on the event of your marriage

November 15, 2008

May you be an eternal blessing to one another

Congratulations Jay and Katherine

on the occasion of your wedded union!

October 11, 2008

Eat mor Chikin

For a President Who Takes God’s Perspective on Justice and Righteousness For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them. –Isaiah 61:8 Holy Lord God, Your judgments are perfect and all Your ways are true.  You love justice and You exercise mercy, even when we do not deserve them.  You made provision to cleanse our world from sin, and You desire that we are holy and pure in You. As I pray for this year’s elections, I pray that You will give us a president who will take Your view of justice and will act justly, implementing justice in ways that please and honor You.  Lord, I pray that the injustices inherent in our government will be righted in Your time and in Your will.  In Jesus’ righteous name, Amen.

]]> http://lakerobinsonchurch.wordpress.com/2008/09/18/count-down-to-election-day/feed/ 1 tjbaker http://lakerobinsonchurch.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/october-25th2008/ http://lakerobinsonchurch.wordpress.com/2008/09/13/october-25th2008/#comments Sat, 13 Sep 2008 12:51:56 +0000 Tammy http://lakerobinsonchurch.wordpress.com/?p=290 ]]> We have the bloodmobile scheduled to come to our church on Saturday, October 25th. Please help us get the word out to anyone in the community. We will have a sign up sheet this Sunday at church and are looking for a minimum of 25 people to donate.

Thank you for all your help.

Also, please start praying now for this day which will have all aspects of wellness covered.

Their names are Jim and Faye Mulligan. They have one grown son, Jay Cole.

They have requested to be added to anyone’s prayer list.

Thank you so much,

Tammy

Congratulations on your future life together in holy matrimony.

August 2, 2008

They made it to the reception.

July 19, 2008

DESIRING GOD’S WILL FOR OUR LIVES

AND BELIEVING THAT INCLUDES EACH OTHER

Chara Parris Bishop

and

Nathan Andrew Malone

TOGETHER WITH OUR PARENTS

PASTOR AND MRS. L. STEVENS BISHOP

AND

MR. AND MRS. WYLIE A. MALONE

INVITE YOU TO SHARE THEIR JOY

AS THEY ARE UNITED IN MARRIAGE

ON SATURDAY, THE SECOND OF AUGUST

TWO THOUSAND AND EIGHT

AT FOUR O’CLOCK IN THE AFTERNOON

CHESTER SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH

729 VILLAGE DRIVE

CHESTER, SOUTH CAROLINA

Reception

immediately following ceremony

War Memorial Building

154 Main Street

Chester, South Carolina

Grace and peace!

Sid

Tearing frantically through church lobby containers

Considering going out and buying our own

But deciding to put God before java, we laughed and returned

That was our first bond

At times, I’d heard your stories and your counsel

Your presence was always a calming one

And when you spoke we all would listen

In other moments, I’d directly received your wisdom

(This is how you’ll live on)

When last we met, on the church porch among others

You thought enough of me to give me a fine cigar

A wonderful cuban; I was flattered by manly acceptance

I don’t smoke, I said, but do save them for celebrations

David, I light it to celebrate your life tonight

David Forrester

Man of God

In the House of Our Lord, July 3, 2008

Restful Peace to You

 LRCC WORK DAY_June 14, 2008 9:30 until noonish.

Tammy

he who refreshes others will

himself be refreshed.

http://www.mommylife.net/archives/2006/07/christian_mater.html

Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his freshman year, regardless of his or her major.

Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery.

Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously. 

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going on to seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor’s class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. “How many push-ups can you do?”

Steve said, “I do about 200 every night.”

“200? That’s pretty good, Steve,” Dr. Christianson said. “Do you think you could do 300?”

Steve replied, “I don’t know…. I’ve never done 300 at a time.”

“Do you think you could?” again asked Dr. Christianson.

“Well, I can try,” said Steve.

“Can you do 300 in sets of ten? I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work.  Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,” said the professor.

Steve said, “Well… I think I can…yeah, I can do it.”

Dr. Christianson said, “Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.”

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No, these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson’s class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?”

Cynthia said, “Yes.”

Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?”

“Sure!” Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.

Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, “Joe, do you want a donut?”

Joe said, “Yes.”

Dr. Christianson asked, “Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?”

Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten push-ups for every person before they got their donut.

Walking down the second aisle, Dr. Christianson came to Scott.  Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve.  He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship.

When the professor asked, “Scott do you want a donut?” Scott’s reply was, “Well, can I do my own push-ups?” 

Dr. Christianson said, “No, Steve has to do them.”

Then Scott said, “Well, I don’t want one then.”

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want?”

With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten push-ups.

Scott said, “HEY! I said I didn’t want one!”

Dr. Christianson said, “Look! This is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.” And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.

Now, by this time Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow.

Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, “Jenny, do you want a donut?”

Sternly, Jenny said, “No!”

Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want?”

Steve did ten….Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say, “No!” and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these push-ups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten push-ups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts.  He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely.

Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it.

Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time.  He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, “Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?”

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, “Well, they’re your pushups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.” And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, “NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!”  Jason didn’t know what was going on.

Steve picked up his head and said, “No, let him come.”

Professor Christianson said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten push-ups for him?”

Steve said, “Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut.”

Dr. Christianson said, “Okay, Steve, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?”

Jason, new to the room, hardly knew what was going on. “Yes,” he said, “give me a donut.” ”Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?”

Steve did ten push-ups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, and then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift him against the force of gravity.  By this time sweat was profusely dropping off of his face, there was no sound except his heavy breathing; there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular.

Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a donut?”

Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

Professor Christianson quietly asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want?”

Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow push-ups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. “Susan, do you want a donut?”

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. “Dr. Christianson, why can’t I help him?”

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, “No, Steve has to do it alone; I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work.  Steve told me
that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes.”

“Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut?”

As Steve very slowly finished his last push-up, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 push-ups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said, “And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, ‘Into Thy hands I commend My spirit.’ With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, He yielded up His life.  And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.”

Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile.

“Well done, good and faithful servant,” said the professor, adding, “Not all sermons are preached in words.”

Turning to his class, the professor said, “My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not His only Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all, for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid.”

“Wouldn’t you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it lying on the desk?”

Sid Emory, who moves to Dallas Theological Seminary the day after tomorrow with wife Stacy, and children Wes, Will and Bonnie, is no stranger to the toils of moving. Here, he is helping the SOS Ministry pack up and move to a better facility, one of many ways that LRCC has helped out in the community over the past year.

The Easter Service was a beautiful morning ”journey” filled with music, a three-station walk along the new LRCC Walking Trail; and finally Communion and music. Joe presented the monologue “The Thief at the Cross” at Station 1; in the first two pictures David Butler is telling the story of Jesus at the well (Station 2, “The Spring”); and in the last pic Sid Emory manned Station 3, “The Prayer Garden,” where we quietly introspected on our sins, wrote one of them down, and symbolically destroyed the sin, by casting it into a fire.

One of our favorite events, which we still talk about today, is the Christmas party for several children at Plain Elementary. We provided pizza, snacks, drinks, Christmas gifts, and LOVE.

The day before we dedicated the trail, I ran into the kind of guy not many of us want to meet. If you look closely, you’ll spot our friend Jake. His head is poking out beneath the left side of the log, and his body is in plain view on the right. After I climbed back out of the tree, I took this picture, and my sons chased him off.

We know no borders. Even though Plain Elementary is all the way out in Simpsonville, Candace Forrester’s mother provided several hundred special, crocheted Easter candy holders to children and faculty there. Here Ashleigh and David hold up a thank-you poster from the school.

We didn’t plan it, God must have. Through some strange events, Joe Beineke was looking up places to stay at the beach, and was attracted to Sunset Beach, NC. A few minutes later, Stacy Emory talked with Vickie Beineke over the phone with a glowing endorsement of Sunset Beach (with no prompting). We booked a stay without knowing whether the Emories had also done so; or if they had, when. Turns out we were there at the same time. We saw each other on the beach, ate out together at Calabash and elsewhere for ice cream, and one of our fondest memories of both Sunset Beach and the Emories will be when Sid, Wes, and Will showed three of us corn-fed, land-lubbing Hoosiers what crabbing is. Wes and Joe caught a prize-winner (and threw it back), and Chris and Will also caught several crabs, as well as catching some great views of the sunset over the marsh.

