This week I turned 55.
So I have been doing a little inventory regarding getting a little older.
Yes, I realize 60 is the new 30 but still…I am on a quest for aging well .
I want to borrow from writer Brenda Smith who learned the following lessons from observing her aging parents:
(1) Aging isn’t optional, being ‘old’ is. Keep making plans or you’re subconsciously giving yourself permission to die. Dad believed he owed rent on his earthly space and he paid it by giving back to others.
(2) God is real. Mom struggled with depression as her Parkinson’s disease progressed. However, she looked for God’s hand in everything, and a lifetime of believing helped her to see His sufficiency even more in her final years.
(3) Time is a gift. David said, “Teach us to use wisely all the time we have” (Ps 90:12 CEV). Dad told a friend of his, “When you’ve so little time left, you can’t spend it doing stupid things. You learn to invest in things that count.”
(4) Sickness doesn’t create sainthood. It’s a test of patience, emotional restraint and maturity. When Dad was incapacitated he discovered that old age and sickness don’t automatically draw you closer to God. He still had to discipline his mind to delight in the Lord and to find true joy in Christ.
(5) Laughter revives the soul. After her father became ill, Smith writes about how this revered writer, speaker and consultant, “ended up smiling as he stared down at his size 46 waistline that took a dive each time he stood up from his wheelchair!” When Mother Nature and Father Time get through with all of us, we’ll gaze into the mirror and either laugh or cry. Since “Laughter doeth good like a medicine” (See Pr 17:22), and since God’s prepared a wonderful new body for us in heaven, make up your mind to go out with joy!
And I would like to add a 6th.
(6th) Forgiveness plus good family and friends = hope for tomorrow. – There is so much talk these days about “sustainable living” without a lot of sustainable relationships.
Life without a lifetime of forgiveness is no life at all.
Here is a good quote to end this blog post tonight. “A good marriage is made up of two forgivers.” - Ruth Graham Bell
Oh and why not just throw this one in too.
(7th) Get outside and explore while you are able. Mark Twain said, “Twenty years from now you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the wind. Explore. Dream. Discover.
Live long and prosperous my friend.
Steve
“I’ve run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that’s left now is…God’s applause!” 2 Timothy 4:7 TM
Tomorrow Brenda and I are teaching a couples get away in Sedona.
One of our introductions will be this .
The six interpretations of spoken communication are:
1. What the speaker intended to say.
2. What the speaker actually said.
3. What the speaker thought he or she said.
4. What the hearer needed to hear.
5. What the hearer actually heard.
6. What the hearer thought he or she heard.
Also, here are 13 Bible verses on Communication In Marriage
Peter 3:1-9 ESV /
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, …
Ephesians 5:22-33 ESV /
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, …
James 1:19 ESV /
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
Proverbs 25:11-15 ESV /
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters. Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give. With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.
James 1:5 ESV /
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Ephesians 4:15 ESV /
Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Mark 10:9 ESV /
What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Ephesians 5:22-25 ESV /
Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,
Ephesians 4:25 ESV /
Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
1 John 2:1-29 ESV
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: …
Matthew 19:3-9 ESV /
And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” …
Mark 10:6-8 ESV /
But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
Genesis 2:18-25 ESV /
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. .
Looking forward to this couple event.
Pastor Steve
Today was amaZING.
I had the entire day alone.
Yes, totally along with the exception of my three golden retrievers.
It was interesting, because the last three months have been a flurry of activity and groups and activity.
Tonight as I sat in front of my chiminea full of fire and firewood smoke.
I listened to the water trickling in Willow creek below me and the wind whispering in the pines on the hill above me.
All of the elements were surrounding me with wind, wood , water and fire .
When you are alone …………. things can get real creative.
“One God idea is better than a 1000 good ideas.”
For your body to stay healthy, you have to keep eating.
For your mind to stay healthy, you have to keep learning.
For your soul to stay healthy , you have to keep dreaming.
Our imagination is an attribute that God has given us – You have NO boundaries in your imagination!
Our imagination is the PLAYGROUND where you and God get to commune and dream together… yes, Yes it is.
http://www.discoveryprescott.com
I met Rick Malm in the fall of 2012 in Yosemite National Park. We climbed Half Dome together and then found out we were raise in the same community in the mid west.
I wanted to share his insight through one of his latest writings.
Enjoy.
“I just wrote to one of our dear missionaries, a single woman plowing hard ground in Spain, who is going through some intense trials right now. As I wrote, I thought perhaps others might benefit from what I shared with her. So here it is:
———-
I know it is a stressful time for the ministry but it is in those stressful times that God produces good fruit in our lives. We have been going through that personally also but finding God faithful through it all.
