Friday coffee with PJ

It's Friday! So it's time to pour a cup of your favorite coffee brew and join me for a few random thoughts… But I hope prove profitable for you!

1. Today is National Dog Day.  So for all of the 43 million plus households in the US who own dogs, today is a day to celebrate your little or big canine friend (and in case you're wondering, more households have dogs and cats.)! Now my household is not among these 43 million plus households that own a dog. And after reading a USA today story on the cost of owning one, I am not sad that I don't.  Please don't get me wrong. It's not that I don't like dogs. I grew up with a dog always as part of our family. But I'm at the point where my favorite dog is the dog I don't own. When I think of dogs (and cats) it just makes me wonder at the creativity of our Creator. So as you celebrate your your dog today, thank God for the gift God  has given to you to bring joy to your life!

2.   As I write these words it is now day #9 following my ulnar shortening osteotomy surgery*. The recovery has been a bit more difficult than I had  anticipated. I am scheduled for my post op appointment next Wednesday at 10 AM. Then I will have the wrapping removed, the cast removed and the stitches removed.  Sounds like a fun visit! 😳  Through this recovery I have been reminded of just how frail our health can be. At the same time I've been reminded that God is Jehovah-Rapha, the God Who Heals!  Yes we have surgeons to do surgery on us, and pharmacists who dispense medications to help us deal with pain and to heal… But it is ultimately God who does the healing. Given this reality I would ask all of you who are reading this to please pray for my recovery. And if I can pray for you in anyway, please don't hesitate to let me know and I will add you to my prayer list (Contact me directly at jsmith@gracewv.org).

I wish I could write more, but I am down to just one hand. So I'm actually using my voice activation feature on my iPad mini to type this blog post..

 Thanks for stopping by,

PJ

* What is ulnar shortening osteotomy surgery? The ulna bone, one of the two forearm bones, runs along the ulnar nerve in the elbow to wrist. The larger of the two bones, the radius, extending from the elbow to the wrist on the thumb side of the forearm. When damage occurs in the cartilage of the wrist joint holding radius and ulna bones together, the movements can cause pain. An ulnar shortening osteotomy removes part of the ulna bone and inserts a plate to hold the bone together. This surgical procedure can promote more movement and less pain on the ulnar side of the wrist.

The surgeon also repaired a torn ligament in my wrist and cleaned out the wrist joint. 

Friday Coffee with PJ

No new blog post this week as I am recovering from surgery ... so thought I would pull a post from the past. 

Hey You Geese!  Must You Do All That Honking? 

Yesterday morning, just before dawn, I woke up to the sounds of a flock of geese honking wildly as they flew over our house.  I heard more geese honking mid morning AND late afternoon as they flew over the church facility.  What is it with these geese?  As soon as they take flight, the honking begins.  I decided to do some research on the internet to see why they honk so much.  Most of the articles I read stated that geese honk to encourage one another in flight.  Now I am not opposed to geese encouraging each other, but I sure wish they could find some other way to do so – especially at the crack of dawn! 

But let’s look on the proverbial “bright side” of all this annoying honking (at least I find it annoying!). We can learn something from our feathered neighbors.  All of us are surrounded by people who need encouragement. They have slipped and fallen. They are bleeding.  They hurt.  They need a dose of encouragement as they attempt to go through their daily routine.  Yet all too often what we offer is criticism and quick advice. Let’s all purpose to give out encouragement today.  Here’s my challenge: Seek to give encouragement to at least three people today via a spoken word, a written note, or an act of kindness. Remember these words of Paul: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing”  (1 Thessalonians 5:11; see also Hebrews 3:13).

Thanks for stopping by . . . 

pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday already! Where is the week going? Not sure ... but am sure that I will be on my second cup of coffee before the clock strikes 7:00! Thanks for joining me for a few random (but I hope fruitful) thoughts!

1. If you read my blog of last week, you know that last Friday we were on the next to last day of our annual trek to the Delaware beach. What you may not know is that last Friday was actually our LAST day at Bethany Beach. While we were there ... just starting to have a good old time ... an unwelcome visitor paid a visit: "the stomach and points beyond bug." Of 16 of us in the house, 8 became sick throughout the week. When the final two (or so we thought at the time) succumbed in the early morning hours of Friday, we all decided to pack up and head for home a day early. I am so glad we did as I came down with the bug on Saturday evening and my wife on Sunday (victims #9 and #10). Needless to say ... this will be one beach vacation that we will always remember! As I reflected on our time, a line from the traditional marriage vow came to mind, "in sickness and in health." Our family lived this out in a very real way last week. And as my wife put it so well ... it gave us an opportunity to "family" one another. It was indeed a joy to see how my kids were helping each other out in the midst of the "plague!" But as I look forward to next summer ... I am hoping we can "family" one another in a different way! :)

