Journeys 7-29-12 Doniphan VBS

Journeys

7-29-12

This week we had Vacation Bible School at Doniphan.  We met Sunday night through Thursday night from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  

Many thanks to Donna Bieck for coordinating VBS once again this year.  We had 75 kids and 20 adult and youth workers this year.  Each night we’d begin with a little music and community time then move on to stations with Crafts, games, skits, drumming circle, movies and music.  In the middle, we’d all meet for snack.  Every part had a message.  Then we’d all gather once again at the end for more songs and dancing.

Our scripture stories were about Jesus and the Roman soldiers, Lazarus, Pontius Pilot and Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.  Thursday night was the program for the parents.  Today at Doniphan, kids who can be there will perform the same program for us.

I try and remind VBS leaders that all their hard work and effort is truly worth it.  The ripple effect of 75 kids experiencing God’s love through the folks and food at our church will expand their hearts and make a world with more compassionate and loving people for generations to come.  

I like to think that we overflowed gift upon gift to those 75 kids until they got the feeling that gifting others is just the way to be in this world.  I think that makes Jesus smile.

Grace & Peace,

Journeys 7-22-12 "Thanks for your prayers!"

Many thanks to all who prayed for me this past week as I waited for the results of a biopsy on my prostate.  Thanks for the hugs, handshakes, texts, e-mails and phone calls.  Your expressions of caring meant a lot to me.

I had the procedure done in Lincoln on Tuesday and got the results the following Monday afternoon.  After 6 days of waiting, I got good news.  There was no cancer in any of the 12 biopsied samples!  We’ll keep an eye on my PSA in three months when I do my annual physical.  For now, I am in the clear!

Having been there with my wife Cindy through her breast cancer surgeries, I know how a diagnosis of cancer changes you for the rest of your life.  Even though she has been cancer free for three years, we’ll still worry about it’s return for the rest of her life.

So many guys who have been through similar situations with their prostate have talked to me and given me words of encouragement.  And the universal truth of all biopsies seems to be that waiting for the results is the worst part.  Even when the results are not good news, knowing seems to be preferable to not knowing.

I told several people last Sunday that the “What ifs?” were crushing me.  And the closer I got to knowing, the more my mind and soul became scattered.  The unknown unglued me. And the longer it went, the harder it was to hold it all together.

Thats where your caring came in.  You held me when I was having a hard time holding on to myself.  Your letting me know you were praying for me drew me out of my self-imposed isolation.  It broadened and fuzzied my focus and helped me know that I was not alone in this.

When I got that phone call on Monday it was like a veil was lifted from my soul.  The dark menacing clouds that’d been building up in my heart and mind gave way to sunshine.  All that worrying and gearing up for another surgery just disintegrated .  

My daughter asked me why I worried so much before I even knew the results.  I said I needed to worry . . .  just in case. 

 Thanks again.  And please know that no matter what the results, your expressions of caring were God’s presence come to life for me this past week.  Because of you, I knew that no matter what that nurse said about my lab results on Monday afternoon, God was with me, and we would get through this, together.

Grace & Peace,

Rev. Kelly

Journeys 7-15-12 Rosedale VBS

Journeys

7-15-12

This past week was Vacation Bible School at the Rosedale Church.  Many thanks to Jill Osler for coordinating VBS once again this year.  We had 24 kids and 13 adult helpers from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Monday through Thursday.  There were stations for Music, Crafts, Science, Snack, Recreation and Story Telling.  This is the second year I got to be the Story Teller.

This year’s theme centered around water.  You’d be amazed at how many Bible stories there are on or around the water.  The Bible stories were about Noah, Naamen, John the Baptist, Jesus and the disciples who were fishermen.  The kids got to make amazing crafts and artwork and take it all home on the last day.  Today in church, they will share three of the nine songs they learned during the week.  We’ll also share with you a little drumming circle I did with the kids.

I really enjoy getting to know the kids a little better through the week.  Our crowd is basically church kids and friends and neighbors and grand kids.  So they were basically the same these past two years.

Rosedale will enjoy seeing the kids up front sharing their music and motions today.  Doniphan is counting down to their VBS that starts July 22nd.

Grace & Peace,

Journeys 7-8-12

Journeys

7-8-12

I’ve always considered this Journeys article in the bulletin to be kind of a personal letter to my congregations.  This week this is true more than ever.

See, I’ve been debating if and how to tell you this.  I am basically a pretty private person.  And I’ve not always been the best at asking for help when I need it.  Though through these “Journeys” and in preaching, I believe God has stretched me to share my own journey as a way of getting you to maybe see your own journey in a way you hadn’t thought of before. And I’ve found that I can write some things a whole lot easier than I can say them.  So I’m writing this now, cause when I think about saying it out loud, the tears start to flow.  And I don’t want to be embarrassed by my tears.

See, I would like for you to pray for me.  This week, on Tuesday, in Lincoln, I’m getting a biopsy done on my prostate gland.  My Dad had prostate cancer when he was in his early 60’s.  His older brother had been diagnosed with it after it had spread beyond the prostate gland.  In the end, my Uncle Bill died after that cancer spread to his bones and brain.  So my Dad has said that his brother saved his life by getting him to get his prostate checked out.  So when they found cancer in Dad’s prostate, it was still contained within the gland and removing it removed the cancer.  He didn’t need any further radiation treatment or anything.  And he’s still out there preaching at the age of 82!  Now, my PSA numbers are high for someone my age, so the next step is to go in and sample some tissues for cancer.  This kind of cancer has a genetic component.  It tends to be passed down from one generation to the next.

I think my tears are about my fear of cancer.  I’ve seen how cancer can take a healthy body and grind a life to a halt.  I may get lucky and they’ll find nothing to be concerned about.  If they do find something, then we’ll talk about the options on what to do next.

I do believe that your prayers for me will make a difference.  I believe that prayers for another are a way of extending our caring across the space that separates us.  I’ve had multiple experiences when other peoples’ prayers helped me make it through a crisis.  This may or may not be a crisis.  But I ask your prayers for me and my soul in the midst of the biopsy process.  Its about the fear of the unknown.  There’s the test, the waiting for the results, and finally the conclusion of the lab work.  Thank you for praying for me this week.  It means a lot.

Grace & Peace,