Finding My Way

04Jul201208Dec2016

My first summer as a pastor in Pontiac, I saw a sight that just tore me into pieces. A local church had a float in the parade with soldiers holding weapons and a cross painted as or wrapped in the flag. Why was that troubling? Well, in my opinion, too much nationalism can be a dangerous thing when it obscures God’s message or when it is put above God’s Word.

I am a patriot. Absolutely. I love that I live in this country and I want the best for this country and everyone in it…but I firmly believe that we can not let that obscure that God is above any flag and loves the people under every flag!

God is above any flag and loves the people under every flag!

The message that I read in scripture is that God loves the world and wants the best for everyone in it, not just the United States. In fact, in history it is the times when nationalism is put above the Word of God that people are hurt. When the Hebrew people came into the land of Caanan with more nationalism and sense of entitlement than grace of God they slaughtered everyone and took the land by force. When Europeans put nationalism and a sense of entitlement before God’s grace a native people were ravaged, their people killed, and cultures nearly wiped out. When Medieval religious zealots put nationalism and a sense of entitlement before God’s grace a long terrible series of “Holy” Crusades tore apart Palestine and Europe and destroyed Muslim, Christian, and Jew, alike. If you haven’t put it together on your own, let me point out what I see: In each of these cases (and there are many more examples) religious rhetoric was used to mask what was clearly done out of a sense of selfishness, greed, and national/cultural/ethno-centrism. Put another way? Nationalism and a sense of entitlement were put above God’s Word and God’s apparent desires!

So, when I come to each Fourth of July I do feel pride in our nation and I do feel patriotism…but it also reminds me that we are one nation among many and we cannot forget our place and our greatness. Our greatness stands under God’s and our needs and desires, while important, are not more important than others. So we can and should love our nation and support our olympians, teams, and troops…but we should do so remembering that we do not have to diminish others or God in order to feel love for our own nation and our actions as a country are not necessarily righteous.

I write this blog out of a love for this nation and because I truly hope for greatness from our country. I believe there are great things about this country and I believe greater things are possible for us and by us…if we can focus on the sacred worth of all people and ensure that the dignity of all people is upheld…if we look to the ‘least of these’ to provide love, health, hospitality, witness, and safety…if we find creative new ways to work toward peace and God’s-justice in the world!

I am a patriot, but some of the patriotic rhetoric and imagery that confuses nationalism with religion frightens me. Let us consider, this Fourth of July, the greatness of this nation, but also God’s work we must accomplish to make it ever greater and more grace-filled. On this Fourth of July let us remember that our forefathers were working to find new forms of freedom and find a more perfect government…and that work, in the history of America, is an unfolding one!!! May this be the greatest Independence Day yet as we imagine not just an already-great nation, but an even greater nation under God.

blessings this Fourth of July!

04Jul201208Dec2016

A Weekend of Wonder

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Contemporary Worship this week at Normal First United Methodist Church

Here is my message from this past weekend at Normal First United Methodist Church. If you live in the Bloomington-Normal area or are ever passing through on a Sunday morning, I hope you will join us for worship. I generally preach and lead worship at the Contemporary 11:10 am worship service in the fellowship hall, but we have 3 worship services on Saturday evening and Sunday morning to meet your needs!

Scripture
Psalm 130

Sunday’s Message
Not exactly as preached, but you get the idea, at least…

This psalm has turned out to be timeless. It has appealed to people throughout time: Calvin called it a Pauline Psalm because, he said, it contained the truth of the gospels. John Wesley heard this psalm sung earlier in the day and it prepared him for an evening on Aldersgate street when his heart would be strangely warmed.

I think this psalm is timeless because everyone can relate to these words. Despair is a universal experience, isn’t it?

After my mother was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma -an ear tumor- and had brain surgery to remove it about a year ago: I immediately realized that I had similar symptoms. So, last July, I went to my doctor. That was a long wait in the waiting room. They called in an audiologist, then an Ear Nose Throat Surgeon…intense and long waiting.

They wanted only to ‘rule out’ an acoustic neuroma. So we thought we were coming to some resolution when we scheduled with BroMenn for an MRI. It turned out that I didn’t have one of those…but they found a totally unrelated brain tumor in my cerebellum

It was four o’clock on a friday and I found out there was a mass in my brain. That weekend our imaginations went wild. My wife and I fell into the depths of waiting and waiting can cause despair. That weekend was the longest wait of our lives.

