My statement of faith

Below is the document Pastor Chris Meirose submitted for review prior to his Ordination.  While it is not binding that all church members must adhere to this document, it gives you an idea the direction Pastor Chris guides the church.

When Your Spouse Lets You Down

This great article comes from Family Life - Canada.

Seven steps to letting go of hurt and disappointment.

by Dr. Dave Currie with Glen Hoos

"Forgive and forget." It's a well-worn cliché—one that is easier to say than to practice.

If you're married, you've been there. Your spouse has said or done something that has wounded you. It may be something small, or it may be a major betrayal. Either way, your pride screams at you to take revenge. If you don't strike back immediately, you at least want to keep this "guilt card" in your pocket, to be pulled out at a later date: "Oh yeah, well what about the time when you ..."

When we've been offended, the last thing we want to do is to let it go. And yet, if our desire is to have a healthy, lasting marriage, that is exactly what we've got to do. Here are seven suggestions to keep in mind when your spouse lets you down:

1. Agree on a time to talk. If you need to talk to your spouse about something, don't just corner him or her and launch in unexpectedly. That is a recipe for hostility. Instead, agree together on a time to discuss the issue. That gives each of you a chance to think about it in advance, which will result in a more productive discussion.

2. Handle negative emotions responsibly. When we react emotionally, we often say and do things that we later regret. In many cases, it is best to delay the discussion until you've settled down, gained a proper perspective, and prayed about your attitude. This will allow you to go into it looking for a solution, rather than just being consumed with your own hurt.

As partners, you need to respect each other's need to "take five." If your spouse needs to wait a few minutes, or even a day or two, to cool down, don't press the issue. This should not be used as an excuse to avoid the discussion entirely, but it is better to take some time to clear your head than to allow your emotions to take you somewhere that you don't want to go.

3. Deal with one issue at a time. Remember that "guilt card" we mentioned earlier? Once you're into the discussion, you will be tempted to pull it out. Soon, your conversation has deteriorated into a long list of offenses, as you try to outdo one another with everything that the other person has ever done wrong. This only intensifies the conflict and deepens the divide between you. It can also be overwhelming to be presented with a massive list of things that need to change. Instead of being motivating, it's discouraging.

Instead, be content to solve one problem at a time. It is much better to make serious headway in one area of your relationship than to simply rehearse everything that needs fixing.

4. Be clear about your perspective. Give each other some uninterrupted time to share your concerns. If you are just trading barbs back and forth, neither of you will really be hearing the other—you'll be too busy thinking about your next comeback.

When it is your time to talk, try to help your mate understand your hurt or frustration. Help them to see why their actions and words had the impact that they did. Likewise, the offending spouse should have the opportunity to explain their words or behavior. It could be that you have misinterpreted their motives, and when this is cleared up it goes a long way toward solving the problem.

5. Hold your relationship more dear than this issue. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our feelings or our "rights" that we lose sight of the bigger picture. People joke about marriages breaking up over toothpaste and toilet paper disputes, but it really happens! Remember that your relationship is the primary concern. You may have some issues to sort out, but you still love one another—and loving one another often means letting the other person be right.

6. Walk in an attitude of forgiveness. If you are going to live with this person for the next 20 ... 30 ... 50 years, you are going to have to forgive one another many times. You cannot afford not to forgive. Unforgiveness not only hurts your spouse, it also hurts you! As Corrie ten Boom said, "Forgiveness is setting the prisoner free, only to find out that the prisoner was me."

This brings us back to the issue of forgiving and forgetting. In truth, there are some hurts that you will never be able to forget. What is more important is that we choose to let it go. Proverbs 17:9 says, "He who conceals a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends." Forgiveness entails giving up your right to punish your spouse—whether through direct retaliation or just letting bitterness fester.

Over the past year, I have discovered the value of "advance forgiveness." I make a conscious decision that, the next time my wife, Donalyn, offends me, I am going to forgive her. Then, when it happens, I remember that I have already decided to forgive her, so there is no point in making a big deal out of it now. This really helps to take my critical edge off.

7. Forgive as Christ forgave you. Colossians 3:13 says, "[Bear] one another, and [forgive] each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you."

And just how does the Lord forgive us? Fully. Unconditionally. Willingly. Time and time again.

This kind of forgiveness is supernatural; it is more than we can do on our own. Particularly if your spouse has betrayed you in a major way, you may need to ask God for the ability to let go of the hurt and forgive them from your heart. But as you trust God to give you His strength and love, He will help you to forgive ... even when your spouse has really let you down.