Three of the young people in this photo are being mentored by men from LRCC as part of the DJJ Youth Challenge Academy program. This program gives troubled youth a chance to straighten their lives out, and earn a GED, through a 22-week intensive boot camp at a National Guard facility, and a 52-week mentoring process afterward, back-home.

A rare treat. David Butler gave an inspiring and passionate sermon several weeks ago that still has us thinking about and discussing together.

Even in Winter, the scene is gorgeous. Below is the view along the stream that comes from the Spring. A bench to view this scene was prepared by Pete and Tammy Baker for us to enjoy, and although I call it “Pete’s Thinkin’ Place” it may just be as much Tammy’s (or if neither is around, I call it Joe’s). If you were to sit on the bench this was taken from now, you’ll notice a lot more lush, green vegetation, but sadly you’ll notice a significant run-off of clay sediment from construction of new roads mere yards from the spring’s source. Man’s encroachment, however, is only temporary at such a Godly, peaceful place.

He has been blessed in that the cancer is getting smaller, but now the chemo is starting to weaken him. He goes tomorrow, April 21st, for 2 units of blood.

Pray for God’s will, nothing more, nothing less.

 Thank you prayer partners. Go do spiritual warfare.

Tammy

Lake Robinson Community Church has opened a community walking trail to the public. Located on the 10 acre property at the church, the ‘1/2 mile of smiles’ also has a 1/3 of a mile trail. Defined by 3 stations, the half wooded, half open trail give a great place to observe nature at it’s finest.

Blackberries and muscadines will be available for picking, in season.

STATION 1- has a bench and 3 crosses for a time of reading, relaxing and reflecting.

STATION 2 -has a porch swing, child’s swing, benches and horseshoes. The natural spring give a peaceful place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the world. We have also added 4 Grass Carp Fish to the spring. They are designed to eat algae and keep our spring clean. We had a hawk circling, so we hope they find a safe harbor under the rocks. (Swim fishes, swim)

STATION 3- gives a great place to get in touch with your Creator. The Prayer Garden is a quite place to pray and reflect.

YOU ARE INVITED AND WELCOME. Enjoy!!!

 For more information contact me Tammy Baker @ lakerobinsoncc@wmconnect.com

Located on Locust Hill Road, (A.K.A. Hwy 290) 1 mile past the Lil Rebel Restaurant.

 3075 Locust Hill Road Taylors, South Carolina 29687

(864) 430-0839

Church meets every Sunday at 10:30am. Come as you are.

You can’t take God away from me
You can take my life, my land, my liberty
Lock me up, I’ll still be free
‘Cause you can’t take God from me

You can take God out of the law
You can make me listen to ya’ll
You can take God out of the start
But you can’t take God out of my heart.

~ Can’t Take God Away
By Audio Adrenaline

• Dick Hillis (1913-2005), Missionary to Asia, Founder of OC International (formerly Overseas Crusades)

I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just
 finished a rough first day on the job, a flat tire made him lose an hour of
 work, his electric drill quit, and his ancient one-ton truck refused to
 start.
 
While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me
 in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly
 at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.
 
When opening the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His face was
 wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a
 kiss.
 
Afterward, he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got
 the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
 
“Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he replied. “I know I can’t help having
 troubles on the job, but one thing’s for sure, those troubles don’t belong
 in the house with my wife and the children… So, I just hang them up on the
 tree every night when I come home, and ask God to take care of them. Then, in
 the morning, I pick them up again. Funny thing is,” he smiled, “when I come
 out in the morning to pick ‘em up, there aren’t nearly as many as I remember
 hanging up the night before.”

 Rick Warren

(REMEMBER HE WROTE ” PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE”)

You will enjoy the new insights that Rick Warren has, with his wife now having cancer and him having “wealth” from the book sales. This is an absolutely incredible short interview with Rick Warren, “Purpose Driven Life ” author and pastor of Saddleback Church in California In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren,

Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body– but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act – the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn’t going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that’s not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.

