Cookie Cutter

According to the Urban Dictionary cookie-cutter means marked by sameness and a lack of originality - mass produced - often used to describe housing developments in which all of the houses are based on the same floor plans and differentiated only by color scheme. The benefit of cookie-cutter houses translates into saving for the home buyer.  Same design plans - same square footage - translates into large savings - quality housing - fair and equitable prices.  The trade off - lack of uniqueness.  In some areas - easy to get lost - since all of the houses share the same appearance.  Benefit - clean design - organized - outrageous - unpleasant designs avoided.  Pros and cons - abound.

God sent Jesus to Mankind to show us how to live - in general terms. Treat your neighbor as yourself - for most of us - night and day - what pleases me - not pleasing to you.  Jesus offers salvation to all - His love - His forgiveness - His acceptance - not in equal ways - only in equal opportunity. For each - customized for individual needs - to individual situations. No cookie-cutter relationship - with God - with Jesus.  If any of us were the only person who needed salvation - it would be customized specifically for us.  No cookie-cutter - no mass produced forgiveness - quite simply - one on one - waiting - just for you.

Deacon Dale 

Repent and Believe

Repent and Believe in the Gospel - as was proclaimed this First Sunday of Lent 2015. Repent - admit your wrongs - be sorrowful that you thought or acted wrongly - make amends - take corrective actions. We have all sinned - saint and sinner - humans - mortal - well meaning - thoughtless - frivolous - people.  Only One was perfect - He was God - is God.  How can we compare with Jesus - we can't. How can we be exactly like Him - the Author of Life - we won't.  Not needed - not intended - not expected.  When God created mankind - He knew we would not be infallible - He knew we would have limitations - He knew that each one of us was a possibility - holding the potential of greatness within ourselves. He knew we would fail - error - make mistakes - mess up. Just as He gave us the Rainbow as a promise - He gives us hope - weekly - daily - hourly.

Jesus came to show us the right path to walk - the right way to act - the right way to think - the right way to live. He came that we could have life and live it to the fullest. In that fullness - experiencing all that God has planned - good and bad - joy and sadness - health and sickness - the things we do not like to think about - the wrong - the evil - the cruel times.  His promise of New Life - New Hope - the Rainbow - moments of touching the Divine. He knew - He forgives - He waits - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Lenten Partnership

Trying to experience Lent by yourself - often a challenge - often difficult - often a failure.  From those who know - journeying with a partner - much easier - more successful.  Most who have done Lent well - have done it with at least one other person - some - in sizable groups.  It is always more affirming - more helpful - more rewarding - when sharing faith with others.  Many will try alone - private prayers - personal reading - quiet meditation - missed intentions - forgotten for days - done before started.  Partners - groups - community - challenge - encourage - affirm - the value of doing Lent well.  Prayer groups - Bible studies - group devotionals - all very successful.  The hardest part - starting - the easiest part - quitting.

Jesus said that all were called - not all responded - many drifted by the wayside.  Walking with Jesus - a challenge - trying to keep pace - easy.  Jesus does not run - Jesus does not sprint - Jesus walks - at a pace just for you.  Your decision - He is there - smiling - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

On The Road

Our Lenten journey has begun - we are now into our third day - still energized by the imposition of ashes on our foreheads - still excited about our 40 day adventure - walking with Jesus - walking closer to God. Before we get much further - we assess the supplies - equipment needed for a long journey.  Our Bible - spiritual food for the journey - Sturdy Sandals - protection from the rocks in our path - Living Water - with the Spirit of God flowing within - all things are possible.  As we walk this journey - important to pace ourselves - too fast - risk of burning out - getting spiritual blisters - walking too slow - risk of distractions - falling off the path of life.  

El Camino de Santiago - Pamplona 

Jesus asks us to walk with him - to see where He lives - to see what He sees - to hear what He hears - He stands at the road of life - beckoning - calling - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

The Day After

Faces washed - ashes gone - the second day.  So we are into our Lenten experience.  A day to reflect on yesterday's ashes - the prayers spoken - the songs sung - the thumb on our forehead - the ash that fell to the ground.  Did anything happen - was there a spark of hope - a glimmer of anything?  Why did we go - what did we expect - God's forgiveness? The end of the second day - close at hand - what lies ahead - questions - hope - faith?

When Jesus spoke to the crowds many wondered - questioned - speculated - sought answers.  Today we do the same - two thousand years later - nothing has changed - God is still God - Jesus is still Jesus - waiting - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Ash Wednesday

Ash Wednesday - the official beginning of Lent - a day that startles some - excites others. Although not an official Holy Day - one day that draws very large numbers of people to church services.  Services - perhaps a simple scripture service with the imposition of ashes on the forehead - complete Holy Mass including imposition of ashes.  Ash Wednesday is counter cultural - a day set aside - yet not mandatory - a day that calls to the inner spirit of individuals - a day that draws people - to reflect - to contemplate - to wonder - the frailty of their life - the value of their self.  Fasting and abstaining - eating less - avoiding meat - self imposed - prescribed for the multitude - exempted for the very young and old.