If you have never experienced God's complete, unconditional forgiveness, know this: God loves you deeply. There is no sin that is so great that He is unwilling to forgive you, if you would just come to Him. If this is the desire of your heart, pray this prayer:

Dear God, I need You in my marriage, and in my life. I acknowledge that I have sinned against You by directing my own life, and that I cannot go on any further without Your help and guidance—and above all, Your forgiveness. I thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to pay for my sins. I now accept that sacrifice and invite Jesus to take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit and empower me to live the life You have called me to. Thank You for forgiving me. Amen.

4 Steps for new ways of thinking

Interesting piece from Ministry Best Practices:

Making disciples not converts

A great piece over at Relevant Magazine with an excerpt below.

______________________________________________

Our mission isn’t to win converts; it’s to make disciples. So what is the difference?

1. Converts are believers who live like the world. Disciples are believers who live like Jesus.
2. Converts are focused on their values, interests, worries, fears, priorities, and lifestyles. Disciples are focused on Jesus.
3. Converts go to church. Disciples are the church.
4. Converts are involved in the mission of Jesus. Disciples are committed to it.
5. Converts cheer from the sidelines. Disciples are in the game.
6. Converts hear the word of God. Disciples live it.
7. Converts follow the rules. Disciples follow Jesus.
8. Converts are all about believing. Disciples are all about being.
9. Converts are comfortable. Disciples make sacrifices.
10. Converts talk. Disciples make more disciples.

A disciple is someone who whole-heartedly follows the life and example of Jesus, who makes His mission their mission, His values their values, and His heart their heart.

A disciple is someone who desperately seeks to be like Jesus. A disciple is someone so committed to the cause of Christ that they would follow Him through the gates of hell and back.

A disciple is someone who finds their entire identity, purpose and meaning in Jesus. Jesus is the center of their lives. They are all in, fully committed.

Not only is a disciple willing to die for Jesus, but they are dedicated to living every day of their life for Him.

Understanding Introverts

From here.

12 ways to improve yourself from successful people

Great article from Mind, Body, Green on how successful people improve themselves.

Whether you're trying to better your health, career, or yourself—there are some recurring secrets and habits that successful people use, and I thought it would be helpful to list them here.

1. They use small habits to get big results.
I love this quote by Seth Godin: "Your audacious life goals are fabulous. We're proud of you for having them. But it's possible that those goals are designed to distract you from the thing that's really frightening you—the shift in daily habits that would mean a re-invention of how you see yourself."

The "shift in daily habits" is the hard part. But it's also key in creating a better version of yourself.

Before Jerry Seinfeld got so famous, he used a daily ritual of writing a little bit of material every day to refine his material. When completed that, he would write a big "X" on his calendar. He continued to do it everyday because he didn't want to break the chain.

2. They hold themselves accountable.
Writing down the reason you want to make a change in your life creates accountability. Next write down when, where, and how you will complete it.

3. They don't rely solely on willpower.
A well-established body of research tells us that willpower is a finite resource. In the face of multiple stressful stimuli, our willpower wears out. Roy F. Baumeister, a social psychologist at Florida State University, says, "Making decisions uses the very same willpower that you use to say no to doughnuts, drugs, or illicit sex."

So when it comes to changing your dietary habits, for example, rely less on willpower—instead change your path so you're not tempted by sugary treats multiple times a day.

4. They take it slow.
Once the habit is ingrained, you can try to tackle new habits, but wait at least three weeks before you even consider that. New studies show for a habit to be automatic it may actually take much longer than 30 days. A study led by Phillippa Lally, PhD, a psychologist at University College London, found that it actually took people 66 days (9.5 weeks) for a behavior to become automatic.

5. They use cues.
In Charles Duhigg’s best–selling book, The Power of Habit, he refers to the three steps of the “Habit Loop” as: cue, routine, reward. An example of a cue: placing your clothes on the floor so when you wake up in the morning you're easily "cued" to start your habit of exercise.

6. They practice introspection.
This can be in the form of meditation or any form of self-examination. For example, the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, says that his meditation practice helped develop the core values of his brand. Also, many people credit Apple's sleek design to Steve Jobs' zen philosophy and meditation practice.

7. They share their habits with like-minded people.
Napoleon Hill coined this relationship “a mastermind.” It's a meeting with people who share similars goals. Some successful people like Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie credit mastermind groups as a key factor in their success.

8. They visualize how they will overcome small hurdles.
You will have naysayers. You will have challenges. How will you solve them? Visualize the problem and mentally rehearse how you will solve it.

9. They reward themselves.
Don't just reward yourself for completing a "30-day challenge" (or something similar), because after the challenge is over, you will inevitably fail. The whole premise of this is life transformation is that there is no end goal. Instead celebrate the small wins.

