Thanksgiving doesn't have to be over!

Yes, I know this post might have been more timely last month, but "better late than never!"
This year my family and I have put together what we have called "An Alphabet of Thanksgiving". We went through the alphabet, finding at least one "thanksgiving" for each letter. Some of the letters were challenging, but it was a very meaningful activity.
The reason for posting this today is that, even though it's Christmas, and in a few hours we'll be thinking "Happy New Year", Thanksgiving should be a way of life, not just one day!
I invite you and your family to make your own "Alphabet of Thanksgiving" as 2009 comes to a close.
And, to get a jump on everyone else, "Happy New Year!"

Merry Christmas!

My prayer for each of you is that the God of Peace will be with you. So many people are facing significant challenges as 2009 comes to a close - but God's Son is with us. He is "Emmanuel, God with us". In the midst of the holiday rush, please try to find even a few minutes to sit and experience His peace.

Pray - and wash your hands!

Whereever you're reading this, you've probably heard of the "swine flu", or H1N1. In addition to the "regular" flu, now we've got to be prepared for this new strain. Sunday at Open Door I suggested we pray for God's protection - many of our regular attendees work "out in the public", and are at risk for this infection.
After service, Donna (my wife), who works at the Health Department, said, "I tried to get your attention. We need to pray, but we also need to wash our hands!"
And she's right. Prayer is important, but God expects us to use the intelligence He gave us! So follow the guidelines: wash your hands OFTEN; sneeze/cough into your arm; don't put others at risk if you have flu-like symptoms.
This is another example of the synergy between God and us. God will do what only HE can, but He does expect us to do our part! So - pray and wash your hands!!

Happy Birthday, USA!

It's now the evening of July 4. Hopefully you have spent some time today reflecting on the blessings of being in the USA. If you have family or friends living in other countries, you probably don't need reminding of this!

On another note: I read somewhere that you shouldn't start a blog if you weren't going to post several times a week. Well, I obviously have failed at that! However, it seems to me that if I can post at least as often as some people go to church, it's all good! :)

Happy Fourth!

Happy 35th Anniversary!

Donna and I celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary June 11 at one of our favorite places - the beach! The pictures are on the left hand side of this blog - I'm trying to figure out how to move them to this particular post, but, so far, no success with that!

"Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

That's the question the Lord asked Abraham in Gen. 18:14. The context is God's clarification to Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son. It's interesting that both Abraham (Gen. 17:17) and Sarah (Gen. 18:12) laughed at this news. In response to Sarah's laughter, God asked the question - I call it "The question I need to ask every day."

I discovered that the Hebrew word translated "hard" in Gen. 18:14 is translated other places "wondrous" or "wondrous works." I suggest you get a concordance and do a topical study on what the Bible says about God's wondrous works.

What "wondrous" things has God done for you in the past few months? It would benefit you to list them - and thank God for them!

What "wondrous" thing do you need God to do for you this week? Ask! And feel free to drop me an email and I'll be honored to join you in prayer.

Hungry for blessing

The response to the "Blessing of the Hands" ceremony has been amazing. In fact, yesterday an entire department asked me if I would bless their hands - they hadn't been aware of what was happening. Even though it started as blessing the hands of nurses, it has already spread to other departments in the hospital.

Many people are hungry for blessing in their lives. Not the unrealistic, hyped-up "come to God and get all your desires met" - but a sincere recognition of the work they do, and asking God to bless them in that work.

Yes, I'm a Pastor and a Chaplain and people expect me to bless them. But what about you? If you're a Christ-follower, you are to be a channel of God's blessing to others.

Today, instead of a glib, "have a nice day", or even "have a blessed day", why not slow down long enough to let a fellow-worker know you appreciate what they do, and ask God to bless others through them? Yes, you'll have to be careful not to offend people, but hopefully you know your co-workers well enough to know those who would be open to God's blessing!

I pray the same for you today - that God will bless you to be a blessing to others.

In honor of nurses

As the "Real" link at www.opendoorcommunity.net puts it, I am bi-vocational, which is a fancy term that means I have a job in addition to being the Pastor of Open Door.

I serve as a Chaplain at two local hospitals and two local long-term-care facilities (commonly called "nursing homes"). As you can imagine, I have spent a lot of time working with nurses in these facilities. I have watched them laugh at the funny things patients and families do; I have heard them privately vent their frustration over non-compliant patients; and I have watched them weep with families at the death of a loved one. Good nurses are some of the most amazing people I know, and they are among my heroes.

This coming week (beginning May 4) is Nurses' Week. If you know a nurse, thank them for their service.

I have the honor of officiating at a "Blessing of the Hands" ritual at one of the hospitals Monday morning. Please pray with me that it will be a meaningful time to the nurses who participate.

"Happy Nurses' Week", and God bless you as you allow God to minister through you.