Something He shared with me. A principle you see in the Word is that life only comes out of death. A seed has to “die” to reproduce. Jesus had to die or He would have remained the only son of God. His death brought many sons and daughters into the kingdom.
In other words, until there is death there can be no multiplication. But, any area of our life that dies is now a candidate for resurrection power. And just like Christ’s resurrected body was so much more glorious than the earthly tent, so, anything, any part of our life or ministry that dies, can now be resurrected far more glorious. It may not look the same but it will be far more fruitful and productive and glorious than it ever could have been if it had not died.
So, we must embrace the death of vision, even of hope. By doing so, we are embracing God and casting all our trust and hope upon Him. I pray that casts some light into a dark night. St John of the Cross spoke of a night that can be brighter than the day. Because, in that night we discover God in more intimate ways and He becomes a brilliant glow in our soul.”
My Goods friends Joel and and his pops Rick Malm
Rick is the president of CTEN is an interdenominational missionary sending agency “Helping Ordinary People Partner With God To Accomplish The Extraordinary.
US Office: www.cten.org
Canadian Office: www.ctenc.ca
I just wanted to post a few pics of the 2013 24 Hour In The Old Pueblo.
What another great weekend at the 24 Hour In The Old Pueblo.
Good times were enjoyed by all.
Steve
Filed under: Discovery Church
Discovery Church’s logo has been in the works for over three decades.
While pastoring and planting a church in Missouri I became a student of Lewis and Clark when I was living in St. Charles Missouri.
As many of you know, Lewis and Clark started their expedition up the Missouri river in 1805 from the banks of the Missouri river.
http://stevelummer.com/2010/07/12/lewis-and-clarks-journey-and-journals/
Since that time,, i had lived in a community with many people living and being apart of what is termed a recovery lifestyle.
Yes, many of us are in some sort of recovery or another. Be it abuse, relationships, pastoring or addiction.
I have a deep conviction that there is something beyond recovery called discovery.
Discovery is the new purpose and the very essence of God’s call within each of us to unearth the very purpose God has allowed us on this earth.
So lets get to the the logo which was created by my son Caleb.
The circle is in short form Mark Batterson’s book the Circle Maker.
http://www.thecirclemaker.com/
The Name Discovery is is up to everyone who desires to discover their life in Christ.
“Church” will be an effort to be a ekklesia (Gathering of Christ People) not a Kircka ( a building or location)
Jesus Predicted Us.
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. Matthew 16:18
Peter – Rock
Hades – The realm of the dead.
This is the first time the term CHURCH shows up in our English New Testament …._Here is something interesting that our English translation of the bible misses.. As you know, the greek term translated “church” througout the New testament is EKKLESSIA – What you may not know is the Ekklisia is not a religious term –
Ekklisia was simply a gathering or an assembly of people called out for a specific purpose. ”ekklisia” never referred to a speciific place, or specific gathering.
So when Jesus used the term Ekklesia – He was saying I am going to build my own assembly of people and the foundation for this new assembly will be ME!
So, that is our definition of the word church.
The Symbols inside the logo get a little more specific.
This is taken from a five week series of sermons but hopefully you will get the drift….So here you go.
WIND – WATER – WOOD- FIRE
Has to do with our commission our community our connection and our communion.
The WIND - The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:8 (niv)
The WATER - Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” John 7:37,38 (niv)
The WOOD- “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:1-4 (niv)
The FIRE - Our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:29
OUR CULTURE – WE CRAFT IT, WE FRAME IT, WE DESIGN IT ..WE DEFINE IT ….WE LIVE WITH IT
Wind – our commission, what God has called us to be as a people.
Water – our community of faith and how it is intended to flow.
Wood – our connection – How structure always submits to the Spirit..
Fire – our communion – Relevance to our culture and reverence for God are not optional.
So, every time you see Discovery’s logo this might help define what we are about.
Pastor Steve Lummer
Discoveryprescott.com
Thank you Brad Dvries for the art work and forging
Thank you shawn Thomas Miller for the wheel
Our Branding iron for our back packs.
My friend Greg Ooley’s head badge for bikes.
Filed under: Discovery Expeditions
For anyone interested, Tomorrow (Thursday February 14th) Brenda will be leading a short expedition in Sedona @ 1:00 P.M. along with Pastor Jesse Qurioz the leadership crew of Journey Church.
We will be leaving Discovery’s office @ 11:00 A.M. Sharp.
What a great way to invest in Valentines day.
Our teaching tomorrow will be: How to stay in Spiritual Leadership Fire/water/wood & wind.
Food will be served on the Red Rocks.
Pastor Steve