10. They know that failing is not final.
Expect to fail along the way. If you never fail, the habit was too easy. Just get back to it and don't self-loathe. For motivation, remember the words of Winston Churchill, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

11. They enjoy the process.
We can get so stuck on an end goal that we make ourselves miserable getting there. That's a set up for failure. Enjoy the process of improving yourself. As Warren Buffet once said, "We enjoy the process far more than the proceeds."

12. They express gratitude.
Express gratitude with even just one sentence a day. Define why you are grateful, what you have accomplished, and the hard work you've put in.

The key to changing yourself is not to create someone new or become a "super person" but to actually become a better version of yourself.

Busy All the Time - Are our children over-programmed? (YES!)

 The Fallout from Over-Programming Children 

 I found this an interesting read that many of you parents might track with:
 Part 1 - http://rootedministry.com/articles/busy-all-time-part-1-fallout-over-programming-children
 Part 2 - http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2014/01/13/busy-all-the-time/
 Part 3 - http://www.rootedministry.com/articles/busy-all-time-part-3-five-practical-steps-parents-resisting-over-scheduling

Family Camping - Lessons Learned

The past 48ish hours my family had a quick getaway to do some family camping.  Well, one night in a hotel, one night camping.  We spent Thursday night in Rochester in a hotel downtown because with work obligations I wasn't able to get home early, so we didn't leave town until after 8:30PM and there was no way we were driving 90 miles and then setting up a tent.  So I hit priceline.com and found a reasonable room for the night that got us 70% of the way to our destination.

We camped at Whitewater State Park, just North of St. Charles, MN and about 25 miles East of Rochester on Hwy. 14.  We had lucked out in that there was a single campsite still available for Friday evening earlier this week, so we took it.  It was the ideal weekend to be there in that there was a bunch of young child specific programming scheduled in the park. So we lucked into that.

Among the lessons I've learned the last 48 hours:

1)  A quiet relaxing walk in the woods with a 4 year old is neither quiet nor relaxing.  (but still enjoyable)
2)  I'm too old to sleep on the ground.
3)  We need a bigger car.
4)  The best malts ever are at Del's Cafe in downtown St. Charles.  In fact, all the food there that we tried was fantastic, but the malt was simply over the top.
5) The gas pumps at the St. Charles Cenex don't shut off when your tank is full like everywhere else in the world does, thereby you'll soak yourself in gas if you are filling it and standing next to the handle when it hits full and keeps going.
6)  Even in mid-August the Whitewater River is REALLY cold.
7)  I still like camping, though I still don't like car camping in sites piled on top of each other.
8)  I love my Chaco sandals.  But I had a minor blowout that looks like I'll be having to send them in for a bit of warranty work.  Probably one of the best companies on the planet for this kind of thing, so I trust I'll be treated well.
9)  Doesn't matter what cool places you go, the gravel parking pad at the campsite is still one of the best places on the planet to play with toys.
10)  The best way to end a campout is Outback Steakhouse on the way home.  Why we didn't do this as Boy Scouts...

We had a great time getting away.  No cell phone coverage, no electricity, no computers.  Just fun and family.  Hadn't set our tent up in longer than I care to admit, but it went up with no problems.  We opened our time at camp with a puppet show put on by one of the camp rangers over near the beach area.  We ran into town for lunch at Del's Cafe and then grabbed some non-perishable/no cooking required foods at the local grocery store and headed back to camp.

When we got back to camp we decided to hike up to Chimney Rock, and did that full loop in the midday heat (not advisable in the heat honestly, wait until it cools).  Nice views, though like spending an hour on the Stairmaster, so be warned that it basically straight up the hill, across the ridge a short distance and then right back down the hill with no flat spots in between.  I hiked it in my Chaco sandals (Vibram soles) but I don't recommend that.  It is wickedly rocky and root strewn in places, so toe protection is advised.

We spent the rest of the sunlit part of the afternoon/evening at the beach just relaxing and enjoying some truly amazing weather.  We made it back to camp as the sun was setting and while my other two family members took care of some odds & ends at the shower house, I got the campfire setup and burning. Whitewater doesn't allow outside firewood, so buy it for $5 a bundle at the visitor's center (not cheap).   At least the wood is all hardwood and pre-split though.  Sat around the campfire trying to see meteorites falling with very little success.  Eventually the little man was too tired and he dragged my wife off to the tent to sleep.  She was going to study, but within about 5 minutes they were both out.  I stayed up and tended the fire until it was out and then went to bed myself.

I ended up with the most uncomfortable sleeping spot ever.  There was a high point right were my hips rest, and my head and feet were lower, and the ground slanted into the side of the tent besides that.  I guess that's what I get for being the last in the tent.  So the night's sleep was pretty miserable, though our 4 year old had one of his best night's sleep ever.  But my wife & I agree, we're too old to sleep on the ground.  Cots or an air mattress next time.

