic I would like to expand upon.

Sadly, in our culture, the term amateur connotes someone of lesser skill.  The root meaning of amateur comes from the idea of loving; to do something for the love of it, with passion and care, not for monetary reward, but for the joy derived  from the act of loving.  As I have stated, Mike is a professional carpenter.  At the same time he remains an amateur for he never let go of the love of wood working he has had for much of his life.

Mike is also an amateur teacher.  The best kind!

Carpenter/teacher is the parallel I want to explore.  Mike had me over to his shop a week ago.  I am most interested in knowing the practical applications of a good router and router table.  I have a family member who has a home restoration project that could possibly benefit from having such a tool and set up.  Some old things in their home might benefit from not being restored, but rather re-manufactured.  We are looking to make new moldings, casings, baseboards that are authentic to the period in which the home was built, but new, clean, lasting, and brilliantly functional.  How to do this is the challenge.  Mike has the experience and knowledge to shed some light on the subject.

Mike selected a router bit to demonstrate how a router would work in an application we were contemplating.  His knowledge about tools is extensive.  Each bit makes a different cut, produces a unique shape.  There are principles to setting the job up accurately.  There are safety considerations.  The type of wood, its thickness, hardness, color, length all come into play.  The shape desired drives the decision as to what bit to use.  There is the speed of the router, the feed rate, tensioning of the feather boards, which hold the work piece in place.  There is much knowledge required to attain the desired outcome.

Mike's knowledge comes through time and experience.  I learned on this day in his shop; there are no shortcuts in quality carpentry.  Mike taught me many things.  This was perhaps his greatest message.

Jesus was a carpenter.  Jesus, who Mike in many ways is like, was a teacher too.

He who was and is and is to come certainly has experience on His side.  One look at a periodic table and it is readily apparent that our Creator has all the tools he needs.  Interesting that when He came to us as a man, He chose to be a carpenter by trade.  He took instruction from Joseph and he shaped His wood-- whose rings represent the passage time, the grace He bestowed and bestows upon His creatures,  into beautiful and useful objects for His neighbor's needs.  The wood was once alive, but died, then made alive again by the carpenter's hands.  In doing so he must have been patient.  He must have known that there were no shortcuts.  Not with a router, but with His hands, he shaped, bent, drilled, pegged, joined one piece to another.  It is very intimate work, even when you use a powered tool.  He recreated with His hands, but more importantly, through His love.

Mike makes beautiful things with wood.  Jesus makes beautiful people with His grace.  Mike teaches from love as did Jesus.  Mike shares his passion with patience.  Jesus' patience is manifest in that we are hear, that we breathe, that we can love at all.  Love, knowledge, patience, material, tools, time all come into "making."

Thank you, Mike, for teaching me.  Thank you, Lord, for making me...whole.  

Things Begin To Happen:

Well, here I am at Timber Bay for the first coed camp of 2011.  We had about 47 high school boys and girls and spent Friday night through Sunday afternoon enjoying what was a perfect winter weekend in north central Minnesota.  The temperatures were in the low 20's, but there was little or no wind.  Snow was up to the knees and more in the woods with piles plowed as high as eight feet.  Little Whitefish Lake was frozen solid with at least thirty inches of hard, clear ice to hold us up.

The theme of the camp had to do with finding shelter for living in the wisdom of God.  We covered numerous Gospel stories in four chapels.  I was allowed to teach two of them and considered it the greatest of privileges.   I spent the two nights with about six young guys who are very interested in hearing God's word.  They also had much to add to my life and teach me.

We had a number of interesting activities.  Our first was to build shelters for eggs out of straws and masking tape.  The object was to see if we could build a sheltering system, which would protect the eggs when they were dropped from progressively higher levels.  We were amazed that all of the six or seven groups, who made packages, survived the first two levels.  The winner actually survived a nearly ten foot drop to a concrete floor.  Another activity was doing a scavenger hunt to find the different types of shelters that are in the woods, either shelters built by animals, or those built by people.  Some youth built different types of primitive shelters.  Igloos were common because of the plentiful snow, but some built shelters out of pine bows and other available materials.  The last activity was a polar plunge where we cut a six by four foot hole in the lake ice.  Leaders and students jumped into the frigid water.  Coming out of the water the plunger was surrounded by loving friends with blankets, towels, and were ushered up to one of our beautiful lodges where they had opportunity for a good hot shower, some hot chocolate, and to sit by a beautiful fire to warm themselves.  Waconia's area director, Mark McKeever, was the person who put the lessons and themes together.  It was educationally as tight as could be.  Many opportunities for teachable moments and discussions were provided and taken advantage of.  It was a beautiful thing.

Food was great too!

I sometimes can't believe that I get to do this type of work.  I am so thankful.

