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I must confess that I am in a quandry whether to blog this or not. I was going thorugh sermons and writings and found this. I, for the life of me can not remember where this came from, though I've Googled until I'm blue in the face (There's an image......) and can not find any thing like it. It sounds like me in places, but I have to own up that I don't really know..
I do know I like it when I read it. Can someone help with the reference so I can credit the author......
The Road Less Traveled:
Is not the road of Kings lined with Palms, at least not for long…only a few blocks, then the crowd thins out and the soldiers and the priests are waiting for you.
......is not a broad avenue in the midst of cheering throngs
......is not an easy road to throngs of people willing to swear allegience to your every move, (as long as it doesn't really cost much.)
......is not the road to popularity and admiration,
The road Less traveled..
Is the steep and rocky road, often lonely, often dangerous.
.......is the winding path that leads through the wilderness, sometimes with only a small oasis for comfort.
.....is the road that leads sometimes into darkness and uncertainty and always away from the conventional comforts of the self satisfied life.
The road less traveled:
Starts in Jerusalem's gate but takes us to the upper room, then to the Garden of Gethsemane, the Temple of Caiphus and the palace of pilot.
The road less traveled leads to Golgotha, a trash dump on the outskirts of Jerusalem. The road less traveled leads to a rocky tomb owned by someone else.
The road less traveled:
calls us to make our way, not in the easy ruts of the masses before us, but in the fear and trembling of growing up into the people of God. The road less traveled demands nothing less than our absolute best, but forgives our absolute worst. The road less traveled is easier for the poor than it is for the rich. The road less traveled leads out of our self-centers, our self- interest, our self-satisfaction. The road less traveled leads away for the false security of wealth and the idols we have erected in its name. The road less traveled demands true companions and loving friends. Many may start the journey with us, but not all will finish with us. The road less traveled is not the broad avenue, but a narrow gate leading us into deeper faith and trust in the one who places us on this journey to faith and love. The road less traveled leads to nowhere else but God.
Pastor B
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A Bidding Prayer
(Imagine “Away in a Manger” softly played on the piano as if a lullaby)
Come to the manger . . .For the night is dark and cold but the light of life has come to us . . . In the silence of the shining stars, the echoes of angels are heard praising God. Because in this lowly place — a place for the mean and common animals of the field and meadows — God’s gift is given in the presence of shepherds and kings.
Come to the Manger . . .For we too need to hear the rustle of angle’s wings and the crying of new life . . . Like Mary and Joseph, we are without a place, lonely and afraid, lost and longing . . . But here, in a stable, is God’s answer to humanity’s cry for heavenly mercy… the crying of an infant — soon stilled in the warm embrace of a young mother’s love. That tender care, which will raise up a King in time, but for now is the sweet compassion that opens her heart and lets a new life in. Here is God’s mercy — that such love should come to us, the least, the last, the lost. Here is God’s love. Here is Christ the newborn King.
Come to the Manger . . .For are not we all like newborn babes, helpless and at odds with the vast infinite universe? We are overwhelmed, afraid . . . and like a child we call out for the one who stands between the infinite and us — the one who comes to fill our hearts with peace and still our fears. Here in a manger, God’s answer is given to our desperate race. The answer is love. The answer is Christ, and he has come to bring us light and life! Come and see! Come to the Manger!
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From Pastor B's desk..
This time of year I find I need to 'blow off steam' a little more than usual, so I'm sending this collection of church wisdom out to our cyber community to reflect upon during Advent and Christmas.
"Things I wish I had said"
Some of these are pretty profound regardless of your religious persuasion...
Some people are kind, polite and sweet-spirited - until you try to get into their pew. [George Goldtrap]
The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but the fly comes close. [Mark Twain]
Most of us spend the first six days of the week sowing wild oats, then we go to church on Sunday and pray for a crop failure. [Fred Allen]
Do you know the three times that most people are in church? When they are hatched, matched and dispatched. [Lowell B. Yoder]
Quit griping about your church; if it were perfect, you couldn't belong. [Msgr. Joseph P. Dooley]
If a church wants a better pastor, it can get one by praying for the one it has. [Rev. Robert E. Harris]
A lot of church members who are singing "Standing On The Promises" are just sitting on the premises. [Sr. Monique Rysavy]
We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers. [Donna Maddux]
Every evening I turn my troubles over to God - He's going to be up all night anyway. [Donald J. Morgan]
I don't know why some people change churches - what difference does it make which one you stay home from? [Rev. Denny Brake]
If a Savior leaves you as you are and where you are, from what has He saved you? [Rev. Denny Brake]
Young man, the secret of my success is that at an early age I discovered I was not God. [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.]