I waited until January for a plan of action and to schedule surgery. I waited until February for my surgery. After my surgery I thought I had made it through…but a spinal fluid leak brought me back to St. Louis for another operation in April. It turned out that recovery is just another kind of waiting!

It wasn’t just a brain tumor that left me waiting during this past year. Because my church knew they could no longer afford two pastors, I’ve known I was leaving Pontiac since last fall. If there has been a theme for my year, it is waiting and despair.

Even once it was announced that I would be coming to First United Methodist Church, I found myself excited, but still on medical leave and still waiting.

Like so many people who have come before me, I identify with the Psalmist. A psalmist who was in the depths and waiting… and waiting… and waiting, “more than the night watch waits for morning.”

The psalmist reminds us of the importance of faith that a new day will come. The psalmist reminds us that no matter how far we are lost into the depths; no matter how alone we feel, no matter how much has been placed upon us… no matter what has set us back… hope is the greatest ally we have. That is to say: leaning on God, and having faith that a new morning will come is the greatest comfort we can experience.

I imagine each person here has a time when they were in the depths and waiting. This church has been waiting and in transition these past few months and, I imagine, there is anxiety as you wait for a new pastor.

I have faith that my appointment at Normal First United Methodist Church is the new morning I have been waiting for during this long hard period ‘in the depths.’ I have faith that the people of First Church, the community of Bloomington-Normal and the campus community will bring light into my world and strengthen my faith!

And I hope, that after months of transition and months of waiting for a new associate, that I will brighten up your world, support you in your faith, and join in your disciple-making work here in this community.

02Jul201208Dec2016

What A Week!

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The beautiful stained glass at my new church in Normal.

This past week has been an incredible journey and I want to thank all of the people of Pontiac and Normal who have made this such a positive and faith-filled transition!

The people of Pontiac shared with me during a farewell reception and the thoughtful cards, gifts, and well-wishing touched me and ensured that we left Pontiac feeling cared-for! Meanwhile, the people of Normal have welcomed us with graciousness that we could not have expected. For instance, two members of the Staff-Parish relations committee (my liaisons with the congregation) showed up on move-in day with a large laundry basket filled with house-warming gifts: things we would need as we started unpacking. They also presented us with gift cards for Steak-N-Shake and Avanti’s. How thoughtful! The Avanti’s card paid for our pizza that night, because we had no dishes unpacked nor energy for cooking!

Fast forward to this past weekend. I had a funeral on Saturday morning and preached at a worship service on Saturday night and two worship services on Sunday morning. I made it though the weekend in pretty good shape, but had a moment during the 9 am worship service communion when fatigue hit me. I had to hold on to the wall and rail to finish, but once I sat down and got to rest, I was fine again.

There are moments like that which remind me that I’m still recovering from surgeries, but, mostly, I don’t feel any different than before my medical problems began. I just have to watch for my moments of stress, weakness or fatigue and know when to slow down or rest…

Mostly, this week has been a joy. I feel as though I have experienced love from one congregation and great hospitality and welcome from another. Who could ask for more than that?

blessings to you,

24Jun201208Dec2016

Moving In, Heading Out!

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Today I finished setting up the basement / library / office / man cave. Well, whatever you want to call it, it is the one space in the house that I get to make mine…

That makes three rooms that we’ve opened all the boxes and moved completely in. Yes, we have a long way to go, but we finally feel like we’ve made progress! Living Room, check. Family Room, check. Library, check. Luckily June (my mother-in-law) has returned to help Carrie finish the move-in process because I’m heading out to a busy week.

Before brain surgery I didn’t think much about busy weeks and weekends, but after surgery it is a whole different story! Moving into the house wouldn’t have been a big deal before surgery, but post-op it felt monumental. I am leading all three worship services for the first time since my brain surgery…for my last (Farewell) Sunday at the Pontiac church. My last Sunday in a church would be an exhausting task anyway, but after brain surgery it feels daunting to lead worship, preaching, and greet and talk with people. Oh, and lest I forget, I volunteered for church camp and leave Sunday afternoon for a full week of being a chaplain. It will be a recharge and help me get back into the swing of being an active pastor…but holy cow it’s going to wear me out.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m excited for each and every thing that I’m doing. This is stuff I love to do! Oh- and I have plans for resting and taking care of myself, but surgery has sure changed the way I look at my days and weeks. Every room I unpack, sermon I preach, and kid I hang out with at camp feels like a huge accomplishment (and makes me happy).