God calls everyone constantly to a deeper relationship with Him - not always acknowledged - often ignored. In Lent - most give in - stop their daily lives - to admit - finally - that lives lived poorly - need help.  In these 40 days of Lent - God waits - for you.

Deacon Dale 

Fat Tuesday

Hooray! Celebrate - Today is Fat Tuesday - a day of self indulgence - food - parties - Mardi Gras.  Yes today - we pull out all the stops - throw caution to the wind - forget decorum - party like there is no tomorrow.  Fat Tuesday is a last ditch attempt - one more day - to ignore - to focus on self - to let our inner child run wild - uncontrolled.  In this day we celebrate personal independence - no thoughts of others - no thoughts of rules - rather a day to break rules - to run free.  At midnight - it ends - gone  - not forgotten. Tomorrow - will come - Ash Wednesday - the beginning of Lent - a period of reflection - a time of seeking forgiveness - for what we have done - for Fat Tuesday - for being inconsiderate - for being selfish - for all that we dared to do - all the wrongs committed.  There is always two sides to every coin - two routes to walk - two choices to be made.

Jesus told us that He was The Way - He did not force us to believe - He gave us a choice - accept or reject - turn away or turn towards Him.  In Lent the Church gives us an opportunity to review and reflect.  Our choice - our time - choose wisely.

Deacon Dale 

Hard Dig

When we bought our snowbird home in Arizona we decided that it was partially for ourselves as a winter retreat - secondly as an investment home to be rented out in our absence.  We were unable to find exactly what we wanted - bought our house based on the potential to fix up - add amenities.  The inside was fairly complete - minor touch up here and there - the outside - another story.  As back yards go - not a pretty site - plain - ignored over the years.  In Illinois we have a home designed for family - friends - entertaining. In Arizona we wanted to create that same feeling - warm - welcoming - entertaining.  The plan - add a swimming pool - bocce court - place to grill outdoors - plenty of seating.The most complicated project - the swimming pool. In the mid-west not very difficult - in the Sierra Estrella Mountains - a challenge.  It was not a complete surprise to us that our house is built on a mountain - under a cover of twelve inches of decomposed granite - solid rock.  The original excavation halted after 30 minutes - delayed a few days to get bids on digging through solid rock.  After it was finally done - about eight hours of hammering with a hydraulic breaker attachment on the excavator and fragments removed - a free formed curving hole in solid rock. 

Solid Rock Pool Base

When Jesus was selecting his followers He told Peter that he was a rock and that upon him - He would built His church.  Peter - meaning well - not clearly seeing God's plan - put his foot in his mouth more than once during his time with Jesus.  Some may laugh at his follies - but many ministers - most of us - have done likewise.  In spite of our limited vision - God works miracles around us every day.  People we turn away from - embraced by God- groups not deemed worthy by many - worthy in God's eyes.  In time - reflecting on life's misadventures - most of us learn - are informed - educated - in God's way. We stop judging - comparing - criticizing - we look with the eyes of Jesus - we hear with His ears - we love with His heart.  Accepting all - as brothers - sisters - children of God - we become true disciples - continuing His work on Earth.

Deacon Dale  

Security

Security is big business - ask anyone - car alarms - house alarms - personal protection - it is everywhere. As a country - Americans - obsessed with security - safety - worry about daily encounters.  Television is filled with police shows - Criminal Minds - Rookie Blue - this or that PD - constantly sharing danger - constantly spreading fear - real - imaginary.  Some - so paralyzed - they fear their own homes - pets - lives. We are not secure - there is no real safety - if they want you - they will get you.

Nothing is one-hundred percent perfect - secure.  The only security any of us have is in God. In God alone - our souls at rest - at peace - secure in His promise - secure in the knowledge - that He - the King of Kings - Lord of Lords - our constant companion - constant guard - stands in the doorway - offering - security.  Choose Jesus - choose life - be secure.

Deacon Dale 

House On A Rock

Almost everyone has heard the scripture about the wisdom of building a house on a rock as compared to a sandy piece of land.  While that is great for encouraging people to have a sound foundation for their life - it does not go well for those who literally live in a house on a rock where they wish to install an in-ground swimming pool.  Unlike normal soil - rock is very hard to dig through. What would normally be a one or two day process becomes a task of four days to a week. That is what I am told as we are one of the lucky ones to face  this dilemma.  One of the reasons we bought  this particular home was the large yard and space to add a swimming pool.  What we thought would be a straight forward project - now a rather rocky issue.  We have a solution - an estimate to chip and remove a lot of granite - a plan - more expense.

Quite often God calls us to a place in our lives where we expect easy sailing - a walk in the park - cruise through - only to discover a rock in the road - an obstruction - a road block. Just as God helps us through our daily difficulties - even more so He helps with our spiritual challenges.  Rather than worry about the delay - the extra investment - constantly we are reminded - with God - all things are possible.

Deacon Dale