Got up this morning and let the wife head to town to the coffee shop to do some studying.  She speaks very highly of the St. Charles coffee shop.  I don't drink coffee, so I'll leave that up to her to define.  Little man and I had some good play time and I packed up most of the sleeping gear so we'd be ready later in the day to head home.  Then at 10:00am we went of and did some more programming that the park had set up for younger children.  Watched birds, hiked some more, looked at flowers, stuck our feet in the river, read books, and more I'm sure I'm forgetting.  All in all a great day.

This was our son's first time camping.  He had asked if we could go about a week ago, and I'm pretty sure he now wants to go again, which I suppose is a good thing.  At least it will be if I can find a battery powered air mattress.

Philmont - A Ranger's Summer movie

I have spent over a calendar year of my life in the mountains featured in this video.  The Sangre de Christo Range.  Philmont Scout Ranch, Cimarron, NM.  If you've been there, you'll find your pulse racing as you watch this video.  It will stir the longing to go back.  IWGBTP!

What women really think about your facial hair?

I (obviously) don't endorse the following video as a guide in my life. But it is funny!

My Faith Story

I spent the first portion of my life knowing there was a God, without having much knowledge about that God, or having a personal relationship with that God. I always knew that Jesus was something that should be important to me; I just did not understand that it was of greatest importance. I had been living what I thought was a good moral life, and thought that paired with my years in church and Sunday school had me covered.

The theme of my faith journey is that God works in unexpected ways, and one of the ways in which he was working in my life was I was placed with a strong Christian as my roommate in college my freshman year. Through him and some of our close friends, I began to understand that I did not have the relationship with Jesus that I needed to have. Their faith and support brought me into a relationship with Jesus and fostered in me an interest that has not since been quelled. I began to ask questions of them. I dusted off my Bible and began to read. For the first time in my life I was excited to learn about the Bible and Jesus Christ. I went on my first mission trip just a month after coming to Christ, and followed this with a month long missions trip to the same location in Mexico the following school year.

I spent the next six years learning and growing in faith. Early on in those years I was not as focused on my faith as I wish I had been, but I was going to church regularly, and usually was part of a Bible study or small group, though I wasn’t serving with any regularity. When I moved to Mitchell, S.D., and began to attend Northridge Baptist Church, I entered into a period of fantastic growth in my personal faith. I was challenged by the teaching in sermons. I joined the praise and worship team, something I would never have imagined previously (my parents didn’t believe it until they saw me sing). I joined a Men’s Bible study that taught me volumes on being a Christian, friend, and leader of a family.  I was also a member of a small group Bible study while at Northridge. I could not find enough time in the day to learn and grow in my personal faith. It was during this period that I began to listen to God's call on my life towards ministry. I also worked with the High School youth group for a couple of years while at Northridge Baptist, filling in in-between youth pastors. This gave me my first real taste of teaching about and through the Bible.

I left Northridge Baptist and this season of ministry to enter full time into Seminary at Bethel Theological Seminary, Arden Hills, MN. I have completed a Master’s of Divinity in the Greek Track with a focus on Transformational Leadership. While in seminary I grew enormously spiritually. I was regularly challenged to re-evaluate what I believed, and forced to think through many areas of theology I had never approached before. It was a greatly challenging and enlightening time. Some who go to seminary find their enthusiasm for spiritual things waning by the conclusion of their education, but not me. My faith is far stronger, and deeper because of my experiences in seminary.

Seminary was also a great training ground for ministry for me. I had the opportunity to be the teaching assistant for the Preaching department for 2.5 years (serving under Bob Merritt of Eagle Brook Church, Phil Print of Crossroads Church, and Dan Rotach), and then spent another year as the teaching assistant in the Transformational Leadership department (serving under Justin Irving). The leaders in these departments were greatly influential in my personal development. I also served on the Student Senate for three years, and was the President of the Student Senate for school year 2005-06.

Following completion of Seminary I began to serve at Crossroads Church and had again the wonderful opportunity to learn under some incredible men of God. Having served as the teaching assistant to Pastor Phil Print while I was in seminary gave me the opportunity to see the inter-working of this large church first as an outsider, then as an insider. I had the opportunity to write bible study lessons and daily devotionals for some church wide projects. I continued to grow in faith and leadership as a small-group coach as well as a small group leader. I had the amazing opportunity to be part of the team that transitioned the church from being a church with small groups to a church of small groups. In May we had something like 150 members in small groups, and when we re-launched the following September we were just shy of 700! This was a great opportunity to see God’s blessing first hand.