If your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing, you should consider running for a job in Washington. [Anon.]
To err is human; to blame it on somebody else is even more human. [John Nadeau]
Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set. [Rev. Denny Brake]
Holy laughter is the sound of grace. [me]
Be well, be happy. God bless us all this Advent season.
Brother Brian
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| If you are anything like me, there must be a small voice inside of you that starts wailing as soon as Halloween is over. It starts quietly, but like the slow onslaught of tides in the oceans, Christmas frenzy slowly but surely rises and seems… well inevitable. The commercials urge us to buy the right gift for the right person…… but what makes a gift right or perfect for someone? Is jewelry always the perfect gift? (Some might argue for it…. But go with me here) I’ve received a lot of gifts in my life, but what made any of them better than others? Back in 1965 I got a ‘perfect’ gift. It was an Erector Set (for those of you who don’t know what that is, Google it.) Invented by a man named Gilbert, the Erector Set was a magic box of parts. It was not a set of anything. It did not build anything specific. There were girders, and pulleys and wheels, nuts and bolts. All metal. Not a piece of plastic anywhere in sight, but you could build literally anything you could imagine. No, this didn’t make it perfect, but it made the perfect part of the gift possible. You see, my dad came with the gift. Like most dads my dad was busy making a living for his family. He worked hard at more than one job. Family time was hard to come by for him. So when I got the Erector Set, I got some of dad’s time. He would place the box on the table, open the lid, and say “What are we building today?” Then we would find the instruction diagram and go to work. Dad taught me how things work like pulleys and fulcrums, which way loosened a screw and how to follow directions, but along the way he also told me stories about his childhood and his family. Those were some of the best times for me, dad and I working, our heads bent over the diagram, carefully piecing together a Ferris Wheel or a oil derrick. I’ve received several other perfect gifts in my life and all of them had the same essential characteristic as that Erector Set I got so long ago; simply that the giver came with the gift. I think that’s what Christmas is and why Christmas really is about the perfect gift… Jesus. In Christmas, the Giver comes with the Gift. While we hopefully try to imitate God’s giving, by giving to others the problem is that the definition of ‘gift’ has become some abstract satisfaction of a human desire for stuff, when really a perfect gift is the satisfaction of the most concrete of human desires…relationship. As we celebrate the season, let us remember that God did not send a impersonal, disembodied gift; a toy or a wide-screen, but rather God gave God’s own self to us, and with the Gift of Jesus comes the grace and love of God for all of us and for us that’s the best gift of all. In Christ, Pastor Brian
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This is a series of observations I've found in life. I keep these things to share when I can with whomever I can. They are funny, and they are true.
When one wishes to unlock a door but has has only one hand
free, the keys are in the opposite pocket. (Von Fumbles Law)
A door will snap shut only when you have left the keys
inside. (Yale Law of Destiny)
When one's hands are covered with oil, grease, or glue, your
nose will start to itch. (Law of Ichiban)
Your insurance will cover everything but what has happened.
(Insurance So Sorry Law)
When things seem to be going well, you've probably forgotten
to do something. (Cheney's Second Corollary)
When things seem easy to do, it's because you haven't
followed all the instructions. (Destiny Awaits Law)
If you keep your cool when everyone else is losing his, it's
probably because you have not realized the seriousness of
the problem. (Law of Gravitas)
Most problems are not created or solved; they only change
appearances. (Einstein's Law of Persistence)
You will run to answer the telephone just as the party hangs
up on you. (Principle of Dingaling)
Whenever you connect with the Internet, the call you've been
waiting for all day will arrive. (Principle of Bellsouth)
If there are only two programs on TV that are worth your
time, they will always be at the same time. (Law of
Wasteland)
The cost is always higher than one budgets for, and it is
exactly 3.14 times higher, hence the importance of pi. (Law
of Pi Eyed)
The probability that one will spill food on one's clothes is
directly proportional to the need to be clean. (Law of
Campbell Scoop)
Each and every body submerged in a bathtub will cause the
phone to ring. (Law of Yes Now)
Each and every body sitting on a commode will cause the
doorbell to ring. (Law of Ding Dong)
Wind velocity will increase proportionally to the cost of
one's hairdo. (The Don King Principle)
After discarding something not used for years, you will need
it one week later. (Law of Fatal Irreversibility)
Arriving early for an appointment will cause the
receptionist to be absent, and if one arrives late, everyone
else has arrived before you. (Law of Delay)
Do not take life too seriously, because in the end, you
won't come out alive anyway. (Theory of Absolute Certainty)
(Rom 3:21-24 NRSV) But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, {22} the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, {23} since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; {24} they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
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