Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!
And go Cowboys!
Thanksgiving With Little Indians & Pilgrims
Yesterday the older class (older threes and fours) at the Training Station held a Thanksgiving feast. They dressed like Indians & Pilgrims and did a little performance deal for their parents and younger siblings. They did such a great job! They sang some songs, recited and acted out some poems, and shared what they’re thankful for. It was extremely entertaining. Even the one- and two-year-old brothers and sisters in the audience were applauding wildly!
Afterward the Training Station teachers fed a traditional Thanksgiving meal to everyone. No small undertaking! It was totally delicious.
The turnout was great. I could be wrong, but I think every kid in the class had both their mom and dad there, and some even had grandparents. It was a lot of fun and a great chance to hang out with the kids’ families.
9-1!
Whew. Those Cowboys know how to stretch out the closing minutes of a game! TO had quite a game with four TD catches, and Dallas took their first contest of the season over the Redskins. But Washington sure made it interesting! It was a really good game, especially the second half. Of course, the second half has been where the Cowboys have thrived this year.
Check out the recap here.
As a Cowboys fan who grew up outside of D.C. in the ’80′s–when the Skins were great and Dallas was terrible–these victories over Washington are especially sweet!
A week from Thursday, Green Bay heads into Dallas for what could be the NFC game of the year. In all likelihood, both teams will come in that day 10-1! But only one will walk away 11-1…. (enter dramatic sound effect here). That game could be a preview of who gets to lose to New England in the Super Bowl.
Let It Rain, Let It Rain, Let It Rain
It’s been raining for three days. I love it! Aahhh, there’s nothing as peaceful, cozy, soothing, and invigorating as a rainy autumn day.
Anabaptist Mission & Peace – Day 2
The second day of my class last weekend, “Anabaptist Mission and Peace,” is harder to write about. (Of course, it probably would have been easier if I’d done it several days ago!) We got a little deeper into theology, and without writing at length to build that theological framework, a lot of my notes wouldn’t make sense because they’d be without context. But I’ll share some of the highlights. The following are quotes from our teacher, David Shenk:
- “Be people of the Word, folks. Be people of the Word.”
- “The work of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness to the Truth…. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is always centered in Jesus.”
- “Within God there is loving fellowship, but He doesn’t just keep this loving fellowship to Himself–He pursues us.”
- “Begin your days being filled with the Holy Spirit.”
- “Let’s embrace all that the cross is, in all its marvelous dimensions.”
- “We will never fully fathom the depths of what the cross is all about–it’s truly astounding…. No philosophies or religious categories can contain it.”
- “Let God bust open your categories. That’s the Gospel. That’s the cross.”
- The Gospel message–that we are sinners who are forgiven because Jesus died for our sins–is “a lesson that we never graduate from.”
- “The most important business in history is proclaiming the Gospel around the world.”
- This might be more of a paraphrase than a quote–I didn’t catch it all word for word, but it’s something like this: “The power center of the universe is the crucified God. The cross turns the whole universe upside down.”
- “Why are Mennonites so afraid of grace?”
- “Ethics without grace is a dry orange.”
- Another paraphrase: “Ethics isn’t the all-in-all. At the end of the day, I’m a sinner saved by grace…. We need to keep grace and ethics together.”
Interesting fact: There are more Anabaptists in Africa than any other continent on the planet. Of the 1.4 million Anabaptists in the world, half a million are in Africa.
Another interesting fact: Felix Manz, one of the first Anabaptist leaders and martyrs, held his Bible studies at the same spot in Zurich where Karl Marx would later hold his communist meetings.
Lloyd Hoover was one of our guest speakers. After his session I had the opportunity to talk with him about reconciliation efforts in Munster. Lloyd once shared communion in the hall where the “King David” guy in the Munster Rebellion had his throne. Very, very interesting fellow. Notes from his presentation:
- “Reconciliation” is one word that describes how God is moving in the world.
- Reconciliation is deepening intimacy between each other and God.
- Reconciliation catches how God is bringing His body together and healing relationships.
- “Unforgiveness is a seedbed for strongholds.” It opens the door for the enemy to interfere and wield authority in the affairs of the church.
- Walk in forgiveness!
- Forgiveness is the way of Christ, so it must be our way too.
- Christ is the only valid reason in this world for forgiveness, so He is the only hope for the division and hostility in the world.
- If we deal with our past, we are prepared to move forward redemptively into our future.
Notes from guest speaker Keith Weaver:
- “Peace and missions are inseparable.”
- Reconciliation is God’s agenda.
- The cross is what crumbles walls of division.
- To respond to the Gospel is to take the message of reconciliation throughout the world.
- “I’m not sure that we haven’t bought into the American Dream and lost sight of the values of the Kingdom.”
Here are some notes from our last speaker, John something:
- “Whenever the Gospel is attached to violence, it will never live up to our expectations.”
- “Violence never delivers what it promises.”
One final comment from David Shenk to wrap up the weekend: “Pray and cultivate the soil, and the harvest will come in God’s time and in God’s way.”
I’m looking forward to our next two-day session! It will include a field trip to Philadelphia and some time with Ron Sider.
Side Note
That last pizza delivery that I wrote about in my last post was delivered to a friend of mine that worked with me. We used to hang out and drink after work. After that night nine years ago, I used to talk with him about Christ. He was very resistant. He would talk with me about it, but only so he could argue. At one point he even told me that he didn’t need my “nickel and dime salvation.”
Somehow, we ended up working together at two other places over the next couple years. We’d still talk about Jesus, but it always seemed to go the same way. There was a glint of hope right before I moved to Tennessee, when he told me that he and his girlfriend had started reading Genesis together.
After I moved to Tennessee, I used to pray for this guy all the time. When we moved to Maryland in 2004, I tried to look him up in the phone book but couldn’t find him, so I figured he’d moved or something.
On Good Friday in 2005, there was a community church event. I ran into Rick there. He was with his wife and newborn baby. Turns out that he became a follower of Christ and has been plugged in to one of the local churches around here.
Is that cool or what?
Pumpkin Patch
Today we went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch. (I can’t remember the name of it.) It was lots of fun, and the weather was perfect!
When we got there, the pumpkin patch lady showed the kids some different kids of pumpkins and stuff and told them about it. In the middle of it, one little guy piped up: “Excuse me, can I please go pick my pumpkin now?”
We went through a corn maze, another maze (it’s hard to describe), picked pumpkins, played in an inflatable pool filled with corn, and did a craft. By the time we got back to the school, it was almost time for them to go!
Good times, good times….
Uuuhhhhh……
Ugh. Think I’ve got the flu or something. It’s a bummer being stuck at home, but not being able to concentrate enough to read or write. I’ve probably listened to my iPod for about four hours today (at least I can do something!).
Whenever my mind gets cleared up and my body’s up for the task, I’ll get back to blogging.
Postponed
Doh! Our field trip had to be postponed. When it comes to delays and cancellations due to weather, the Training Station runs on the same schedule as the Worcester County public schools. This morning was super foggy, so there was a delay. That means no morning classes… and no field trip! But it’s been rescheduled for week after next.