We were “blessed” in March 2008 to be called to a small church in Southern, MN. I say that a bit tongue in cheek because coming out of seminary I knew that I wanted to be on staff at a multi-staff church in a large city and that I did not want to be a Senior Pastor, and my long term goal was to be an executive pastor. Thankfully God knows best, and indeed He blessed me with an opportunity to do everything I didn’t want to do – I’m a solo pastor in a small church in a small town that I had never heard of before applying for the position! And indeed God has blessed me and my family in mighty ways through this experience. I have experienced tremendous personal spiritual growth through my having to preach roughly 55 times a year the past 3 years (that includes holidays, special services, weddings & funerals). Additionally, I’ve been leading & teaching (and team teaching) Jr. High and Sr. High youth groups and Bible studies for adults, so my time in the Word is greater than ever before! Thankfully God is God and I am not, He knows best.

I continue to grow through personal study, study related to ministry, and through various church conferences. I regularly listen to other preachers’ sermons to allow them to feed me, teach me and challenge me. I read regularly to continue to add to my knowledge base. I also read from a wide range of blogs and online resources to keep current with trends in our churches and our culture. I practice personal devotions from the Bible, and am growing spiritually with my wife as well. I am still being formed, am not where I would like to be, but am amazed at where I have come from. God is indeed gracious.

If I were to sum my faith up in one sentence it would be:
I am a Christ follower who is seeking to serve God, hoping to bring Him glory, desiring to be used by God, and thankful God is great enough to use me in spite of me.

My Bedrock Beliefs:
That Christ is my personal Lord and Savior and is the only solution to my (and the world's) sin problem.
That we need to honor God in everything we do.
That people matter to God.
The Bible is God’s Word.
That the local church is the hope of the world.
That the truths of Scripture should be communicated in meaningful and relevant ways.

Baldy's BBQ - A Review

If you know me, you know that my love languages are football, wings, and BBQ.  :-)  So when my wife suggested we visit a new BBQ place, you know I was game.  We had to run to the Twin Cities for some school supplies, and stopped in Lakeville, MN for dinner.  The review follows...starting NOW!

Baldy's BBQ
11276 210th St W
Suite 103
Lakeville, MN 55044
PH: 952.469.3343
(it's in a strip mall just behind the truck stop/McDonald's East of I-35 on the Southern most Lakeville exit)

What we ate:
Appetizer - Trio with Corn Poppers, Fried Green Beans, Cheese Curds
Entrees - The Beast (wife) and Mixed Grill (me) with Brisket, Pulled Pork & Baldy's Sausage.
Sides  - Cornbread, Fries, Coleslaw, Five-Cheese Corn with Ham
Sauces - tried all they had.

Ambiance:
I'd call it "hole-in-the-wall-strip-mall" with a bit of sports bar thrown in.  It was a slow night I suspect with it being Halloween.  Room was dark, a few TV's, a handful of booths along one wall, and tables seating 4 or 8 taking up most of the floor space.  Dining room was clean, bathrooms were clean.  Nothing special, but on par for most BBQ joints.  No concerns on cleanliness anywhere - most of the food prep areas are within view.

Service:
We dined in, though take-out is available.  Our server was pleasant and knowledgeable.  With this being our first visit, that is important.  Answered all our questions well, and weathered a fidgety 3-year-old.  Kept our glasses full and paced our app and entrees well.

Food:
Corn Poppers are always incredible.  The Fried Green Beans tasted like Onion Rings, which was a minus for me, a plus for my wife.  The Cheese Curds were a bit over cooked resulting in some loss of cheese.  Our son loved the Fried Green Beans, eating about 80% of them.  I'd do it again, though I'll personally pass on the green beans next time.

Brisket - they use a very thin sliced brisket.  Flavor was pleasant, though not nearly as flavorful as I like.  A hint of smoke, so if you don't like a strong flavor, you'll like this.  I found it lacking.  I also don't like the think slice nearly as much as a thick slice, or my preferred of chopped.  Meat wasn't dry, but I wouldn't call it juicy.  I chalk that up to the thin slicing. Beef was tender, but again, this might be a result of the thin slicing since there was little to offer resistance.  My benchmark for Brisket in the Twin Cities is Dickey's, and this isn't up to that standard.  I'd eat it again, but I've had better.

Pulled Pork - Great flavor, a bit chewy.  The pork had the flavor I was hoping the brisket would have.  I'd order it again, with the hope it was a bit more tender next time.  One of the better pulled porks I've had.

