Here are a couple of pictures from the resonator jam session which lasted all of five minutes. I will take what ever I can get. Not too many people want to play my kind of music. I think I might need to learn to play something besides bluegrass and old church songs!

To the untrained eye this might not look like much. However, what you are looking at is a 1930's National Resonator Mandolin. It is in remarkable shape.

Today something happened to me that has never happened in my life. I have received many gifts and I have been thankful for all of them but today I was overwhelmed when two good friends surprised me with this as a gift. Besides the value of such a rare instrument I was completely blown away with the thoughtfulness and sacrifice that was made to present it to me as a gift.

In the Old Testament, King David was on the run for his life and remembering the well at home and wishing for a drink from the "old home place." Some of his fellow soldiers out of deep respect and love fought their way into the city, secured the water, then fought their way back out. When they presented the water to David he was so overcome that he poured it out on the ground as a drink offering to God because he said he wasn't worthy to drink it. For the first time in my life I felt overcome with this emotion. Amazing! Thanks to my friends. . .I will try to live up to your expression of love and support.

In England there is a cemetery known as Bunhill Hills. It is a place where people are buried with a reputation for not being loyal to the Church of England. While the bodies resting here can not claim the blessing of the Church of England they were some of the most influential people in their day for the cause of Christ.

This first tombstone is the final resting place of John Bunyan. Among other things, he wrote the classic book, Pilgrim's Progress. This should probably be mandatory reading for every Christ follower.

This next one is the tomb of Isaac Watts. He was a prolific writer of hymns (around 600) and they include When I Survey, Am I a Soldier of the Cross, and Joy to the World. He died in 1748

This last one is Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley. Her two sons gave to the church an emphasis of social justice rooted in holy living. They gave us hundreds of hymns most of which were deleted from songbooks in the early 1900's when we were stuck with "Gospel Ditty" songs.

I am struck as I look at these cold stone edifices with the notion that I want to leave behind more than a lonesome grave. While I admire their ability to be buried in a place for spiritual pioneers, what I admire more is their

ability to touch others. They didn't touch others with their razzle dazzle, they touched them with the presence of Jesus Christ. The effect they had on their generation was one of spiritual transformation and changed lives. I long to see people growing in their love for God and for others.

This week we will talk about the fact that God is with us in our services. The question of the week is how much is God with us? How much is He with you and me. How much does He want of us? 100%. Anything less is us making and playing by are own rules. I am tired of that kind of Christianity. Really tired of it.

My prayer is found in this old Watts hymn:

My God, permit me not to be A stranger to myself and Thee; Amidst a thousand thoughts I rove,

Forgetful of my highest love.
Why should my passions mix with earth, And thus debase my heav’nly birth?

Why should I cleave to things below, And let my God, my Savior, go?
Call me away from flesh and sense, One sov’reign word can draw me thence;

I would obey the voice divine, And all inferior joys resign.
Be earth with all her scenes withdrawn, Let noise and vanity begone;

In secret silence of the mind My heav’n, and there my God, I find.

So yesterday I went on my second annual southern Ohio trip with a friend. We drove through Licking, Fairfield, Pickaway, Ross, Pike Scioto, Jackson, Gallia, Meigs, Athens, Washington, Noble, Guernsey and Muskingum Counties delivering Christmas gifts to a few people. More importantly we talked and shared in conversation. The kind of conversations you have with a friend and a fellow Christ follower. The kind of conversations you have when you are in community with someone. Being in community with other Christ followers can even replace family at times. I am thankful for yesterday. I am thankful I am in a place that believes in doing life together. Iron sharpens iron and being together with others allows us to utilize our spiritual gifts.

Today it is back to the church and meetings upon more meetings. . . . . . my take away verse from this mornings reading is, "So my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." I Cor. 16:58

So I went to the Doctor with my Dad and well. . . that probably explains my not blogging. I have been reflecting on my weaknesses ever since.

This poor famous tree represents my attempt to be patient, loving and kind in the face of the obstacles presented by my father and his way of dealing with life. I felt miserable, I didn't want to be there and I couldn't wait to get on the road toward home. I have felt miserable ever since because I wasn't strong enough to put on a happy face and disciplined enough to extend much grace. I was contemptible and probably showed it.

May the Christ of Christmas live in me to the point that even in the midst of the familiar I will still be a reflection of Him. Tomorrow we will talk about the sounds of Christmas at church. Let the meditations of my heart and the words of my mouth be acceptable in Your sight, Oh Lord.

I have been thinking a lot about smells this week. The smokestack in this picture was a common fixture in my young life. All my life as a child, my family drove up and down Route 23. Going through Chillicothe was always memorable because of the Mead Paper Plant. Before the days of the bypass, you would drive right through the plant grounds or at least the road would have paper mill buildings on either side.

The reason I remember this smokestack is because of the bad smell that making paper would put in the air. If you didn't know better you might be tempted to think that someone in the car was experiencing gastronomical problems. More often than not it was just the smell of Chillicothe.

All of us emit an aroma that will either smell right to those around us or it will just plain stink. The apostle Paul says that we are the aroma of God in this world. That means that our attitude, actions and speech could really determine the depth of our relationship with God. The more we know Christ the more we will act like and emulate Him. The more we know Christ the more those around us will be touched or affected by the aroma of His grace. Churches and Christians that never intentionally encounter the community around them have never discovered what it means to really follow Christ. Following Christ doesn't just mean going to church. (It may be that God doesn't go three times a week) It means that you follow Him out of the walls and into the world and more importantly into the lives of those He came to seek and to save.

You have just had a glimpse of this Sunday's message. But I think it might be a bigger message than just this Sunday. It might be the message that Christ left the church through His word.

So today I will be in Chillicothe to take my Dad to the Doctor. I will be there to make sure he doesn't down play his illness and so that my mother can be watched while he is at this appointment. I have not had very much patience with this situation because of my Dad's attitude. Today I will look at the smokestack, take a whiff of the air and try to remember that I should react like Jesus and not like a "chip off the old block."