February- Black History

February has been designated Black History month here in the United States. The history of black people in America has been a tough one on all fronts. Even as I write those words it seems so understated that it is insulting. A blog like this begins on thin ice. The racial history of blacks in America seems to put every one's teeth on edge. It is one of shame and degradation. I watch black and white footage on the history channel and I cringe. How could anyone think any of that was OK? I have watched enough and read enough to make me experience a wide range of emotions. I have gone from shock to shame to sadness to outrage and finally to awe. Suffering is a wild card in the human condition. Pain can move into a person and make them brittle so their whole being seems fragile to the touch. It can make others as hard as stone or prickly like a cactus so no one can ever get close. But profound suffering can also make someone soft and deep and strong. I have seen it and have felt it. My friend Marshall Brandon is soft and deep and strong. Marshall is a black man and the closest black friend I have ever had. We have talked enough of his life that I know a little of the pain he has endured. Much of that pain was caused by people with my skin color and it was caused simply because of the difference in shade between him and them. The pain that bounced around in my friend's life could have done all kinds of things to him. Instead of making him bitter or brittle it has made him as much like Jesus as anyone I know. I know there are other races that have suffered. I have American Indian blood in my veins. But African Americans suffered deep and long. The fact that they are not all bitter and brittle is amazing to me. I celebrate Black History month because all around me are people who have suffered and their suffering has made them deep and strong. If you are white I would encourage you to spend this month praying that the pain that has bounced around in the black race for 400 years here in America would continue to make your neighbors strong and soft and deep. Pray for them. Pray for yourself. Pray for forgiveness as a country. Pray for redemption of a race. Pray for a friend like mine where you can see it up close and then thank our Savior who suffered and by his stripes provided healing for us all.

Sharp Knives and Great Gifts

A couple of years ago I was in Seattle with a very good friend. He used to work on crab fishing boats. I am a big fan of the show "The Deadliest Catch" so I am a big fan of my friend. Those guys are amazing. Anyway, my friend took me to a store where all the real fishermen buy their knives. These are knives they carry in their boots in case they get tossed overboard and are tangled in a rope they can cut their way loose. They are very sharp knives. I bought several. I love them. They are like super sharp steak knives. They are my favorite kitchen instrument. I was using one last night to cut very thin slices of cheddar cheese. It was great. Later I found some chocolate that we had melted for fondue and then saved in the frig. It was cold and hard. I had a hankering for chocolate so I took the knife to it. The knife slipped off the chocolate, through the tupperware and then through my finger. I spent the next couple of hours in the emergency room. I am ok except for feeling remarkably foolish. Here is my point. I love the knife. It is awesome. The best things in my life are like that knife. If they stay in their proper place, their God-given place then they remain a wonderful gift. But if I use them for something they were never intended for they become dangerous to me and they make that switch very quickly. That goes for my family, my children, my job, my health. All these things are great gifts. All of them like knives. If I try to use any one of them to give me worth I will very quickly end up in some kind of emergency room. Only God can fill the deepest need in my soul. Only God can fill the deepest need in yours. Remember that as you butter your toast tomorrow. I will remember it for a while as my poor finger heals. Even the healing is a gift of grace from the true God.

When The Foundations Crumble

It is hard for me to move away from the earthquake in Haiti. Right now rains are falling in California and washing away dreams as houses collapse and people slog through the streets. I watched last night as parents made pleas on television for their missing children who have been buried in a Haitian hotel. My youngest daughter Becca wants to run an orphanage overseas some day. It made me think of how I would be praying and what I would do as a father if she was running an orphanage in Haiti right now. There is a helplessness that can be overwhelming. There is a verse in Psalm 11. It reads, "When the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do?" The psalmist must have felt what we feel. He goes on to remind himself, "The Lord is in his holy temple, the Lord is on his heavenly throne." That is a great reminder. Some of you have had days when the earth moved, when the foundations crumbled around you. In Haiti it happened in less than a minute. I guess that is the way it happens for most of us. A single phone call and life changes and the ground shifts and we feel the swaying in our bones. When that happens to me I will need friends to gently remind me that the Lord is still in his heavenly temple, the Lord is still on his throne. When the foundations crumble we run to the only One who is beneath even the foundations of our lives. I want to be there even before the shaking begins.

Haiti- Pray, Give, Go

Two days ago the earth shook under Haitian soil. We call it an earthquake and it is measure in single digits. This one registered at 7.0. Somehow a single digit number does not match the destruction that I see on TV. When I got in to my office this morning I had an email from one of our members. She said she was passing by the church and was thinking about the tragedy in Haiti and wondered if we had any "eye popping" plans to show the love of God and if so she wanted me to know she was in. I love that on two levels. One that she knows our church well enough to think we would be responding some way and she had high expectations as to the extent of the response. The second thing I liked about it is she was letting me know she wanted to be part of the response. She wasn't just saying, "So, Mr. Minister, what are you going to do about this?" I like that. This is how we are going to start. There are 3 ways we are going to call people to respond. PRAY, GIVE, GO. We are putting it up on our website www.hudsonchapel.org. We will be updating to help all of us know what to pray for. We have trusted ministry partners already in Haiti so anyone who wants to give money to be used for relief can give through the church. Finally we want to know who is willing to GO. Right now we can't get into Haiti. No one can. But when we can we will. Here at HCC we are right in the middle of a Vision series. 2010- The Year of Our Lord. We are dividing the year up into six sections that are 2 months each. Each section we will call all of us to do something more than we have ever done before. This first section is SHARE. We want to Share our faith more than we have ever shared before. Throughout the year we will PRAY, READ, RISK, SERVE, and GIVE. You may need to do some things out of order. This may be your time to PRAY, RISK, and SERVE like you never have before. All I know is that if there is a disaster of a 7.0 magnitude, I want to be part of a church that is willing to muster together a 7.0 response.

