Snowfall Record

When the local Bismarck TV weatherman says that we've had so much snow this month that we might as well get a little more and go for a new record, you know there's been a lot! And worse yet, winter only officially started last Sunday! But that's exactly what he said Monday night and by Tuesday morning, Bismarck had reached a new record for snowfall in December. Officially Bismarck (50 miles south of Underwood) has had over 24" of snow this month! Not only did this smash the old record by nearly 3" but we're likely to get another couple inches before the new year. And before you chalk this up to North Dakota always getting lots of snow, realize the previous record for December snowfall had stood for over 90 years (1916)!

I remarked to my wife the other day after shoveling for the nth number of days in a row that whenever I move to a colder climate, I seem to get one nice year before the "real" winter hits. My first year in the Chicago area (winter of '97-'98) was an El Nino year and I can only remember it snowing a couple times. Then this past winter (our first in ND) we had a mild winter (by North Dakota standards). It was cold but I don't think we had 24" of snow the whole winter (let alone in one month). Apparently my "honeymoon" period is over!

Sunday night Underwood has its annual Community Christmas Concert. About 20 members of the community formed a choir and the kids dance teams in town also performed. Afterward one of the local churches hosted a meal with the proceeds going to the McClean County Resource Center. It still amazes me to live in a place where a large portion of the community would gather together at the local public school for an event celebrating the "reason for the season." One whole side of the stands in the school gym were full and no doubt more would have attended had it not been so snowy and windy this weekend.

Saturday afternoon my wife and I were invited out to the senior center (age not grade) for their Christmas potluck. I had been meaning to check out the senior center as a number of the members of our congregation are actively involved there. Although we were the youngest people there by about 30 years, we had fun interacting with other members of the community and had plenty (some might say too much) to eat.

Please pray for the elders to be able to meet soon (the weather has forced us to cancel a couple of meetings now), for our Christmas Eve service tonight, for wisdom in leading the congregation and in us growing in love for the church and community. Merry Christmas!

By God's Grace, Jeff

I Do's Aren't Meant to be Undone

This past Sunday I preached on Matthew 19:1-12 (the sermon I was planning on preaching the Sunday before but due to the snow storm had to postpone). In this passage Jesus answers questions from the Pharisees and His disciples regarding marriage and divorce. The main point of this passage as it relates to us is that "I do's aren't meant to be undone." If you'd like to listen to the sermon, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Limited Reconciliation but Unlimited Forgiveness

Two Sundays ago (the last time the church met!) I preached on Matthew 18:15-35 and the sermon was entitled "Limited reconciliation but unlimited forgiveness." If you'd like to listen to the sermon audio, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Worship Service Cancelled

For the first time in my Christian life (and pastoral ministry) I experienced having to cancel the Sunday morning worship service. The entire state of North Dakota underwent a severe blizzard with over a half-foot of snow, sustained winds in excess of 25 mph and a wind-chill reaching -40! Since this all started Saturday afternoon and was scheduled to continue until Sunday evening, after consulting the elder board, we made the difficult decision to cancel our corporate worship service this past Sunday. We have a number of families that live out of town on farms who would have had a very treacherous (if not impossible) time making it to town Sunday morning and we have a number of elderly families who already feel uncomfortable venturing outside during the winter months. Many if not most churches in ND likewise cancelled their services and events for this past weekend. Although I believe it was the right thing to do given the circumstances, it was certainly a strange feeling to wake up Sunday morning and not have the ability to attend a worship service.

Suffice it to say, it has been cold in our neck of the woods. I think yesterday (Wednesday) was the first day since Saturday that anywhere in the state has had a high of above zero. We drove down to Bismarck on Monday (the main roads were cleared and the wind had died down) and we might have reached single digits below zero as a high. On the way down in the morning the car thermometer had a reading of as low as -19! Fortunately, we were able to safely travel there and back and were finally able to get some much needed shopping done. Although it wasn't as cold the previous weekend, we had been unable to travel due to icy roads.

