My Week to Watch the Dog

This past week my wife had a number of evening appointments and so I was on "dog duty." I sure do learn a lot about myself from spending time alone with our puppy. On the one hand, they are things that I wish were not true about myself (e.g. impatient, controlling, etc.). On the other hand, they are things that I'm glad to have revealed so that I can seek by God's grace to deal with them in my life. People, situations and even pets do NOT cause us to sin. Rather, they reveal sin that's already in our hearts. When I get angry at Lewis for not listening or being too jumpy, I need to realize that my sinful attitude is not his fault, it's my own failure. Although this can become depressing as it seems to happen over and over again, I am glad that God has opened my eyes to see these areas of my life and given me the desire (and ability) to change.

In addition, having a puppy who often acts like a puppy has made me more aware of my own life in the eyes of God and His gracious, long-suffering character toward me. How often have I not done what God has told me to do and how often have I done what He told me not to do? The frustration I feel when Lewis misbehaves is nothing in comparison to what God could rightly feel about my own life. Unlike a creature who does not have the ability to know right from wrong, I do and nonetheless continue to find willful disobedience against God in my life. Furthermore, I am not Lewis' creator but God is my Creator. Whatever allegiances my puppy owes me as his owner are nothing compared to what I owe the God who made and sustains me. I have been blown away in realizing just how patient God is with sinners like me. I am more and more grateful, since having Lewis, that although I am a great sinner, Jesus is a great Savior.

Yesterday I drove down to Bismarck and got to hang out with one of the missionaries that our church supports who oversees the Campus Crusade ministry for western and central ND. He's a neat guy and I enjoyed spending time with him at Boneshakers coffee shop and getting to hear not only about his own story but also more about his work with college students in our area. Then I had lunch with the superintendent of our district. The Evangelical Free Church is split into districts and although the churches are self-governing, we are interdependent on one another and so each district has a superintendent who is a resource for those churches. We had a great lunch and I appreciate the wisdom that God has given him in helping me work through some issues. That is why I wanted to pastor in the Free Church in the first place.

Please pray for our congregation as we raised food supplies for the McLean County Resource Center this next month, for starting our "Community Group" back up after a summer lay-off in September and for beginning an evangelistic Bible study later this Fall. Pray for my wife and I to grow in seeking the Lord throughout our days, being intentional about seeking Him together and for us to both grow in wisdom and humility with respect to the work He's called us to do.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Faithful are Blessed while Unfaithful are Judged

This past Sunday I preached on Psalm 21 as part of our series through the first section in the Book of Psalms entitled "The Spiritual Life." The main point that I saw in Psalm 21 as it applies to us today is "Faithful are Blessed while Unfaithful are Judged." If you would like to listen to the sermon, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

I am Thankful for Dog-Sitters

On Sunday evening, two of the youth from our church came over to dog-sit Lewis so that my wife and I could drive down to Bismarck for the Casting Crowns concert. I felt bad...not for leaving the dog but for Mark and Emily! He can be a handful in the evenings especially but I think they managed okay. He certainly seemed no worse-for-where and they were at least able to get out of the house, enjoy some pizza and root-beer floats and watch some movies. We went out to eat at Olive Garden (I know, big time right?) and made it to to Civic Center a few minutes after the concert began. It was a great show even if we knew only about half of their songs.

Earlier that day our church hosted an "End of the Summer Worship-in-the-Park." Unfortunately, the weather was not nearly as good as our two previous outdoor services. It was a bit breezy but at least the sun was out and by the time the BBQ started it had warmed up. We had six friends and family members join us for this event and had great food, fellowship and fun. This summer has been packed with ministry events, so fortunately this was the last major one of the season. I'm ready for school to start so we can get back to a somewhat normal schedule.

On Wednesday night we had our first church book club meeting to discuss John Piper's book, "Don't Waste Your Life." We had a good discussion and I am glad that so many members of the church signed up to read this book. I hope that God will use Pastor John Piper's writings in the hearts and lives of members of our church in the same way that He's used him in my own life.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Taking to Heart God's Glorious World & Word

Sunday I preached on Psalm 19 as part of our current series through the first book in Psalms. The main point of Psalm 19 as I saw it applying to us is, "Taking to heart God's glorious world and word." If you would like to listen to it, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Pocket Gophers

Apparently we have a pocket gopher in our yard. These gophers do not leave visible holes but mounds of dirt covering the hole. The mounds started in our garden (which we don't use) and I thought the mounds were where I had dug up weeds. But then the mounds began appearing in our lawn. So at coffee this morning, I asked the guys how to get rid of pocket gophers. They suggested digging through the freshest mound to find the hole and then flushing it with water. So I'm going to attempt this method later this afternoon and I let you know if it's successful.

This past Saturday was Underwood's annual Harvest Fest. It included a parade, horseshoe competition, chalk drawing, Corn Pageant and strong man contest, adult and kiddie tractor races, music, dancing and plenty of food. Unfortunately, this year it happened to fall on an overcast, rainy, cool day. Our church hosted a booth giving away free bottles of water and freeze-pops but given the weather conditions, we closed up shop early. I co-MC'd the parade with another pastor from town and hosted the Corn Pageant and Strong Man contests (that involved corn-costumes, corny jokes, hog calls, corn shucking and corn-on-the-cob eating). Even though the weather could have been better, I think all who came out had a lot of fun.

This coming Sunday our church is holding an end of the summer "Worship-in-the-Park" and community BBQ. Please pray for good weather and that people from the community would come out for this event. This Wednesday we starting a book club discussion of Pastor John Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life." About ten people from the church signed up for the book club, so pray that they would attend the discussion and grow as a result of it.

By God's Grace, Jeff

In God our Rock, Salvation is Sure & Praise is Due

This past Sunday I preached on Psalm 18 as part of our series through the first Book in the Psalms entitled "The Spiritual Life." The main point that I saw in Psalm 18 as it relates to us today is, "In God our Rock, Salvation is sure and praise is due." If you'd like to listen to the sermon, click here.

By God's Grace, Jeff

Small Town Service with a Smile

We needed to get an oil change last week but instead of taking it to the service station as we'd done before, we decided to get to know the mechanic in town so that if and when we have car problems, he'll be familiar with our vehicle. So I called to make an appointment and when I told him that I could drop it off and my wife could pick it up after she was done at the library, he said, "Oh, just leave it at the library with the keys and I'll pick it up and drop it off." Let me remind you that we have never met the mechanic. And the thought of leaving my car unattended with the keys in it was a bit scary. But everything went smoothly. This is just another example of something that is common in small town life that you would never dream of doing in urban areas.

On Saturday we left our puppy at home by himself for the longest period of time to date while we drove down to Bismarck for Starbucks, some shopping at Target and to attend the 2009 Capital A'Fair. Over 100 arts and crafts vendors descended on the Bismarck capital grounds for this two day summer event. It was a beautiful day and we had fun walking around the fair, eating roasted nuts and looking for unique gifts for friends and family members. And, in case you're wondering, Lewis was a bite hungry but just fine when we returned at 1:00pm.

We've had a very mild summer so far. It hardly reached 90 at all in July and we've yet to have anything near triple-digits. Today was a beautiful day, mid-70s with little wind, so nice in fact that I decided to get in some golf. I don't have a membership to our local course this year because, as much as I enjoy golfing, I just don't get out enough for it to be economical. And as a result, I've been out even less this summer because now I have to pay each time I play. Anyway, I had a very nice nine-holes of golf this afternoon; two pars, shot under 50 and even saw a garden snake.

By God's Grace, Jeff