This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys – you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don’t believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems. If you focus on your problems, you’re going into self-centeredness,”which is my problem, my issues, my pain.” But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her. It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life.

Actually, sometimes learning to deal with the good is harder. For instance, this past year, all of a sudden, when the book sold 15 million copies, it made me instantly very wealthy. It also brought a lot of notoriety that I had never had to deal with before. I don’t think God gives you money or notoriety for your own ego or for you to live a life of ease. So I began to ask God what He wanted me to do with this money, notoriety and influence. He gave me two different passages that helped me decide what to do, II Corinthians 9 and Psalm 72 First, in spite of all the money coming in, we would not change our lifestyle one bit. We made no major purchases. Second, about midway through last year, I stopped taking a salary from the church. Third, we set up foundations to fund an initiative we call The Peace Plan to plant churches, equip leaders, assist the poor , care for the sick, and educate the next generation. Fourth, I added up all that the church had paid me in the 24 years since I started the church, and I gave it all back. It was liberating to be able to serve God for free. We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity? Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God’s purposes (for my life)? When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don’t get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better.

God didn’t put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He’s more interested in what I am than what I do.

That’s why we’re called human beings, not human doings –

Have a blessed week!

Pete and Tammy

The LRCC Avalanchers, just before departing for Pigeon Forge on January 18.

Cory, the Avalanche Dude, hams it up.

The coolest crowd at the bowling lanes.

It’s 1 a.m. and we’re just gettin’ rollin’ at the Pigeon Forge Community Center!

Fletcher signs the Avalanche Bug.

Alan Callahan gets the crowd fired up on Friday night.

If Chasen rocked the roof off…

then Eleventhour melted our faces!

…and Overflow brought us together…

Turnin’ the chickie’s heads on the way out of the Convention Center, and back to the rooms to crash for a while.

Nate steers a big rig at the arcade, running other vehicles off the road; but doing it in a loving, Christian way.

Checking out the LazerTag scores.

Jeremy Kingsley was an enormous inspiration and encouragement to all of us in his breakout session: “Persecution in the Schools.”

Pondering the message: Fletcher and Wes soak it all in.

Chris finishes signing the VW Bug, and hands the pen off to Joe, Ben, and Josh.

Jason rolls for a strike on Lane 1.

Joe puts Sid away in air hockey, right after doing the same to his dad, and later, Nate. On fire!

They made us laugh and challenged our hearts: the messages of the skit group Loud and Clear rang with us loud and clear. Tears of laughter, joy, and gratitude to our Savior were evident.

An inflatable slide right next to the rock ‘n roll stage.Does it get any better?

Run’s House! One of the most engaging and humorous speakers any of us have ever heard, Jeremy Kingsley delivered the main Message on Saturday night, and was key in the influencing of several new believers toward their salvation, including two (or more) from LRCC!

Eric strikes a GQ pose over at the ping pong and foosball tables with Jessie. Oddly enough, there were lots of girls here.

Ryan and Cory shopping.  We lovin’ da hatz, dawgz.

“Tee hee hee! You said wee!” The group Loud and Clear delivers a humorous skit with a great lesson.

Ladies and gentlemen, Overflow!

Cory and Jessie in driver’s ed at the arcade.

Someday this VW will be worth millions, thanks to Wes’s signature on the front fender.

If you can’t  beat ‘em, love on ‘em. Nate tried his best at arm wrestling, but his opponent was… well, let’s say… a machine.

A high school in South Carolina will soon become the first school in its district to offer a class in which students use the Bible to examine its effects on literature, history and art.

Two new courses on the Old Testament and New Testament were approved by the Carvers Bay High school board last Tuesday and are expected to be offered to students in the 2008-2009 school year. The school will become the first in its district to have such a program, joining other schools in South Carolina, including Conway High School in Horry County, that have been teaching the program for several years.

“I look at it more as this is a study of the greatest book ever written from a literary viewpoint,” Principal Kelvin Wymbs told The Sun News.