Given the unpredictable weather, we decided to pick up an artificial tree instead of chancing it every year of being able to get down to Bismarck to get a fresh-cut one. Having spent seven years of my childhood in Virginia, we'd anually drive out to a Christmas Tree farm and chop down our own fresh-cut tree. We'd tromp through the dense rows of trees until we found the "perfect" one. Then Dad would slid underneath and cut it down with a saw. We'd drag it to the main road and wait for the tractor to drive by and give us a ride back to the parking lot. Of course my favorite part was getting hot apple cider once we got back to the car. Apparently those memories are not going to be able to be repeated in the Northern Plaines.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Snow Days

We'd planned to go to Bismarck for some shopping and to see a movie Friday afternoon...then Sunday afternoon...then Monday afternoon, but it looks like we'll now have to wait until at least next weekend! We've had some pretty nasty weather here this past weekend. Just about everyday it snowed and with the weather hovering around freezing (for at least part of the day) it made the roads kind of hairy. In fact, yesterday afternoon we set out to go to Bismarck only to turn around about halfway between Washburn and Wilton (less than halfway!). Our Target and Sam's Club lists are growing by the day and we still haven't purchased a Christmas tree! I would rather the temprature be well below freezing so that the roads would at least be dry. Hopefully next weekend we'll be able to travel safely though there may be another storm coming. Ah, the benefits of living in North Dakota! We've got plenty of jobs, affordable housing and a state budget surplus...anyone want to move out here and join us in the cold?

By God's Grace, Jeff

God's Values Mark the Path to True Greatness

What makes someone "great" in the world's eyes is not what makes someone "great" in God's eyes? This is the confusion that prompts the disciples question to Jesus about who will be the greatest in His kingdom in Matthew 18:1-14. Jesus responds by describing a series of counter-cultural values that will mark those who have kingdom character. If you'd like to listen to my sermon on this passage from last Sunday, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Top Ten Christmas Movies

Now many of you will wonder where all of the older Christmas movies are. If you don't know me very well then you may not understand that I typically only like movies that have been produced in my lifetime. I don't mean to slight the traditional Christmas favorites but since this is my top ten Christmas movies, they don't make the cut. Enjoy!

10. The Santa Clause 3

9. The Nativity Story (Overall good job of being biblically accurate)

8. Four Christmases (Haven't seen it but it has Vince and Reese!)

7. The Santa Clause 2

6. Fred Clause (Vince Vaughan & Paul Giamatti, nuff said)

5. Elf (Will Ferell & James Caan, nuff said)

4. A Charlie Brown Christmas (exception to the rule with Linus' speech)

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the Jim Carrey edition)

2. The Santa Clause

1. Home Alone (The classic of my generation..."Kevin!")

Selling Turkey Legs after Thanksgiving

You might think that it would be tough to sell turkey legs the weekend after Thanksgiving but not so for at least one food vendor at the Garrison, ND Dickens Festival. For a few weekends every winter, starting with the one after Thanksgiving, the small town of Garrison, ND (20 miles north of us) turns into a Victorian English town circa the Charles Dickens era. The store owners on main street dress in period garb, Christmas gifts and decorations abound, a vintage double-decker bus takes visitors on a tour of the area, a horse-drawn carriage whisks families around town, Christmas carols ringout all around, the local theatre turns into a playhouse for that year's rendition of "A Christmas Carol," and food vendors line the streets (including the aforementioned one selling turkey legs which sold out on the Saturday after Thanksgiving!). My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed our brief visit this past Saturday (although we both chose soups over turkey legs which we'd had our fill of already!)

On Monday I attend a theological symposium in Bismarck hosted by the Northern Plains District of the EFCA. Dr. Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary gave talks on "Inerrancy," "The New World of the Under 30s," and "The Extra-Biblical Gospels." I appreciated his distinction between percision and accuracy when it comes to understanding the inerrancy of Scripture (that the bible is without error in the original manuscripts). Inerrancy has to do with the accuracy of information presented and the author's intent, not precision. The statements "it is cold today" and "the temprature reached a high of 18 degrees" are both accurate statements about the weather but not equally precise. However, no one would accuse the former of being in error. This distinction helps when it comes to understanding how difficult passages in Scripture can be said to be inerrant.

My wife and I had a very nice Thanksgiving with just the two of us at home. We continued our family tradition of having cinnamon roles for breakfast while watching the Macy's Day Parade. I was able to get most of our Christmas lights up over the weekend, although the ground was too hard for the candy cane path lights that we wanted to put along the walkway to our door. I've learned from my mistake last year that in ND you have to get the lights up early!

By God's Grace, Jeff