So Smart She is Stupid

My dog JoJo is very smart. At least that is what we have always assumed. She is a Jack Russel terrier. That is the kind of dog used on the television show Frazier and in the movie The Mask. They are known for their intelligence. By the way, maybe you are wondering why she is named JoJo. Be careful what you assume. I used to make fun of George Foreman for naming all his kids George. He has 4 sons named George and a daughter named Georgette. I finally met an old boxer who knew George. They had fought each other twice. He told me he had asked George why he named all his kids after himself. George said, "I never knew who my father was growing up. I wanted my kids to know their father's name." I haven't made fun of him since. Any way, I named my dog JoJo for times like this to remind myself it was my idea to get this dog. JoJo has been doing her business indoors, on our carpets, which are white. She is trained to ring a little bell when she needs to go outside and use God's great outdoors as her personal toilet. Up until recently she would walk over to the sliding door, ring the bell and go out. Now she is picking her times. I still think she is smart. She is just smart enough to be stupid. She realizes it is freezing outside and has decided she will do what she wants indoors. But she forgets that ultimately big Joe (that's me) still has power. Now, JoJo has lost her freedom. When we go out she gets locked in the mud room. She sleeps in there now. So far, her loss of freedom has resulted in cleaner carpets. JoJo reminds me of me. There are times I am so smart I am stupid. I know what God wants but decide what I want to do is just so much better. Whenever I do that it ultimately results in a loss of freedom. Jesus said, "He who the Son sets free is free indeed." God gives me full reign of the house if I would only be smart enough to listen to Him. The next time you think you are smarter than God think of my mud room and poor JoJo sitting in there wondering how she got there. Don't feel too bad. She knows exactly why she is there.

An Old Prayer for the New Year

Here is a prayer taken from Puritan book of prayers. A good friend sent it to me. He said it is best if it is read slowly and savored. I found it to be so. Enjoy, and have a Happy New Year.

A New Year's Prayer
O Lord, Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in Thy presence, in Thy service, to Thy glory. Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides, sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour, that I may not be one moment apart from Thee, but may rely on Thy Spirit to supply every thought, speak in every word, direct every step, prosper every work, build up every mote of faith, and give me a desire to show forth Thy praise; testify Thy love, advance Thy kingdom.
I launch my bark on the unknown waters of this year, with Thee, O Father as my harbour, Thee, O Son, at my helm, Thee O Holy Spirit, filling my sails. Guide me to heaven with my loins girt, my lamp burning, my ear open to Thy calls, my heart full of love, my soul free.
Give me Thy grace to sanctify me, Thy comforts to cheer, Thy wisdom to teach, Thy right hand to guide, Thy counsel to instruct, Thy law to judge, Thy presence to stabilize. May Thy fear be my awe, Thy triumphs my joy.
From Valley of Vision

You Have Been Gifted!!

We started a "You've Been Gifted" initiative during the month of December. I challenged the people of our church to blanket this area with 5000 acts of random generosity to remind everyone of the true meaning of Christmas. I have received dozens of stories. They are all great. This is one of my favorites and I thought you all would enjoy it as well. Merry Christmas to all of you.


Hi Joe,
I wanted to write you a note and share my experience using the Gift Card.
I was in the Super Walmart in Streetsboro this weekend and asked the lord before entering the store to lead me to someone who needs a blessing. I really felt the presence of God while choosing a check out aisle. I ended up behind a woman in one of those wheelchair type carts the store offers and she was with her adult daughter. They were having trouble paying for their purchases and were trying to use different credit cards. It was obvious that this was the person God has chosen me to "gift".

I stepped next to the lady and said " Merry Christmas why don't you let me pay for you today. " The cashier overheard me and said " you cant do that" and I asked "Why not?" and she turned the cash registers mo niter toward me that show her total bill was $192. I said "that's OK our church asked us to look for opportunities to bless other this Christmas season" I then handed her the gift card.
The lady in the wheelchair began crying really hard and her eyes were red , she grabbed my face in her hands and said " thank you very much I didn't think kindness like this still existed" She then said the reason I am shopping today is to buy clothes for my husbands funeral this weekend!"

The cashier heard this and raised her hands in the air (and held them there) and said "praise God!" she then asked where our church was and said she would like to a church where people are as nice as me.
At this point I was feeling awkward about all thre attention and started to babble phrases like "its not a big deal" and " I have a lot of money" how embarrassing is that !

However after all was said and done it really felt great to "team up " with God be a part of blessing some else.