It’s getting late and before too many sighs go up into cyberspace, I’ll sign off and go to bed.

15Jun201208Dec2016

Parents, ugh!

Scott Carnes Finding My Way berry, Bob Berry, Carnes, Carrie, IL, June Berry, Kevin Carnes, move, musings, Normal, parents, pontiac, Scott, Tricia Carnes, united methodist

Parents are wonderful. Okay. I know, I know, if you are a teenager it may not seem like it, right? I remember that feeling. As a teen, it is terrible when your parents show up…or don’t show up…look at you wrong…or don’t…or, well, when they speak. Ugh, how could they be so weird and goofy?

If you are a teenager, am I on the right track?

Let me tell you, at 32 years old I have a different take. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t always have a great relationship with my parents. Sometimes they get on my nerves and sometimes I get on their last nerve, but, especially this week, I’m SOOO glad they are coming to help me.

First, let me tell you what next week is going to bring for my wife and me. I have some work and then early in the week we have to go pick up a whole trailer full of stuff in St. Louis and move it to Normal. Then, on Thursday the movers come (so the house has to be packed and cleaned), We move in and have a half day to unpack and then I have to leave for a wedding rehearsal (fri) and wedding (sat) that I am co-officiating in Pittsfield… then I have to be back Saturday night so I can be rested for my Farewell Sunday at Pontiac… and then Sunday afternoon I start as a chaplain for church camp at East Bay in Hudson, IL.

So I’m thrilled that my mother-in-law is here right now cleaning and helping us pack; my mother and father are coming next week to help us move and then my mother-in-law will be back to stay with carrie and help her pack while I’m at the wedding and camp.

When I was younger I was embarrassed and stressed out by my parents (I still have my moments :-), but as an adult I see blessings in their presence. It turned out that having parents was actually an asset, who would’ve known? I am so glad for my parents and my in-laws and all that they do for Carrie and me. Whether you are young or old, I hope you will, this week, take a moment to think of how your parents are a blessing for your life. If you are a teenager it may not be easy at first, but there are things your parents do that make your life better, I imagine. Think really hard about it and you may see that they are a blessing for you!

Title image found at: http://conflictremedy.com/finding-new-solutions-for-parent-teen-conflict/

11Jun201208Dec2016

The Burden of the Pharisees

Scott Carnes Finding My Way, Virtues of Scripture burden, Carnes, expectations, faith, fundementalist, matthew 23, pastor, pharisees, rabbi, Scott, scotteugene79

Today’s Scripture: Matthew 23:1-7

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and his disciples, “The legal experts and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat.Therefore, you must take care to do everything they say. But don’t do what they do. For they tie together heavy packs that are impossible to carry. They put them on the shoulders of others, but are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.Everything they do, they do to be noticed by others. They make extra-wide prayer bands for their arms and long tassels for their clothes. They love to sit in places of honor at banquets. They love to be greeted with honor in the markets and to be addressed as ‘Rabbi.’

Today isn’t going to be an academic study, so much, as a devotional look at this scripture. I came to my devotional time and found myself in Matthew 23. Boy did that take me down a notch! If anyone likes being called teacher or rabbi, it’s a pastor, especially us young pastors who sometimes feel we have to gain visibility and respect…

Hmmm. Well, let’s look more closely at this one line:

For they tie together heavy packs that are impossible to carry. They put them on the shoulders of others, but are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.Everything they do, they do to be noticed by others.

I know a few modern day pastors that are like this and I strive to not be like them. Oh, but yet they are often well-liked by their congregations. How is that? Pastors who tell everyone what terrible sinners they are and make long list of prohibitions “tie together heavy packs that are impossible to carry” are, in fundamentalist circles, often beloved.

I’m all about setting high expectations for the faithful, but there are two caveats: 1.) I’m one of the faithful. That means: I have to live by the expectations as well! 2.) God’s expectation of us, it seems, is first and foremost that we should love others and God. It is hard for me to effectively tell other people (in a prescriptive formula) how they ought to do it without modeling it. It is better that I should attempt to live out my faith as I share that faith from the pulpit!

The problem with the pharisees is often a problem we have today. We prescribe other people’s faith without living out our own faith. As a people of the book we would be wise to set it down once in a while and live out the love we so often read about and stop creating ineffective burdens that weigh down our congregations.

blessings,

03Jun201208Dec2016

Lately I’ve had a whole lot of people comment on my weight. Either they say something like, “Oh you’ve put on some weight, you look much better,” or something like, “oh, you look too thin (or sick).” Now, I know that it is all amplified because folks know I had a brain tumor: so I don’t take it personally…but it has me worried!