Baldy's Sausage - first bite was surprisingly mild with great texture.  And then about 20 seconds later a gentle heat started to build.  Nice.  Didn't see that coming.  The overall flavor is mild with a noticeable but not overpowering hint of fennel seed (which is important, because I generally don't like fennel seed) and then a slowly building bit of heat that is about 20% less that I like, but probably about right for most customers.  Juicy while not being greasy.  The surprising highlight of my meats.  If pushed, I'd still take Famous Dave's Hot Links or Dickey's Spicy Cheddar Sausage, but only by the slimmest of margins.  You can't go wrong with this sausage!

The Beast - Smoked Brisket sauced in their original sauce,coleslaw,bacon and two onion rings. On a 5inch Kaiser Bun.  First impression - holy cow!  Can a single person eat this beast?!?  It is huge.  You definitely get your money's worth on this.  My wife said the coleslaw was exceptional.  She doesn't eat coleslaw often, but almost always on a sandwich when we eat BBQ.  She was definitely pleased and would order it again.  And she only ate 1/4 of the sandwich and was stuffed (with app earlier).  She'll get at least 1 more lunch out of this plus my leftover pulled pork.

Cornbread - best cornbread I've had North of Nashville.  Outstanding.  Crunchy outside, moist and dense inside, with awesome flavor.  Pan cooked like it should be.  Easily the best cornbread I've had in a LONG time.  I'd stop here just to eat that alone.

Fries - best fries I've ever eaten.  While I don't eat a lot of fries, and nearly never order fries (never at fast food places), these were awesome!  Special seasoning, and batter fried = pure potato deliciousness.  I got them on the recommendation of our server, and he didn't lead me astray.

Five-Cheese Corn with Ham - think of a really rich creamy/cheesy sauce poured over sweet corn with a few thin slices of ham thrown in.  Really good.  Thankfully no onion in the mix.  The creamy texture was nice, the corn was sweet, though I think it could've benefited from a bit of heat and salt.  A dash of white pepper or cayenne pepper would've really pushed this over the top.  If they added a breadcrumb topping for texture you'd have fights breaking out at tables for who gets the last spoonful.  Really tasty and a no-brainer to order again.

Sauces - I tried all that were on the table.  My favorite by far is the Original.  While I didn't sit and think about the flavor profiles a whole lot, this was a very nicely balanced sauce with nothing too strong in any direction.  The Spicy was probably my least favorite, and definitely not as well liked as Devil's Spit from Famous Dave's.  The Gold was a honey-bbq sauce that was really tasty and is good with the pork and would pair well with chicken too I'm guessing.  The Sweet was too sweet and fruity for my liking, though not bad, just not what I was looking for, and certainly not as good as the Original.  There may have been a fifth sauce, but if so I'm forgetting what it was.


Would I do it again?  Yep.  If Dickey's was next door I'd stop there first and grab my brisket there though and then finish at Baldy's.  Very good value for the money, and next time I'm trying ribs and/or turkey!

Asian Pear Pomegranate Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

This is the salad recipe we used for our portion of First Congregational Church’s Progressive Dinner 10/14/2012.  Serves 4 adults as listed.

Salad Ingredients:

1 Pomegranate

1 Bunch of watercress, rinsed and dried, large stems removed, roughly chopped

2 Heads bibb or Boston lettuce, rinsed and dried, torn into pieces

2 Endives, cored and thinly sliced lengthwise

1 Asian pear, cored and cut into very thin slices

1 Jazz apple, cored and  thinly sliced (if not available use a sweet apple)

½ cup walnuts, toasted and  roughly chopped

4 ounces of Gorgonzola cheese (we forgot to add this to our salad)

Raspberry Vinaigrette Ingredients:

3 tablespoons raspberry vinegar

4 tablespoons fresh orange juice with high pulp

6-10 crushed raspberries

1 teaspoon  real maple syrup (can sub honey)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon chopped shallot

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons canola oil

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

In a large bowl, combine the watercress, lettuce and endives.  Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking the ingredients, add salt & pepper to taste.

Just before serving, add just enough dressing to coat the greens and toss well.  Place salad on a large shallow serving platter.  Top the greens with sliced pears, apples, pomegranate seeds, walnuts and cheese.  Drizzle a little more dressing over all and serve remaining dressing on the side.

This is a beautiful and tasty salad that can be altered according to seasons to sub in seasonal fruits in the recipe.

Startling Statistics about Pastors

Jeff Gauss who wrote the following was one of my seminary classmates and is a church planter of Epiphany Station in Thief River Falls, MN.

Startling Statistics about Pastors

October 17, 2012 by Jeff Gauss

 

While preparing for a workshop I’m leading at our denomination’s annual meeting, I discovered some startling statistics about pastors (really, they are only startling to those who aren’t pastors).
(Below are just a few of the statistics compiled by the Schaeffer Institute in an 18 year long study from 1989-2007. Read the full report HERE.)
Hours and Pay

• 90% of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week.
• 50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.
• 70% of pastors feel grossly underpaid.

