tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-283400092011-04-21T13:39:17.111-06:00... a place to remember who you are and why you do what you do. Live in Peace, Hope for what is not yet seen, and Love simply because you have been loved first.Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-25371639196574197282007-08-01T09:24:00.001-06:002007-08-01T09:50:02.725-06:00

This is Miss Viola "Nanny Precious" Smith. We sent to Port Arthur to help rebuild her home and she ended up rebuilding our hearts. Her modest, 2BDR 1BA home was shaken off its foundation, nearly 2/3 of her roof blown off, and she was left with no hot water, no kitchen or other livable space for nearly 18 months after Hurricane Rita (the biggest of the three sisters storms of 2005 - Wilma, Katrina

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-39113863646136032252007-08-01T09:03:00.000-06:002007-08-01T09:22:14.656-06:00

Rewarding none the less, this summer has been a long one. Not in the terms of the hours and hours of sunlight calling me to figure out how I am going to waste the day, but in the many experiences that have made the summer seem nearly non-existent. I mean I really cannot believe that it is August already. Football season is creeping up and the fall schedule of events is going to be here before

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-32360767904904693272007-06-20T21:52:00.000-06:002007-06-20T22:09:33.561-06:00

I have recently been quite surprised by the number of surprise calls from friends and folks whom I think of often, yet fail to keep in touch with very readily. These are actually people I consider friends and even family. I have been in their weddings, they in mine, I have even officiated a couple of them. And what a wonderful feeling it is to be extended God's grace in this way. To be

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-78613805293287411282007-06-08T20:44:00.000-06:002007-06-08T21:12:39.589-06:00

I was recently asked by a friend regarding my "bridge" post, what exactly I saw up there on the bridge. Here are just a few things:I saw what time it truly is in my life... someone who needs a little more guidance and attention now... celebrations of life that are taken for granted (and two parades) The endless possibilities that the priority of happiness has to offer some things are just too

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-91061609233196605352007-06-05T10:22:00.000-06:002007-06-05T10:57:08.330-06:00

In recent months I have been blessed with a great deal of revelation and spiritual renewal, hence the previous post of crossing the bridge. Part of that renewal has been through defining things that have been with me and agitating me all along without a full understanding. One of these "defining" moments came through a mix of understanding the need for particular shifts in church culture, a

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-33825940545980042362007-05-29T10:15:00.000-06:002007-05-29T10:50:18.633-06:00

Alright, already! I heard the hints of freinds lately to get back into this thing. And just today I was inspired to do so with some new direction. I want to introduce you to some things that have been ddep and rich in moving my spirit lately. But before I do that, bid me a time to ramble about my pitiful self for a moment. I have been on teh bridge lately - right out in the middle. I wasn't

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-31432939321843576852007-03-27T12:56:00.000-06:002007-03-27T13:38:33.909-06:00

...as in to drink lots of caffeine, or not. That is the dilemma as we approach Holy Week. Between leading two different services in the community that week and trying to get the word out about our own 4 services from Thursday through Sunday, what will I do to keep from a trip to the ER for exhaustion? This has never happened in all my years of ministry and all its stresses. I usually do a

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-86043902199172557262007-03-06T15:04:00.000-06:002007-03-06T15:21:23.134-06:00

I am so unbelievably behind on this posting stuff. Believe me, lots of interesting and noteworthy things have happened recently - dinner with Jimmy, the snow angle saving me and my family and Jimmy from a nearly stupid drive North (thanks, April), and church in the fellowship hall because of the new "weather policy" defining when and when not to use the sanctuary in order to save money on heat. I

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-13131176325558565462007-02-27T20:29:00.000-06:002007-02-27T20:44:57.192-06:00

This is what Sabbath is about! And this exactly what this blog is about. This is one of those rare, hard to capture moments. No posing, no posturing, no coaxing. Just real, raw humanity at its best. Trina, my wife, Ethan's mommy, and now photographer extraordinaire took this picture at random and cpatured one of my favorite Ethanisms, with Oreo gotee to add. It will forever be captured now

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-22372121865071005972007-02-22T10:39:00.000-06:002007-02-22T11:07:01.599-06:00

As I stare out my window this morning to see the beautiful rays of sun casting warmth and welcome to the soul upon the stone arch pillars of our church edifice, I can't keep from revelling over this thought in my heart: "Holy Crap! What a week or so it has been! I need some sacred space for the love of Pete!" What has happened to make my heart so alive? 1. The bathroom I remodeled is still not

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-48564598324471176592007-02-08T15:14:00.000-06:002007-02-06T15:36:15.911-06:00

I get to dress in drag again! Oops. I guess I shouldn't say that with such great enthusiasm. It's really not as much a fetish at all as it is a scene from my seminary days. I was in a group of cross-dressing lipsyners and dancers known as "The King James Version." It was 1.) a spoof on the Christian Coalition's announcement that they no longer accepted the KJV as the only irrenat and holy

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-90280390513698316292007-02-03T22:51:00.000-06:002007-02-03T23:20:45.284-06:00

Tonight I took time to do something a little different and I am so glad I did. Since Ethan is in a new place, and there was still a bit of commotion at bed time, I laid down on the floor next to him and we shared and I learned from my 21-month-old son. Ethan has always been able to confidently look me eye to eye and boldly proclaim prophetic and profound statements like, "bogo eetch-o-beyoo."

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-75425113163501694102007-02-03T22:36:00.000-06:002007-02-03T22:51:35.047-06:00

Far - go is certainly a far cry from being isolated from the rest of civilization. I realized on our recent North Dakota excursion when I ran into a former and re-discerning Lutheran pastor. Imagine that - being in North Dakota and running into a Lutheran pastor. That's like walking into a convent and spotting a nun. Anyhow, it was such a pleasure to have broken bread (beer is bread, right?)

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-80082325152365594292007-02-03T21:49:00.000-06:002007-02-03T22:31:39.796-06:00

I couldn't believe Toby's band didn't play the song "Safety Dance." Well, I guess, for one they are not that kind of band, and two that song is stupid. I write to you from the havens of Minneapolis, Minnesota - Eden Prairie to be exact. As we stop for a short visit and to witness the baptism of our niece/Trina's goddaughter, I must regress upon notes and wonderful memories in order to bring you

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-77196373509983666852007-01-30T16:06:00.000-06:002007-01-30T16:23:44.249-06:00

That is the question of the day. Because right now in West Central Illinois where are experiencing "river-effect" winter winds dropping the already low temp of 12 all the way down to single digits and likely negative ones soon. This weekend it is supposed to get colder. And guess where me and my lovely family are trotting merrily off to for a short getaway? That's right - Fargo, North Dakota.

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-43788906234355061692007-01-29T22:03:00.000-06:002007-01-29T22:28:10.666-06:00

Okay, okay. I'm back, and I get the point. And thank you to April, Steve, Amy, Jimmy, and others who have reminded me why I wanted to start this adventure in the first place. SO no that I am back from my own long hiatis of a sabbath here goes...Ralph died on Thursday. Who is Ralph? I have no damn clue even though I buried him today. And even after a two hour phone conversation wiht his 75-

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28340009.post-1147974920045908072006-05-18T11:42:00.000-06:002006-05-18T12:05:07.073-06:00

Welcome to Sabbath Spot. First let me try to assure you that this is not a place to coerce or to prosletyze, nor a place to be political or anxious in debate. It is a place where I like to share the smatterings of my heart and mind. It is a place to share with others glimpses of holiness that redeem us, renew us, and frankly keep us sane and humble. It is a place to find inspiration from each

Jobyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16168625858107567724noreply@blogger.com4