I think it reveals a larger problem in society, especially the rural, midwestern culture here in Livingston County (Illinois). Our American Society is, quite simply, obese. I was overweight until not long ago and now that I’m at the top end of my healthy weight range, everyone thinks I am sickly. I still have flab, I’m still not fit and toned…yet everyone thinks I am now unhealthy! Let me say it one more time: I’m not even at the low side of my healthy weight range and everyone around me seems to be freaking out, why? Because so many who are around us in rural midwestern America are overweight. Overweight has become the standard, quite simply.

I’m not coming down on obesity because of how people act, by the way (I’m not calling people lazy), nor am I even upset because of how people look (It’s really not about vanity). I’m honestly concerned for my health, my family’s health and for the people around us. Being overweight is a serious problem which leads to all kinds of health problems such as diabetes and heart disease, for example. And weight gain, beyond one’s healthy weight range, is an indicator that one’s diet and exercise are out of whack and that things are not well with your body! (When you are gaining weight your body is trying to communicate with you)

Well, back to me. Last week someone cornered me and shared their concern about my weight and I responded that Weight Watchers (my weight loss) saved my life. It did, by the way! I told them the story of how my spinal fluid leaked into my bed after my second surgery. I told them about how the surgeon shared with Carrie that I would have died that night had I been any heavier or older. I told them that losing 35 pounds and getting into my healthy weight range was not just to look better (vanity), it actually saved my life. Now, I’ve responded this way with several people, but the reason this one interaction stands out in my mind is because the person responded to my story: first, by saying, “Oh my.” and then saying, “what do you mean about a healthy weight range?”

They were serious. They had no idea that based on sex and weight there are guidelines to help people find a healthy weight! Today I want to begin correcting this view. More importantly, I want to become more vocal about our need, especially in rural communities, to work against obesity and grow in health. I want to do this work not to be critical of people or to be hurtful, but because I want to help. There are many people suffering from the plight of obesity (or at least being overweight) and I would be remiss if I didn’t share my own experiences and work to help them. At my heaviest several years ago I was 225 and I hit my goal weight of 165 pounds a few weeks ago (when I arrived in Pontiac two years ago I was about 200). I’m a 6′ male and my healthy weight range is 147-184 according to Weight Watchers. I got to where I am by eating more vegetables and fruits and cutting down my oil and carbohydrates, I got to where I am by eating well (not being hungry), and I got to where I am by adding some basic exercise to my routine which not only helped me feel better and lose weight, but also helped me to have more complete and enjoyable days.

I hope you will join me as I continue working to be more healthy. Don’t do it for me, do it for you!

Also, if you’d like to find you’re body mass index (figure out how you are doing), click here!

Get started with a new and accurate bathroom scale:

27May201208Dec2016

Meet Rev. Dr. Mark Fowler

Dr. Fowler is a professor at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. As one of his former students, I can tell you that he is just as much a pastor as teacher and as much a man of deep compassion as he is a mentor and role model. He is the Murray H. Leiffer Associate Professor of Congregational Leadership and is the Executive Director of the Institute for Transformative Leaders and Communities. He received his BA from DePauw University, his Master of Divinity from Boston University, and his Doctor of Ministry from Andover Newton Theological School. Please warmly welcome to my blog, as today’s guest blogger, Mark Fowler!

Pentecost

Today’s Scripture: Acts 2

I have often thought of Pentecost and the activity of the Holy Spirit as wind and fire, of the birth of the church with thousands of folks swept up in the witness of Peter (although I have been amazed that the church does not utilize the scripture from Joel that Peter used in this “birth” sermon of the church, hmmm!) It is a dynamic and dramatic experience that is reported at Pentecost.

In an age when we are drawn to the “big show”, the dramatic increase in numbers, the pyrotechnic displays and the moment-by-moment sensory overload so central to our consumer culture, the Pentecost story could be easily exemplified as a reasonable expectation. Shouldn’t the people of God, using God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, use the craft and expect the results of Pentecost to draw the world?