2. A few years ago my wife, Sharon and I took a trip to visit Harper’s Ferry National Park (well worth the visit!). During our time there, we spent two nights in a nearby hotel.  When I registered for the room online, I entered my AAA membership number to obtain the 10% AAA discount offered by the hotel. In checking out, I noticed that the discount had not been applied. So I pointed this out to the front desk clerk. She re-ran the room charge and assured me that the discount had been applied. However, upon returning home, I got online to double check the rate I was charged. Guess what? I had not received the discount. So I decided to call the hotel. Sure, the dollar amount of the discount was not going to break the Smith family bank. But at this point it was more the principle of the matter that was getting to me. When I called, the same front desk clerk answered the phone. As I explained the reason for my call, she did remember me. So she went back to her computer and after checking assured me that the discount would be applied and my credit card would be charged the AAA discounted room rate. I thanked her for her help and hung up, still not totally assured that she was

right. The next day, I logged onto my credit card’s web site and saw the posting – which did not reflect the discount! So here is a question for you: when is a discount not a discount? When it is NOT applied to one’s account. As I thought of this – I thought of another transaction that gets applied to our account. It is the transaction that occurs the moment a person makes a faith commitment to Jesus Christ - trusting Him and Him alone for one's salvation from sin.  At that moment, that person’s sin is taken and applied to Christ’s account and Christ’s righteousness is taken and applied to that person’s account (see 2 Corinthians 5:21). We can rest easy about this transaction, for it is one we never have to worry about.  It is sealed with the blood of Jesus Himself! 

3. For those of you who have been following along with my wife's journey, you will be happy to know that a nuclear medicine bone scan (which she underwent right before our beach vacation) has revealed that her broken femur does appear to be healed. As the orthopedic surgeon said, "We are as sure as we can be that the bone has healed." That is good news (but since he said he is not 100% certain, he will continue to see her with her next visit in 6 weeks). This is good news! We have now gone from "it's my gut feeling that it is healed" to "we are as sure as we can be." That's progress! So Sharon is resuming her physical therapy with hopes of getting her leg straight (it is about 10 degrees short of straight) and getting more motion in her knee (currently no more than about an 80 degree bend). This also means that I can now proceed to have my surgery to correct my ulnar impaction syndrome.  My surgery is scheduled for next Tuesday (the 16th) at Orthopedic Associates's North Pointe Surgical Center. in Lancaster. Thanks for all your prayers and support!

And thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

I invite you to pour yourself a cup of coffee (and if you don't drink coffee, maybe you should start!) and join me for some abbreviated thoughts this morning.

1. Vacation. Merriam-Webster defines vacation as "a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel." Today's post is abbreviated because I did not get as much time to write this before I left for a week of vacation in Bethany Beach. Today is our final day of our annual trek as a family to this beautiful resort town along the Delaware coast. Perhaps next week I will share a story or two from our week (and I am sure I will have plenty to draw from as we spend the time with all of our kids and our eight grandkids - ages 16, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 8 months and 6 months. Hmmm. As I think about that ... perhaps you can take the word "relax" out of the definition of this vacation!  :)

2.  I just picked up our van from the body shop. A few weeks ago, I noticed from an upstairs window (that overlooked our driveway) that the paint was peeling off the roof of the van. In some spots it had begun to rust. So ... I thought I had better get the roof repainted before the rust began to spread. The last thing I wanted was a shower INSIDE the van! As I think about this ... I see a spiritual life lesson for all of us. We MUST, on a regular basis,  examine our walk with God. And we must do so by looking into the mirror of God's Word (James 1:22-25). In addition to God's Word ... you may want to ask for help from a trusted friend. All of us have blind spots (listen to my sermon on the life of King Jotham to hear some thoughts about blind spots and how devastating they can be). So it is extremely helpful that we give permission to others to speak truth into our lives when they see a blind spot (something that we either do not see or are choosing to ignore that we MUST address). Failure to do so will be a detriment to our walk with God and our impact upon the world in which we live.

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ

Friday morning means coffee and a couple of random thoughts that I hope will be of help to you as you strive to live your faith in Christ.

