Ray Boltz

Well I just heard last night the Ray Boltz has come out of the closet... I must say I'm a little shocked by the whole thing. I've had the chance to sing a few of his songs. I sang "The Anchor Holds" at two funerals, one was a 12 year old girl and the other was my wife's grandfather. Both times it was tough to get through but these words have reached many people. Also I sang "Thank you" a couple of times as well. It just seems odd to me that Ray would come out of the closet now after all these years of singing and expressing his Worship to the Lord before thousands. As far as I know he has said he is gay and that's that. He also said he's been gay his whole life and that's the way God made him. This sparks the age old questions... are people born gay or do they become gay through a series of bad decisions? I'd like to get your thoughts here... let me know what you think.

LifeChurch.tv

Check out Lifechurch.tv.... there are resources for Pastors like you wouldn't believe. It is good stuff! If you are interested in good preaching and creative bible series this is the place for you.

http://www.lifechurch.tv/

Answering a question with a question

What is up with people answering a question with a question? That just drives me crazy! This seems to be a growing trend in our culture and work life. It seems like I can never get my questions answered in a timely way. I think it is more about not committing to an answer because if that answer is wrong then that person might look bad. I'm interested to here what you think out there. Do people do this to you? Do you answer questions with questions? Do you feel like you are on the TV show "Whose line is it anyway"?

A New Look

Hello everyone, I've decided to go with a new look for my blog... let me know what you think. I got kind of bored with the old one. With the new look I'm also considering a new approach to blogging. I feel like my posts are to long and most people probably don't read them... so what I'll be doing is keeping them short and to the point. Shorter blogs and more of them.

ADK Trip (July 07)

Well it has taken a long time for me to write about this trip because it is hard for me to put into words what happened. For me it was a wake up call in many ways. Through it all I found a good hiking partner who guided me during our hike in July. We had 9 peaks scheduled but I only ended up doing two Mt. Marshall and Mt Colden. We got in late and planned to hike into Flowed Lands in the dark. This proved to be more challenging then expected. Hiking by headlamp is sometimes a difficult task. You are not always sure about your footing and it just feels a lot different then hiking in daytime. Regardless of this we were able to get to our lean-to at Flowed Lands without a lot of problems. The very next morning we got up to find the good part our breakfast the eggs was eaten by a bear. We did not have enough room in our bear canister so I had the eggs in a small Nalgene bottle. I figured this would hold up but there were claw marks in the side and top was ripped off. So we had sausage for breakfast which proved not to be a good for a hike.
We started from Flowed Lands and headed towards Colden Dam in search for the Mt. Marshall herd path. We were able to find it easily and we then started our ascent. Rich got way ahead of me, so I let him go and hiked at my own pace. I have never been a slow hiker so I was amazed that he got so far ahead of me. Near the top I branched off on another herd path that was descending. I knew it had to be wrong so I back tracked and started yelling for Rich. About 10 to 15 minutes later we found each other. We had both been yelling each others names during that time and both of us could not hear each other. So we then got to the top of Marshall and had lunch. Our descent was quick and we made it back to Colden Dam.
From this point we decided to split up. Rich would climb Iroquois and I would climb Colden. As I started to ascend I knew I was running out a steam fast. I decided to press on and get to the top. It was a hot day and I was sweating a lot. I had some to eat at the top of Colden but I proved not to be enough. On the way down I started to lose my mind a little. Eventually I got to Colden Lake and still had a bit to go. I was fading fast and knew this could be the end of my hike. I struggled to get to Colden Dam. Rich had been waiting for me and he saw that I was not right. A group offered me some soup and I ate it only for it to come up again several minutes later. I sat on the Dam not wanting to go anywhere for a good hour. We still had about a mile to go to our lean-to. Rich had to make a decision because at that point I could not think for myself. We decided to try to get back to out lean-to. It took us twice as long to make it back and I fell several times because of exhaustion. He was able to keep me going and we made it back.
When we got back I ate a little and went to bed, I woke up twice during the night and threw up. The next morning we hiked out 4 miles to the car. We had a good lunch/dinner at Ausable Inn and I still was not feeling right, the owner took good care of me. They gave me orange juice mixed with cranberry juice and I came back to within minutes. We decided to stay there for the night and re-charge. Rich went on to do two more peaks (Cascade and Porter) and after that we made the 8 hour trip back to Harrisburg PA.
All in all I learned a lot about my body. What I can do and can’t do. Also I learned that eating the right foods on the trail can make or break a trip. I plan to make a lot of changes for my next hike in April.

That's My King by S.M. Lockridge

The Bible says my King is a seven-way king....He's the King of the Jews; that's a racial king....He's the King of Israel; that's a national King....He's the King of Righteousness....He's the King of the Ages.....He's the King of Heaven....He's the King of Glory....He's the King of kings, and He's the Lord of lords. That's my King. Well....I wonder, do you know Him?.... David said, "The Heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork. My King is a sovereign King. No means of measure can define His limitless love. No far seeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply. No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings. He's enduringly strong....He's entirely sincere....He's eternally steadfast....He's immortally graceful....He's imperially powerful....He's impartially merciful....... Do you know Him?
He's the greatest phenomenon that ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son....He's a sinner's Saviour....He's the centerpiece of civilization....He stands in the solitude of Himself....He's august....He's unique....He's unparalleled....He's unprecedented....He's the loftiest idea in literature....He's the highest personality in philosophy....He's the supreme problem in higher criticism....He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology....He's the cardinal necessity for spiritual religion....He's the miracle of the age.... He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him....He's the only one qualified to be an all sufficient Saviour...... I wonder if you know Him today?
He supplies strength for the weak....He's available for the tempted and the tried....He sympathizes and He saves....He strengthens and sustains....He guards and He guides....He heals the sick....He cleanses lepers....He forgives sinners....He discharges debtors....He delivers captives....He defends the feeble....He blesses the young....He serves the unfortunate....He regards the aged....He rewards the diligent....and He beautifies the meek....... I wonder if you know Him?
Well, my King....is the King....He's the key to knowledge....He's the wellspring to wisdom....He's the doorway of deliverance....He's the pathway of peace....He's the roadway of righteousness ....He's the highway of holiness....He's the gateway of glory....... Do you know Him?
Well....His office is manifold....His promise is sure....His light is matchless....His goodness is limitless....His mercy is everlasting....His love never changes....His word is enough....His grace is sufficient....His reign is righteous....and His yoke is easy, and his burden is light. I wish I could describe Him to you, but He's indescribable....He's incomprehensible....He's invincible....He's irresistible.
Well, you can't get Him out of your mind....You can't get Him off of your hand....You can't out live Him, and you can't live without Him....The Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him....Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him....The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree....Herod couldn't kill Him....Death couldn't handle Him, and the grave couldn't hold Him. Yea!!!, that's my King, that's my King.
Father..."Thine is the Kingdom....and the Power....and the Glory....Forever"....and ever, and ever, and ever, and ever. How long is that? And ever...and ever...and when you get through with all the forevers, then.... AMEN!....AMEN!

Christmas Wonderland

This is perhaps the busiest week for me as our church gets ready for our Christmas drama. Christmas Wonderland is the largest church event/outreach I have ever been a part of. This year I am honored and humbled because I get to direct the orchestra. We have two more dress rehearsals (Thursday and Friday) then we start the first of seven performances on Saturday. There is so much that goes on behind the scenes. Only God knows how it all gets done. I continue to lean on Him for strength during this time.

Torn

So often we are torn between two loves. Will we submit to the lordship of Christ or the lordship of the world? One thing for consideration is how we use our time. Although we serve a God who is timeless, He cares about how we allocate our time. Americans are prone to fill up our days with meaningless activity. The TV is probably the largest offender in our homes and the internet is a close second in our younger generation. We can enter into the “land of the numb.” This is a realm of pure entertainment and enjoyment that can cloud our thoughts and take up vast amounts of valuable time. I’ll be the first one to say I love a little TV after a long days work. But when is enough, enough? How does it affect our relationship with the most Holy One? How does it affect our relationships with our friends and family? Time is the one of the most precious gifts we have. Will we use or abuse the time that God has given us today?