Training and Preparedness

• 90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands.
• 90% of pastors said the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be like before they entered the ministry.

Health and Well-Being

• 90% of pastors stated they are frequently fatigued, and worn out on a weekly and even daily basis.
• 80% of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastor.
• 71% of pastors are burned out (beyond normal fatigue).
• 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
• Only 23% of pastors report being happy and content in their identity in Christ, in their church, and in their home.

Spirituality

• 72% of the pastors we surveyed stated that they only studied the Bible when they were preparing for sermons or lessons. This left only 38% who read the Bible for devotions and personal study.
• 26% of pastors said they regularly had personal devotions and felt they were adequately fed spirituality.

Marriage and Family

• 80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families.
• 80% of spouses feel the pastor is overworked.
• 80% of spouses feel left out and under-appreciated by church members.

Church Relationships

• 70% do not have someone they consider a close friend.
• 40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.

Longevity

• 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates will leave the ministry within 5 years.
• Only 10% of pastors will actually retire as a minister in some form.
• Over 1,500 pastors leave the ministry every month.
• Over 1,300 pastors are terminated by the local church each month.
• 50% of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.

Click through to read the rest of Jeff's thoughts.

So you think you can multitask?

I've always known this was true for me.  Focus has always been a issue for...what was it I was saying?  I've never been able to study (well) in public places.  I don't read books in coffee shops etc.  I don't even like studying in most libraries because I'm too easily distracted!

Students Think They Can Multitask. Here’s Proof They Can’t.

By: Maryellen Weimer, PhD in Teaching Professor Blog

With easy access to all sorts of technology, students multitask. So do lots of us for that matter. But students are way too convinced that multitasking is a great way to work. They think they can do two or three tasks simultaneously and not compromise the quality of what they produce. Research says that about 5% of us multitask effectively. Proof of the negative effects of multitasking in learning environments is now coming from a variety of studies.

The question is, how do we get students to stop? We can tell them they shouldn’t. We can include policies that aim to prevent it and devote time and energy trying to implement them. I wonder if it isn’t smarter to confront students with the facts. Not admonitions, but concrete evidence that multitasking compromises their efforts to learn. The specifics are persuasive and here are some examples to share with students.

• In an experiment involving 62 undergraduate students taking a principles of accounting course, half of the cohort was allowed to text during a lecture and half had their phones turned off. After the lecture both groups took the same quiz and the students who did not text scored significantly higher on the quiz.
  Ellis, Y., Daniels, W. and Jauregui, A. (2010). The effect of multitasking on the grade performance of business students. Research in Higher Education Journal, 8 http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/10498.pdf.
• This research focused on the use of laptops in a 15-week management information systems class enrolling 97 upper division students. With student consent, researchers used a spyware program that tracked the windows and page names for each software application run during class time. Students were encouraged to run “productive windows”—those that related to course content. Spyware also tracked the number of “distractive windows” students ran, including games, pictures, email, instant messaging and web surfing. Students had these distractive windows open 42% of the class time. Students who tried to listen to the lecture while using these distractive windows had significantly lower scores on homework, projects, quizzes, final exams and final course averages than students who looked at mostly productive windows. Researchers also found that this population under reported the extent of their multitasking.
  Kraushaar, J. M. and Novak, D. C. (2010). Examining the affects of student multitasking with laptops during lecture. Journal of Information Systems Education, 21 (2), 241-251.
• Students taking a general psychology course were asked to read on a computer a 3,828 word passage. One group used instant messaging before they started reading, another group used instant messaging while they were reading and a third group read without instant messaging. The group that used instant messaging while they read took between 22 and 59% longer to read the passage than students in the other two groups and that was after the time spent instant messaging was subtracted from the reading times.
  Bowman, L. L., Levine, L. E., Waite, B. M. and Dendron, M. (2010). Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading. Computers & Education, 54, 927-931.
• A cross-disciplinary cohort of 774 students responded to a survey which documented that the majority of them engaged in classroom multitasking. Their multitasking was significantly related to lower GPA and to an increase in risk behaviors including use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs.
  Barak, L. (2012). Multitasking in the university classroom. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6 (2) http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/ijsotl/v6n2.html.
• Students in a general psychology course completed weekly surveys on various aspects of the class. They reported their attendance, and if they used laptops during class for things other than note taking (like checking email, instant messaging, surfing the Web, playing games). They also rated how closely they paid attention to the lectures, how clear they found the lectures and how confident they were they understood the lecture material. The level of laptop use negatively correlated with how much attention students paid to the lectures, the clarity of the lectures and how well they understood the lecture material. “The level of laptop use was significantly and negatively related to student learning. The more students used their laptops in class, the lower their class performance.” (p. 910)
  Fried, C. B. (2008). In-class laptop use and its effects on student learning. Computers and Education, 50 (3), 906-914.