1. One thing I always find interesting about political conventions. They (both the Democrats and the Republicans) always only showcase "one side." Now it is obvious why they do it - they want to win in the general election. So we get it. But transferring this "looking-at-one-side" to the real world can really get us confused and out of sync. So we must be careful. We must especially be careful that we do not do this when looking at only "one side" of God. Often I hear people say something like, "I like to think of God as ...." Usually the word they fill in that blank with is something like "loving" or "gracious" or "good" or "faithful." And it is true. God is all of these and we need to be VERY thankful that he is! But isn't the God revealed in the Bible also "just" and "holy" and "wrathful?" Of course he is. The Apostle Paul, in writing to the CHURCH in Rome, urged them to "consider the kindness and the severity of God" (Romans 11:22). And in the book of Hebrews we are told, in words written to Christians, that "our God is a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:28-29). It seems to me that today's Church in increasingly looking at God in a "one-sided" manner. Yes God is a God of incredible and amazing love! But he is also a God of terrifying holiness (do a study of those in the Bible who came face-to-face with God and be prepared for some face plants!). Only as we understand just how awesome God is in his holiness, justice, wrath, etc. .... will we truly understand and rejoice in his love, mercy and grace!

 2. Controversy. It is everywhere. No matter where you go, or where you turn, you will find controversy. Even the one event that perhaps brings the world together like no other is not immune to it. Of course I am talking about the Olympic Games. Just one week from today the Summer Games will have its opening ceremonies in Rio De Janeiro. And in our day of seeming endless controversy, the Olympics has its share (think Russian doping scandal and athletes housing issues ... just to name a few). And if you don't like controversy ... well you may want to plan three month excursion to the moon because more controversy is sure to be coming our way as the presidential election heats up. What saddens me about all of this is that the differences we all have in so many varied arenas of life cannot seem to be discussed in a civil and kind way. Instead of trying to understand one another we tend to attack those with whom we disagree. I could go on a lot longer about this ... but let me suggest one simple step all of us can take toward a way we can "defuse" heated conversations about controversial matters....let's just purpose to LISTEN to UNDERSTAND what the others are saying. That, my friend, will go a long way toward bringing back civil discourse in this country to where it needs to be. And to my fellow followers of Christ ... let's practice the admonition of the Apostle Paul to the Church at Colosse:

"Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person" (Colossians 4:5-6).

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj

Friday Coffee with PJ (inludes recent update on my wife, Sharon)

Friday morning (like EVERY morning for me) means COFFEE! So if you are reading this in the morning hours, please pour yourself a cup of java and join me for a few random thoughts (and if it's afternoon, iced coffee is great for these hot and humid days - especially if you drink decaff!).

1. Back in June in one of my three sermons on Isaiah chapter forty (one of the greatest portraits of our awesome God in all of the Bible), I quoted the following words of A.W. Tozer found in his classic book, The Root of the Righteous:

“Probably the most widespread and persistent problem to be found among Christians is the problem of the lack of spiritual progress. Why, after years of Christian profession do so many persons find themselves no further along than when they first believed?”

“The causes of this lack of growth are many. It would not be accurate to scribe the trouble to one single fault. One there is, however, which is so universal but it may easily be the main cause: failure to give time to the cultivation of the knowledge of God. The Christian is strong or weak depending upon how closely he has cultivated the knowledge of God.”

I believe Tozer is spot on with his thoughts. True when he wrote them over  half a century ago. Just as true (if not more so) today! How well do you know God? What are you doing to get to know him better? Vital questions to ask yourself today! 

2.  We live in such an "instant" society. When we want something, we want it NOW! Ordering online shows just how true this is. Consider with me Amazon, one of the largest online retailers in the world. For several years, Amazon has offered Prime members free two-day shipping. So if you order on a Monday ... you are guaranteed delivery on Wednesday. However, when Amazon first offered this service, if you ordered on a Friday, you would receive your shipment on Monday. But that has changed. Now you will receive your goods on Sunday! And since that is still not good enough for many, Amazon has been offering same day delivery (Prime Now) in over two dozen larger urban markets around the country. This desire for instantaneity has sadly infiltrated into our spiritual lives. Therefore we expect spiritual growth to come quickly and with little effort. And when this is not the case, we grow discouraged and do little more than "tread water." The New Testament over and over again tells us that we must "make every effort" (2 Peter 1:5-11) and "train" ourselves for godliness (1 Timoth 4:7). So ... what are you dong to "train" yourself to be godly? You might very well be thinking to yourself ... "Right, John! Like I have any spare time to train for godliness! I am running from the time I crawl out of bed ... get the kids up ... feed them breakfast ... get ready for work ... drop them off at the babysitter's ... and put in a full day at the office .. and then go through an evening routine that is just as hectic as the morning. Where am I going to find the time to do anything else?Isn't going to church a couple of Sundays each month enough?" If I just described your thoughts (and I am guessing I am for many of you), let me suggest a short and a very readable book that just might go a long way in changing your life: Simplify Your Spiritual Life: Spiritual Disciplines for the Overwhelmed.  If you order it and read it, you will not be disappointed! 