In a time when the traditional church is in traumatic dislocation, loss of privilege, bereft of its traditional social influence and seemingly in disarray. At the recent United Methodist General Conference, proposals for changing ecclesiastical structures are left on the table, traditional covenants of ministry are tossed aside for a more effective way in which “only the temporally effective pastors are allowed to stay on the bus” (without a similar capacity for assessment being placed on the unassailable Episcopal office) and a casual vote declares a rather sizable number of delegates have put a restraint on the prevenient nature of the grace of God, a distinctive principal of the Methodist movement and a hallmark of its proclamation and effective evangelism. And, we all will move forward to try to capture lightening and wind in a bottle as an assurance of the future survival of the denominations.

For me this year, Pentecost has been preceded by a delightful bit of weather in Chicago. It has drawn me to the lakeside to sit and relax, reflect on the future. I have felt close to the experience of the disciples prior to the amazing events on Pentecost that gave birth to the church, a ten day retreat in the upper room. My mind flew to John Wesley prior to the Aldersgate Street experience that renovated his soul and was the source of the regeneration of the church through the birth of the Methodist movement. It came to clear memory that in a difficult turning point in my own ministry, that it was preceded by a time of wilderness in the desert southwest where I experienced the disorienting reality of my own life in the vast and unfamiliar landmarked desert.

In this anxious time for the church, we cannot fancy ourselves capable of doing the work of the Holy Spirit in the regeneration of the church. Nor do we exactly know what form it will take or what methods of evangelism and discipleship will be most effective to be embraced in the mission dei toward the fulfillment of God’s purposes for the creation and the beloved. We must discipline ourselves to be open to the Holy Spirit’s presence and work among us and in the creation. We must Sabbath intently and yearn for God and trusting the promise that “in these last days, God will pour out the Spirit on all flesh…and the daughters and sons will prophesy and the old will dream.” And, the dreams and visions will be of a world re-born and the loving purpose of creation will be fulfilled in our experience!

26May201208Dec2016

Resurrection & New Life: I’ve Seen It Too Many Times Not To Believe!

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Meet Rev. Dr. Victor K. Long

Rev. Victor K. Long is the pastor at First United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon. He is an Elder of the Illinois Great Rivers Conference and previously served an appointment in Marion, IL where we worked together at First United Methodist Church.

He received a Bachelor of Business Administration from McKendree University, a Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, and Doctor of Ministry from Graduate Theological Foundation.

Victor is married to Jennifer, and together they have four children: Ashley, Autumn, Lauren, and Carson.

Victor is a close personal friend and one of the important mentors of my life and ministry. I hope you will welcome him to my blog today!

…I’ve seen it too many times not to believe in it!

Today’s Scripture: Romans 8:28

    My dad died from a brain tumor at age 55 in 1996 … just six days before my daughter [our first child and my parents’ first grandchild] was born.

   The afternoon after my father died, I was listening to the radio, reflecting upon the tragedy that was overwhelming my family, and a contemporary Christian song came on the radio, the chorus of which said, “Life is hard, God is good.” In that moment, I felt God’s presence and the assurance that I/we would make it through this dark and difficult episode.

   A few days later, the birth of my daughter, Autumn, provided a much-need burst of joy in the midst of our grieving for my father. Our joy, however, was quickly displaced by anxiety and fear when we learned that our newborn child had a life-threatening infection, requiring major surgery at three weeks of age.

   On the Sunday following her surgery, I sat in her hospital room, rocking her and watching a televised worship service. That morning, the guest vocalist sang a song which had quickly become familiar to me … “Life is hard, God is good.”

   Church historian Diana Butler Bass tells of overhearing an exchange between a bishop whom she describes as an “octogenarian liberal lion” and a parishioner who was interrogating his beliefs.

   “Bishop,” the person asked, “Do you believe in the resurrection?” Listening in, Butler Bass says, “Frankly, I could not wait to hear the answer — like most of his generation, there was no way that Bishop Corrigan believed in a literal resurrection.”

   The old bishop looked at the questioner and said firmly, without pause, “Yes. I believe in the resurrection. I’ve seen it too many times not to.”

   I have to agree. I’ve witnessed resurrection too many times not to believe in it. I’ve seen dead souls awakened to new life through the touch of God’s love. I’ve seen grief transformed into hope, tragedy turned into victory, despair changed into joy.

   When “life is hard,” I remember that the God we encounter in Jesus Christ is a great and gracious God whose love is stronger than death, whose goodness overwhelms hatred, whose forgiveness is greater than sin or guilt — a God who can ultimately make “all things work together for good” [Romans 8:28].

   Resurrection … I’ve seen it too many times not to believe in it!