FatPastors.net

I haven't stopped blogging here.  It's a combination of a season of life and ministry conspiring to keep me from giving a whole lot of thought to original content.  One things I have been doing is keeping track of my workouts at FatPastors.net. 

I do also keep regular updates to my Twitter account - http://twitter.com/mrclm and I use Foursquare as well - https://foursquare.com/mrclm

And Facebook is always a good way to see what is going on in my life - http://www.facebook.com/meirose

Rarely, but occasionally I post to Google+ as well.

Make your own Pho

My wife loves Pho (pronounced "fa").  Below is a video describing the prep to make it.  Not hard, but lengthy prep.

20 Ideas for Dating Your Wife - from Justin Buzzard

Justin Buzzard has a new book coming out called Date your Wife. Below are some ideas from him to do just that.

Men, you need to come up with your own ideas for how to date your wife. You know your wife better than anyone else. Only you know how to best cultivate and guard the woman God has given you. But, sometimes it helps to build off other people's ideas in order to form your own ... My prayer is that the power of the gospel would drive how you date your wife and implement these ideas.

1. Attend a wedding. Sit in the back row and spend the whole time whispering memories from your own wedding.

2. Make a list of ten things your wife loves to do. Each new time you take your wife on a date, do one of those ten things as your date.

3. Take up a new hobby with your wife; do something new that you're both excited about.

4. Do the classic date: dinner and a show. Take your wife to din­ner and to a movie she wants to watch.

5. Take a twelve-month honeymoon with your wife. Relive your honeymoon by scheduling a 24-hour getaway for every month of this year. Each month go somewhere new with your wife.

6. Devote one hour each night for alone time with your wife. Talk about how your days went. Joke around with each other. Cultivate your friendship. Talk honestly about what's going on in your lives. Help each other. Encourage each other. Pray together.

7. Mark your wife's birthday, your wedding anniversary, and Mother's Day on your calendar every year and plan to make those days special.

8. Write a love note to your wife. Tell her all over again what she means to you.

9. Spend an evening stargazing with your wife and talking about dreams you have for the future.

10. Spend an evening reminiscing with your wife about all you've been through together and all God has done and redeemed in your life together.

11.Devote the next month to studying a book of the Bible with your wife. Take twenty minutes several nights a week to read, discuss, and pray through a shorter book such as Ephesians or Philippians.

12. Visit your roots. Visit where your wife grew up and where you grew up. Learn more about each other's backgrounds.

13. Hold your wife's hand often, in public and in private.

14. Tell your wife that you love her.

15. Tell your wife that Jesus loves her more than you do.

16. Set a weekly date night. Each week rotate going out and stay­ing in for your date night.

17. Cancel work for the day and do something special with your wife.

18. Take dancing lessons with your wife.

19. Cut something from your schedule and use that time to date your wife.

20. Vacation with your wife without your kids, without your work, and without your cell phone and computer.

Taken from Date Your Wife by Justin Buzzard, © 2012, pp. 133-139.

5 Questions to Ask as You Read the Bible Daily - from Tim Keller

(HT: Tim Brister)

1. How can I praise him?

2. How can I confess my sins on the basis of this text?

3. If this is really true, what wrong behavior, what harmful emotions or false attitudes result in me when I forget this? Every problem is because you have forgotten something. What problems are you facing?

4. What should I be aspiring to on the basis of this text?

5. Why are you telling me this today?

10 Questions for husbands to ask their wives

From Practical Shepherding: 


Here are 10 additional questions that husbands can and should be asking their wives if they desire to study, learn, and understand how to best love and care for them.  You will notice some are more specific for a pastor and his wife.

- What can I do to make you feel loved and appreciated by me?
- What can I do to make you feel like I enjoy being with you more than anyone else?
- What are some things I can do to encourage you, spiritually?
- What can I do to help relieve the stress of life responsibilities?
- How can I best serve you in dealing with our children?
- What can I do to heighten your desire for physical intimacy?
- What can I do to make you feel our family is the priority over ministry?
- What can I do to help you grow in a love to serve our church?
- What kinds of moments when our family is together do you cherish the most?
- What do you love most about serving in ministry together?  Greatest challenge?

Husbands and pastors, I hope these questions provoke much helpful and fruitful discussions that will lead you to a greater love and enjoyment of the wife of your youth as well as to equip you to love her in such a way that she feels loved and care for.