At Long Last, A New Beginning

As of January first I am actively working as an area director for Timber Bay.  Our territory will be the towns of Maple Grove/Osseo, Minnesota.  There will be young people from perhaps Rogers, Corcoran, Champlin, and Plymouth who may come in contact with us as those towns are near by.  However, our main focus will be Maple Grove/Osseo and their junior and senior high schools.  Our ministry will work with youth from 7-12th grades.  Currently we are in the process of making contact with school counselors, representatives from the police forces, and area churches.  This is all very exciting.

In the past year I have been focusing on the support raising side of the puzzle, the critical element needed to put "boots on the ground."  Thanks to many wonderful people we've reached critical mass and am now able to move forward.  Support raising never ends.  It is a process.  Contacting new people and maintaining contact with those who currently support Timber Bay will be as important to the ministry as breathing is to life.  I enjoy this aspect of the ministry very much.  It is not hard to talk about young people who are in need.  I look forward to our support base growing along with the population of youth who attend our programs.

The development of volunteer staff is now beginning.  In the past year I've spoken with a number of adults, from college age on up, who have a heart for at risk youth.  We will be contacting them in the near future, filling out forms, doing back ground research, and interviewing in detail.  It will be exciting to see what the Lord brings to the ministry with regards to volunteers, their spiritual gifts, and passion for at risk youth.

Off we go!  Moving from strength to strength, with hope and prayer.

I wonder who that first young person will be?  Please pray for that specific youth!      

What A Difference A Month Makes!

It is difficult to believe that the back of winter has finally been broken.  When you are going through it, chopping ice, shoveling and blowing snow, the cold and snow seems so permanent.  The sun is so low on the southern horizon during this period it feels as it it has no power to penetrate anything.  We feel that we are "on our own."  Two months ago I had a hard time imagining that I would ever be free of the bonds of Christmas 2009's snow storm that dropped a couple of feet of wet snow and then froze solid for the next fourteen weeks.  I've blistered my hands and injured my back multiple times digging and chopping through the thick two to three inches of ice on our driveway and porch.  If you look carefully at the top photo you will notice on the far left corner of the house an icicle which grew to over eight feet in length.

The sun has come back.  I rejoice in knowing that its power is so great that it not only melted my driveway, it melted everyone's; every sidewalk, every street, every forest, and as of today, almost every lake in the state is ice free.  I've got my 2010 fishing license already.  I can't wait to get out and hammer them.

The sun is back.  Spring is renewed.  The majesty of the sun is breath taking.  How much more breath taking is the knowledge that the creator of the sun, the universe, loves us so much that in the midst of all nature's power, He sees me as significant.

It has been a long time; I'm still alive!

 I am still reading.  I will update my 2010 list soon.  Pictured above is my high school men's small group Bible study that meets at my home every Sunday evening during the school year.  This group (five are missing from the photo) is the eighth group I've had using this format developed by our church youth ministry.

We are currently studying the Gospels, just the Gospels.  We are comparing them to each other looking for similarities and differences.  This is a rather hot topic in the outside world because often the differences in the four Gospel accounts are said to be inconsistencies.  From that thought it doesn't take long to challenge the veracity of the entire biblical canon.  There is no better place to find out what these challenging questions are than in a setting such as this.  We hope to prepare ourselves for the questions and challenges that will come to all of us when we leave home and go off to college.  It is very exciting.

We decided to focus on the Gospels as we considered that without them, what they tell us about Jesus Christ, his life and ministry, we would not be Christians at all.  We theorized that if you took Genesis out of the Bible we would still possibly be Christ followers.  We also thought that if we took Revelation out of the Bible we could still believe in Jesus Christ.  We could actually, and this is just theoretical, take the theologically deep book of Romans out of the Bible and still love Jesus.  But, if we removed the Gospels, had no knowledge of them nor their source materials, we would have no idea that Jesus even existed, or if we knew we would have no understanding of who he really was, taught, and did for us.  We would read the writings of the Apostle Paul and just be baffled.  Therefore, we decided that it would be in our best interest to check the Gospels out thoroughly.  Cool.

I love these young men.  I am not anxious for this year to be over.  I will miss them all greatly.  I am currently working on my support for my future Timber Bay ministry to at risk youth.  It is slower going than I thought it would be, but the economy is difficult and I've been ill for three to four months with kidney stones.  I hope that these have been taken care of as I had surgery to remove them and will be having additional parathyroid surgery to keep them from coming back.  It's not a big deal surgically as it is done on an out patient basis.  In one day I'll be as good as new.  I fear, though I'll have to accept this if it becomes a reality, that I might have to step down from this small group ministry next year as I'll be so involved with the at risk youth with Timber Bay.  There are just so many hours in the day and I know that the needs of the youth, Lord willing, I will be working with will be great.

So, I keep in prayer and keep pushing forward.  I pray for economic growth and new optimism within our nation.  At the same time I pray that our faith will grow through these difficult times, that we will not forget the lessons about God's majesty and provision for all of us.  His eye is on the sparrow so we know He is watching us.

Talking To Youth About Being A Disciple Of Christ.