3. Last Saturday our men's ministries sponsored a night out to the local minor league baseball park to see the hometown Lancaster Barnstarmers play. I took along with me a dear friend, Paul Klawitter, whom I unfortunately don't get a lot of face time with (we see each other probably every-other-year). You see he lives in Dijon, France which is a bit of a "hike" from Lancaster, PA. I first met Paul,who

now serves Encompass World Partners as Sr. Director of International Church Planting, back in 1984. At the time he was an elder at Bon Meade Grace Brethren Church in Coraopolis, PA (near Pittsburgh) and I was a young pastor looking for a new church ministry. We connected over the phone and immediately hit it off. Within two months of that initial phone conversation, I was moving my young family from Philadephia to Pittsburgh for the next chapter of my pastoral ministry career. Even though I served alongside of Paul for a brief six months (he and his wife moved to the Philadelphia area to begin seminary at my alma mater, Biblical Theological Seminary in preparation for their deployment to France), we have kept in touch over the years. Because of our friendship, I believe I am a better man, a better pastor, a better husband and dad. In our Facebook world of shallow relationships, it is so refreshing and necessary to have friends like Paul. I thank God I have a few of these! 

4. Finally a quick update on my wife: We saw Sharon's orthopedic surgeon on Wednesday of this week. After discussing with Sharon her progress in the last 6 weeks, checking out her knee and closely examining the x-rays, he told us that he has "a gut feeling" that Sharon's broken femur is healed. But since the x-rays are still not conclusive, he ordered a nuclear medicine bone scan for Sharon for next Thursday, July 28th. We will then go back to see him on August 10th for the results. Hopefully it will confirm what he suspects but cannot completely confirm via the x-rays and clinical evidence alone. Thanks for your prayers. 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
 

Friday Coffee with PJ

It's Friday! It's coffee day! (well, EVERYDAY is coffee day for me!) .... but today I hope to share some thoughts with you over a cup of coffee (or maybe in the midst of this heat and humidity you might want to drink your coffee on ice ... or even go for some iced tea - not quite the caffeine kick but still better than nothing!).

1. Facing a presidential election with the two most unpopular candidates in the history of presidential politics ... many of us are at a quandary as to how to vote. My son-in-law sent me an open letter written by Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska. According to my son-in-law it was "exceptionally well written." I agree! I think you would find it helpful. You can find it here. 

2. On Wednesday of this week, a portion of Lancaster County experienced significant flooding. The area involved was primarily East Lampeter Township and a small portion of West Lampeter Township. Both of these municipalities are located just east of the city of Lancaster. I live in Willow Street, just south of the city. Whereas the flooded areas (aproximately 4 miles or so north east of my location) received upwards of 7 -8 inches of rain (in just a few hours) ... my rain gauge measured a mere 1 1/2 inches. A friend who lives just a few miles southwest of me told me that he had barely enough rain to water his lawn! Another friend who lives just a few miles further from me said they saw no rain at

all!  Wow! From flooding basements and stranded cars to just some cloudy skies ... all within just a few miles! Amazing but not all that surprising. That is the nature of summer Thunderstorms. They can develop in one area and totally miss nearby areas. And what happened one Wednesday is the weather effect known as "training." This occurs when storms develop and slowly move over the same area over an extended period of time. This is what results in the high rainfall amounts. This reminds me of life. All of us go through storms. I may be going through one ... and you may not. Storms have a way of developing ... dropping their pain and hardship ... and then moving on. At times, the storms of life do "train" where they come one right after another. And this makes life tough! Now ... I don't know where you are in your life journey. Maybe the sun is shining and has been shining for quite some time. Or perhaps you are in the midst of a flooding "storm." But whatever the case, we must always keep in mind that our God is sovereign over the circumstances of our lives. So if the sun is shining and "all is well" in your life --- then you need to THANK God for this blessing!  But it you are struggling through hardship --- then you need to TRUST God through it, knowing that his eye is upon you and he has you firmly in his grip!

3. Finally ... today I must officiate a memorial service for an individual who many would say died before his time. His death is just another reminder of how fragile life is. Every single one of us will one day follow in this man's footsteps. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that "It is appointed unto to man to die once, and after that comes judgment." All of us will die. But there is an "after that" (death). And what comes after death is judgment. My friends are you ready for that judgment? It is coming as certain as death will one day come calling for you. If you are not sure you are ready ... I urge you to take a few moments to check out two ways to live: the choice we all face. 

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj