This past weekend I watched two very similar events that ended up looking nothing alike.

First, my wife loves to watch cooking shows. Often at night I read or lately I am on the computer working on my class or just surfing Ebay. During this time my wife loves to watch all kinds of cooking shows. She is looking for new ideas and tips on old recipes. One night I noticed how smooth everything goes on these shows. It makes cooking seem like such a joy.

Second, I watched my wife actually cooking. Let me be honest, it doesn’t look as smooth and such a joy. To begin with she doesn’t have the luxury of making just one item at a time. Next, she doesn’t always have the ingredients in the place she thinks they should be stored. Can you imagine a cooking show spending 10 minutes just looking for the misplaced olive oil? Then when she does find the ingredients, there may not be the right amount. For example, imagine an unthinking husband drinking all the milk before the desert was to be made. (Hypothetically speaking, of course!) What would Rachel Ray say if her husband did such a thing? Finally, I notice that they are never distracted on TV. My wife was trying to help with homework, have a conversation with me and wash dishes at the same time she cooks.

In the end, the meal was delicious. Great ham, delicious potatoes and cookies to die for were the end result. But all this has me thinking about how doing something in reality is far more difficult than others make it look. Faith may look easy in some people’s lives, but it may be messy for you. Love may come easy for some, but it may be difficult for you. Life may seem like a joy filled ride for some, but for you there are many twists, turns and difficulties. Just remember that real life is always more difficult than it appears for others but with perseverance the end product can be just as sweet.

This past weekend I was listening to a new video I purchased from one of my favorite comedians. After I finished listening I wanted to hear more of his comedy, so I went to Youtube and searched his name for more videos. I found an appearance he made on the David Letterman show. I was watching and enjoying what I was hearing, then I scrolled down to the comments section while I was listening. There I was surprised to read through the comments because about every other one was very negative. People didn’t like the comedy, they didn’t like delivery and others didn’t like anything.

This experienced reminded me of two things. One, whatever you do in life there will always be critics. Not everyone will like what you do. That’s okay, do it anyway.

The second thought of mine was based upon further review. I re-watched through the presentation and there were problems with the delivery. Some of the jokes were not as polished as they were on the video I had purchased. I could honestly see why some of the critics made their comments. Then I thought about the need for second chances. Sometimes a second chance comes through forgiveness but sometimes they just come by us standing up and trying again. God gives us a new day and a new chance to simply do better.

Not everything we do is done perfectly, thank God for another day to try and do better this time.

Musharaf “Mushy” Asghar has a massive stutter.

New headmaster Mr Mitchell from Thornhill Academy in England saw The Kings Speech and had an idea for Mushy.

Mushy found his voice.

Educating Yorkshire is filmed at Thornhill Community Academy near Dewsbury, and captures every detail of life in the school following the work of headteacher Jonny Mitchell to better the chances for all his students and build on successive years of improving exam results.

My family and I watch the show “Alaska: The Last Frontier.” I don’t know if you have seen the show on the Discovery Channel. It shows the life of the Kilcher family as they live and survive on the wild frontier of Alaska. We watch it for several reasons.
First, my son attends school and is friends with August Kilcher – one of the boys who appears sometimes on the show.
Second, we watch it to laugh a little. Don’t get me wrong, the Kilchers do live on a homestead in Alaska and some of their lifestyle choices are hard. But if you watch the show you might get the idea that the Kilchers live out in the middle of nowhere and have to struggle to survive. The reality, the Kilchers live down the road from my house just a few miles. They can have running water, electricity and even the internet if they want it. I have those things. They also live just a few miles from a grocery stores, restaurants and a nice farmers market. There are all kinds of jobs in the area where you can live and work a normal life just like the people in the lower 48. In fact, so you know, my wife worked at a local restaurant this summer where the Kilchers frequent and eat some very nice meals.
While life in Alaska is different. We can hunt for food and catch enough fish for our primary diet, no one has to do it to survive. There are other options.
Here is the reality. Things (especially on TV) are not as they appear. I live and work as a preacher where I am always challenging people to believe in something. For one moment I want to stop and tell people the exact opposite, somethings you do not need to believe. This is just one of them.

Last week in my evangelism class I spent a few minutes talking about this one passage:

1 Corinthians 3:6-9 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. (7) So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. (8) The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. (9) For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

After talking about the meaning of the verse and several points of application I added something I really hadn’t planned on adding to the lecture. I told this group of students that one of my biggest frustrations today is with the Church growth movement. I want to see my Church grow. I am trying to do everything I can to plant seed, water seed and even till the soil. (Some people say I add a little fertilizer too). But if I read the verse right then God gives the increase. My creativity, my leadership, my effort, my great sermons, my deep insights, and anything else you want to add to that list do NOT grow the Church. God may use those things or He may not.

I need to be constantly reminded that the difference between a growing congregation and a non-growing congregation is not the pastor’s ability or lack of it. It may be that God is doing something unique in each situation. I need to trust God far more than anything else in the role of Church growth and evangelism.

The past 7 days have been a wonderful experience for me. You may not care, but I wanted to share anyway.

First – the whether in Homer, Alaska has been amazing lately. I picture perfect fall so far.

Last Thursday was Halloween. I started the day by teaching my class at ABI. I ended the day with my two younger boys trick-or-treating for a while and bringing home lots of candy to share.

Then Friday – My youngest son had his 11th birthday. Michelle took the day off and we played and enjoyed the entire day. It was one of those days you never want to end. I truly love my family.

On Saturday I ended up not needing to go to a basketball game and we had a free day. Slept in, ate late, did some chores and enjoyed another day outside metal detecting and playing.

Ended the day by setting the clocks back. I will never understand this in Alaska but we still practice Daylight Savings time. I do enjoy getting an extra hour of sleep. I do not look forward to the spring though!

Sunday was a wild and wonderful day. We had lots of guests with us for worship. That is always nice. Then I had a unique experience. During the sermon there was a high-pitched squeak. I finally had to stop the sermon while people looked for the noise. It ended up being a person shaking their leg and causing two chairs to rub together. This person is a little hard of hearing and could not hear the high-pitched squeak. The odd twist is that God used it for good by causing everyone to be wide awake and on full alert. God then used the second half of my sermon to touch the lives a several people. It was a “total God thing.”

The afternoon was another beautiful day I spent outside with my two youngest boys and my wife. We enjoyed metal detecting, throwing the football and a walk. It was just another picture perfect day.

This morning I was up early so my older boys could play basketball. It is quiet here in the building and I am getting a lot done. This should be another wonderful week.

Praise God for all he has done and all he has given us.