Last weekend I was honored to be asked to speak to the youth group of The LaSalle Street Church about what it is like to be a disciple of Jesus Christ over a life time. As speakers go I was in pretty rarified air as Tony Campolo and Mary Darling, who co-authored a book entitled "The God of Intimacy and Action- Reconnecting Anciet Spiritual Practices, Evangelism, and Justice", were the main speakers for the weekend. Back in the days of Vaudeville it was said that the worst thing that could happen to someone who had an act was to follow either an animal act or one that featured a young child. Following a speaker as dynamic as Mr. Campolo can make ones confidence wither rather quickly. Thankfully we were not speaking to the same audience nor were we in the same building at the camp. That is the only thing that saved me. Had I followed him literally, or been scheduled before him... I would have crumbled. The Lord was merciful with me.

I have asked the leadership of Timber Bay to consider me as a candidate for ministry in their organization. My desire is to be what they call an area director. My duties would be to develop a Timber Bay ministry to "at risk youth" somewhere near where I live. I am hoping that I could build a ministry, with their help, in the Maple Grove/Osseo region. That ministry would bring the message of God's love and saving grace through Jesus Christ to young people who face very difficult challenges in their lives. Those challenges may be due to family circumstances, poverty, violence, drug abuse, alcohol abuse and more. Timber Bay has a wonderful camp that they use to bring at risk youth to, so they can "unplug" from their difficult circumstances for a time, calm their souls, and perhaps more clearly hear the call of The Holy Spirit. The cabin pictured above is one of the most beautiful ones on the campus. It was built by some of the youth who are brought to the camp. How cool is that?!

One of my Facebook Friends commented about how much despair they felt about life in general. They actually used the term pain. I suggested to this person that perhaps they should try to focus on the "pain of others." Doing so could be part of following Jesus's commandment to love others more than yourself. In serving those "others" who were in pain, perhaps the personal pain they were feeling, would to a great degree, subside. I wasn't suggesting that this person get in over their head. I suggested that perhaps they could find someone to simply pray for. How powerful that is! The question came back, "I don't know anyone in pain." I then gave some suggestions as to where to look for those suffering, either physical or emotional, and I am quite sure that if this person looks in those places they will find what they are looking for. Pain is all around us. Those who suffer, they are more common than we allow ourselves to believe. Physical pain can be terrible. C.S. Lewis said that "God shouts to us in our pain." Emotional pain can be some of the most intense there is in life. And spiritual pain can be beyond description.

I have always had a heart for those in pain, for the weak, for those who suffer from disadvantages that are not of their making.

I was asked by the president of Timber Bay why I want to serve with them in the capacity I mentioned. I think I gave a pretty clear response to that question in my interview. However, I was not satisfied with what I said. Not totally in disagreement with it, just not satisfied. In Mr. Campolo and Mary Darling's book I came across an account that Ms. Darling told. It was a story about one of John Wesley's personal heroes. Mr. Wesley was the founder of the Methodist movement in England and is credited with bringing about many great movements for social justice within the British Empire saving it from the revolution and destruction that fell upon France during and after its revolution. One person John Wesley admired was Monsieusr de Renty who was spiritually awakened when he read Thomas a Kempis's "Imitation of Christ". He "resolved seriously to pursue the one thing needful, the working out of his salvation," in the words of John Wesley. The following paragraph, also quoted from Mary Darlings contribution, is the clearest explanation I have found as to "Why I want to work with Timber Bay."

As told by Mary Darling; page 88 "The God of Intimacy and Action."

"Another story involves a young woman who had been abused by her uncle. Because she had been so badly treated by her uncle, the woman believed that Jesus had abandoned her. Her sense of abandonment made her feel not only unworthy of God, but also angry with God. She even took communion several times a day to spite God, in the hope that she would provoke God to kill her. When de Renty was told about this woman, he rushed out to find her. Wesley records that when de Renty finally found the woman, eight days later, he "took so great care both of her soul and body that she returned to herself and gave ample testimonies of her repentance."

That is my heart for at risk kids. I want to take such good care of them physically and spiritually that they will come to a healing and life giving relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. That is why.

The photo of a gentleman signing a check is that of my good, and life long friend, Jeffrey Brown. He is a social worker who specializes in child and family counseling. He is a follower of Christ and he lives out his faith each day working to bring healing to broken and difficult lives. The check he is signing is a faith gift to me for my future ministry. It is the first "funds raised" for my work with Timber Bay should I be approved. Interestingly, at the signing of the check nothing was official. As of today I have not heard directly that I have been excepted, but I have been told it is just a formality. Background checks and the like have to be done. There should be no problem. Still, what a blessing to have a friend say "yes" to my hearts desire. What a wonderful affirmation.

The photo of the youth group below Jeffrey is that of The LaSalle Street Church. Their youth pastor, the red headed guy with the big smile, is my son-in-law Devin. Yep, I had connections in high places. He has a wonderful group of young people and he is doing a great job of "leading them in the paths of righteousness."

The top photo is of the latest Timber Bay group camp done this fall. You can also click on the title of this post and it will take you to the Timber Bay website if you would like to get more information.