– Victor Long

Title image found at: http://josephpatterson.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/the-resurrection-of-christ-our-god-and-the-laws-of-physics/

22May201208Dec2016

Resurrection & New Life: Questions are okay!

Meet Rev. Troy Venning

Rev. Troy Venning was a classmate of both my wife and I at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary where he graduated in 2011 with a Master of Divinity. He is an itinerant Deacon in the African Methodist Episcopal Church serving at Bethel AME Church in Downtown Miami. He received an MBA from University of Phoenix (Ft. Lauderdale) and received his B.S. in Psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana. Troy says, “Love is and has always been the key and if we love one another like Christ loved us (to death) then the world will change.” I hope we can agree with him on that and all will welcome him as my newest guest blogger during Eastertide!

Questions are really ok…I promise

Today’s Scripture: John 20:19-29

When I was in Junior High School, I remember my English teacher. She was a very serious lady, especially in the classroom. Of all the things that I remember about her besides her glasses with the chain on them, the two things that stick out most are this t-shirt that she would occasionally wear and this mug that she drank coffee out of. The message on both the shirt and the mug were very similar but expressed in different ways…That message…”because I said so!” Deep right…but doesn’t that speak volumes to the position that adult takes towards children most times? Children are to seen and not heard…right?

Oh, I forgot that is just me…

However, if we dared to be honest, we would admit that most believe that children should stay in their place, and they dare not ask questions. That is, they should not ask an adult a question. I would assert that the church is like that. This is so because we have been taught that when it comes to one’s relationship with God; that we must remain like a child who better not ask a question.

Quiet often (not everywhere) the church teaches people of God that as life comes and you experience the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows of life that we are just supposed to take whatever life throws us, not have an opinion and not question God one iota. But I mean is that really possible? Is it possible to be alive and not have questions about one’s daily experiences? Life continues to happen and if you keep living, you will have questions. Sickness, poverty, death, failure, heartbreak, injustice, racism, hatred, classism, sexism, I could go on and on…but the fact of the matter is, that in life all of these things will come.

Thus I write today to remind you that when they come, that God is big enough to handle and is ok with any question that you may have. I know this because of Jesus posture and position Jesus to when addressing Thomas and the disciples after his death and resurrection. The disciples had questions; they had just experienced excruciating pain as they watched their leader get executed. They were afraid; for them all had been lost and because of that reason, I can attest that they had questions. The disciples all had questions, each one of them. Thomas and the others all had questions and Jesus new that. The difference with “doubting” Thomas and the others; he was bold enough to verbalize his questions. Whereas the others, simply operated in fear unable to say what was troubling them.

Maybe today as you are reading, you have unanswered questions that you are afraid to ask; know today that no matter how big or small…God is big enough to answer every one of your questions. The Good news for you and me is that no matter your question, God will meet you right where you are. How do I know? Look at the way God reacts to our questions. What is Jesus’s response in the story of doubting Thomas? He sends the disciples a word that should set them at ease, when it didn’t, he went looking for them. When he found them he granted them peace and he gave them (the disciples as a group and Thomas individually) a tailor made response. Beloved God knows that you have questions even when they are unspoken like the disciples. Maybe you are bold like Thomas, guess what God is big enough to handle your questions…still not convinced that questions are ok…ask Abraham, Moses, Gideon, Elijah Jeremiah, Job, David and then there was Jesus and the ultimate question…My God, my God…why has thou forsaken me?

Beloved, know that questions are fine. In fact the ability to question is a gift from God. Read your bible, you will find out that you are not the only one that has questions. In fact, the beauty of the cross is relationship and restoration…at the end of the day God would much rather being in dialogue with you than for to be engaged in a monologue…Ask away, trust me God is big enough to handle all of your questions…In fact, God is waiting and ready to answer because God loves you.

Copyrights © 2012 by Troy K. Venning. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be copied or reproduced without the written permission of the author. To contact the writer go to troyvenningmba@aol.com

title image found at: http://alirog.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/raised-hands11.jpg

Carnes Family Web

The Greatest Independence Day, Yet!

A Weekend of Wonder

What A Week!

Moving In, Heading Out!

Parents, ugh!

The Burden of the Pharisees

Weight Watchers Saved My Life!

Resurrection & New Life: Pentecost

Resurrection & New Life: I’ve Seen It Too Many Times Not To Believe!

Resurrection & New Life: Questions are okay!