My friend Bill

If you're in Augusta, you have probably heard about the accident today between a dump truck and a Honda Helix. My friend Bill was on the Helix, and did not survive the accident.
I knew Bill from our work together as Chaplains at a local hospital. He was a gracious, caring man, who loved and served God in many different capacities. He would often call to tell me he was on his way to Canada, or Florida, or a church camp, to do missions work.
Bill loved the "old time Gospel hymns and songs", and made several CDs singing and playing his guitar.
He loved God - he loved his family - and he loved ministering to people.
When you pray today, please pray for Bill's wife Marian and his family.

Testing, 1, 2, 3...

Apparently some of the readers of this blog have tried to post comments, but have been unsuccessful. We're (and by "we" I mean our Webmaster, Mike!) are working to resolve this issue. In the meantime, thanks for checking in on "The Eagle's Nest."

"I did not know that!"

April 19 we are beginning a new series called "Heroes." We'll be studying the lives of many of the characters in the book of Genesis. As I've started preparing, I've thought that I need to subtitle the series, "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly"! God was honest in making sure we understood that Biblical "Heroes" were human, just like us.

We are beginning our study with Abraham. As I've been researching his early life, I've been channeling Johnny Carson - "I did not know that!" Come Sunday - 11:00 a.m. - and I have an idea you'll be echoing those words!

Thank you, pray-ers

"Blessing" is such an over-used word in Christian circles - there's an idea for an upcoming blog - a "Christianese Dictionary!"
Having said that, I can think of no better word to describe those of you who pray for me than "blessing." It's one thing to say we believe in the power of prayer - it's another thing to actually pray!
I am blessed to have a group of people at Open Door who pray - not just for me, but for anyone who contacts our prayer chain. (There's a link on our church website you can use to submit a prayer request to me. If you want it to be private, let me know. Otherwise, I'll let the Prayer Team know, and they'll be praying!)
Throughout my week at hospitals and long-term care facilities, I am often asked to "put me on your prayer chain." I love being able to tell them about the Prayer Team at Open Door!
Prayer Team, I depend on your prayer support. Thank you for your faithfulness. And thank you for praying for me this week - keep it up!

Good Friday

>From time to time my wife Donna will be contributing to this blog. I'm sure it won't be long until she'll have her own! This is from her:

On this day about 2000 years ago, your friends must have been so devastated. Their dreams and best hopes for deliverance were crushed, their hearts were broken by the death of their best friend. Certainly, they were confused. They had seen you raise a man from the dead, give sight to the blind, walk on water. Yet you did not use this power to prevent your capture, torture and death. How could you save the world if you were DEAD? Peter must have felt particularly awful, thinking about how he had fulfilled your prophecy by betraying you three times. And the others had just slunk away not knowing what to do.

How sorrowful your poor mother must have been. She must have recalled your miraculous birth, the angel that TOLD her that you were the Messiah. Could she have been delusional when she had those angel visitations? How could you be the Messiah if you were hanging there DEAD? And if it were all just a dream, how could she have become pregnant? She knew that she had not been with a man before she was pregnant.

There were so many ways that she had watched you and KNEW that you were special.

She had seen you turn water into wine, heal the sick. How could those things have happened if you were not GOD’s son? But how could God’s son be dead?

You had always been so kind to her, so considerate. And now she would have to bury you. NO mother should have to bury her child.

This was the darkest day of her life- the darkest day in the history of the world. Her hopes and dreams of yearning for the Messiah were crushed.

They had been so cruel to him- those soldiers. How could any man withstand such a beating? She shivered thinking about it. It was so cold without him. Even the sky had gotten pitch black in the middle of the day.

How could she manage to go on? This was such a dark day this Friday- such a bad day.

And what do we call this day today? Good Friday!!!

What transformed this horrible day—the worst in the history of the world into a day that the world celebrates as “Good Friday”?

Mary woke on Sunday perhaps exhausted from too little sleep. There was something she must do. She must anoint the body. Who would go with her to move that huge stone? His disciples were hiding. They may not want to be seen near the tomb. But one last time she simply MUST do something for him. It was the last thing she could do for him.

The man asked who she was looking for. “He is not here. He has risen”.

Risen? What did he mean – risen? Just like he woke up and got up? That would mean he was alive? How could that be? Surely someone was playing a trick?

And then she saw him. “Mary, it is I.”

He had overcome death. That changes everything. EVERYTHING.

She must tell someone. She must tell EVERYONE. He was dead and now he is alive.

That changes everything.

Friday changed everything. GOOD Friday.

Sunday's Coming

It's golf tournament time in Augusta. The eyes of the golfing world are fixed on our world-famous golf course. The final day of the tournament is Sunday, and some of the most exciting golf ever played is played on "the back nine at Augusta."
But the most exciting and life-changing news ever heard is being celebrated Sunday in churches throughout Augusta - and the world. It's the news that "Jesus is alive and well!"
If you're in Augusta - whether it's your home, or you're in town for the golf - I welcome you to meet with us at Open Door Community Church Sunday at 11:00 a.m. as we celebrate Easter.

Look out, PK's blogging!

It had to happen sooner or later. I have now entered the blog-osphere! I'm sure I won't be blogging daily, but I hope to give you something worth reading and thinking about at least 2-3 times a week.