Category Archives: Uncategorized

Shift Focus To Wonder

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My words for this year

joseph elon lillie's avatarNotes From the Vicarage

I spend the last few weeks of every year praying for a future word from God for the next year.

A few years ago the word was “Prepare for change.”. By April our church had lost its Lead Pastor, Children’s Pastor and Youth Pastor. Before the year was out we had welcomed in new people to all three positions.

Last year my word was directly from Scripture, Psalm 144:1 to be exact,

Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

The year turned out to be one of the most difficult our church has faced.

This year the words came about two weeks before Christmas, “Shift your focus to wonder.”.

So much has changed, there has been so much battle these last few years and yet I know there has been purpose in all of it. God has been doing a…

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Free Agency Has Killed the Game…

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A cautionary tale.

danlewiston's avatarDan Lewiston

You may have heard that I am quite the baseball fan…

As I was shoveling the driveway this morning, contemplating the new month of January 2020, this thought – “Free Agency Has Killed the Game” – pummeled my thoughts. Let me explain…

Now, Free Agency started effectively on Nov. 4, 1976 in Major League Baseball, I was just over 3 years old. There was absolutely nothing about getting rid of the reserve clause (keeping players to a team, that could go elsewhere and play, even perhaps for more money) that did anything for me or against me on that day, or even now on this day. The simplest understanding, for the average person, it means nothing to the outcome of our lives.

Free Agency, gave the player the right to go wherever they felt like they could go – to get more playing time and more money. A decision that…

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Triple E

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Do you!

NRHS Class of 1968's avatarKen's Fireside Chat

This past week, I read an article that talked about people who are eccentric, eclectic and extreme-hence “Triple E.”  The reason it caught my eye was that I realized that I am that person.

Eclectic?  In one of my favorite pastimes, reading, I enjoy science fiction and non-fiction, adventure and romance, westerns and poetry, suspence and fantasy.  In music, I enjoy old-time rock and roll and classical, show tunes and Christian, acappella and instrumental, swing and marching bands.  Last week my wife and I went to see “Avengers: End Game.”  This week we want to see a Christian film.  I also like comedies and chick flicks.

Eccentric?  Even though I’ve gotten older and more conservative, I still like to wear all kinds of funky reading glasses and crazy patterned socks.

Extreme? I hate weeds in my lawn, so I literally pick them out one by one while on my knees…

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Always Love One Another

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These are powerful reminders from my friend Ken.

NRHS Class of 1968's avatarKen's Fireside Chat

A story is told about a frail, old man who went to live with his son, daughter-in-law and young grandson.  Every night, the family ate dinner together, but because of the old man’s shaky hands and blurred vision, he had difficulty eating.  Peas would roll off of his spoon and he almost always sspilled milk on the table as he tried to take a drink.  His son and daughter-in-law became very frustrated and decided to have him sit at his own table in the corner where they would’t have to deal with his mess.  Because the old man had broken a dish or two, they gave him a wooden bowl to eat out of.  One night, the old man’s son noticed his boy playing with some wooden scraps, and he asked him what he was doing.  The boy answered, “I am making a wooden bowl for you and Mommy to…

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Born and Bred Pt. 1

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Today’s update.

joseph elon lillie's avatarNotes From the Vicarage

I was looking at my feed history just a few minutes ago and it strikes me that I haven’t really updated you on life at the Vicarage since August. So much water under the bridge since then!

Brenda and I went to Florida where she attended General Council and the World Missions Summit, while I vacationed.

Then Brenda went on a brief Sabbatical, for her health, in the fall. During that time things began to change for my mother. Dementia has taken a much stronger hand in her life and we have had to make some choices as a family.

I am working more from home now and shifting focus of ministry. Even the church has entered a new phase of its life and the leadership of the church has had to embrace the idea of reinvention to move into the future. That has caused much consternation among the old…

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