A bill signed by Gov. Sanford last June allows high schools to offer classes on the Bible as long as they are “taught in an objective manner with no attempt to influence the students as to either the truth or falsity of the materials presented,” according to the bill.

I hope each one of you at LRCC and any other readers we have, enjoy the true peace and blessings our Lord can only provide. Again, Happy 2008 to you all!

Update on my Daddy. He is still in the hospital, still being treated for the pneumonia. Thank you for your continued prayers.

tbaker

So today, more fluids, more antibotics and a delay on the Chemo, until next week.

Love you all and happy holidays!

Bobby – age 7

People will forget what you did,

But they will never forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelo

How strange, how appropriate…

It’s Christmas Eve, and this website has just surpassed 1,000 visits!

Congratulations to LRCC, its leadership, and all the web site contributors on this landmark event!

~Dr. Seuss

Once again, our church participated in this event in 2007.

Lake Robinson Community Church: You rock!  

Millions of Poor Children to

Greet Christmas Shoe Boxes

By Jennifer Riley, Christian Post Reporter 

More than 7 million needy children overseas will soon be holding in their hands a Christmas shoe box – which for many is the only gift they will receive this holiday.

Operation Christmas Child – the world’s largest Christmas project – has helped collect the millions of shoeboxes filled by American kids with toys, pens, papers, necessity items and notes of encouragement to distribute to underprivileged children in 100 countries. In addition to kids, U.S. families, businesses, churches, schools and scout troops have also contributed to the Christmas shoe box effort.

“Millions of people have already made this a brighter Christmas for a hurting child overseas, but we welcome others to start a new holiday tradition and share the joy of Christmas with boys and girls around the world,” said Franklin Graham, president and CEO of international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse, in a statement.

Operation Christmas Child is an annual project of Samaritan’s Purse.

The shoeboxes have already been inspected and prepared for overseas shipment in six major centers across the United States: Boone, N.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; Minneapolis; Atlanta; Denver; and Orange County, Calif. After the preparation at the centers, the shoe boxes are loaded onto some of the world’s largest cargo planes, trucks and sea containers for their journey overseas.

Once they reach their first destination, Samaritan’s Purse teams and partners transport the boxes by truck, bus, train, helicopter, boat, foot, dog sled, mule and even camel to hand-deliver the gifts to the needy children.

More than 250,000 volunteers worldwide, including some 126,000 volunteers in the United States, have helped prepare the boxes for transport.

Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, has delivered more than 60 million gift-filled shoe boxes to needy children in 120 countries based on the giving of people in 11 giving countries.

Pete and Tammy

God’s blessings on you all.

tbaker

He really would appreciate your prayers and God’s will in his life right now.

He was unable to go with my mother and sister to the oncologist today. Here is what they found out. Without chemo he is given about 6 months. Chemo will add months, but not years to his life. He starts treatment next Thursday. They will see him 10 days after treatment and decide if the sickness from the Chemo gives him enough good days to be worth it. He has a long week ahead of him. Blood work Wednesday, a long slow day of chemo Thursday, 3 hours chemo Friday ( one treatment for the lymphoma, one for the lung cancer) , and 3 hours each, Saturday and Sunday of replacing fluids to keep him hydrated. If he feels better after 10 days, they will do treatments 3 weeks apart.

Thanks again for your continued prayers and for your listening ear.

tbaker

Pete and I also have had work this week. We praise God for that. Thank you for your continued prayers.

The Bakers

It had such a better feel when I found a need I could meet, and met it. You see in years past our extended families  went from -Getting everyone gifts to -buying gifts for the children and grandparents, to drawing names and setting a $ amount for the gift, to writing down what you want and drawing names to ‘swapping money’ aka gift cards.

Just like the service work we do, the reward was greater when I meet a need, rather than tried to meet a standard. I hope each of you have a blessed Christmas and share your Christmas thoughts and memories with us.

Thank you to the visionaries that saw LRCC years ago. You have giving us a place to serve, to grow and to worship.

tbaker

Rejoice in another great and blessed event that God has led us to be a part of! Thank you, LRCC!

I have one sibbling that is have a very difficult time with this. Daddy understands and accepted what it means. They did a bone tap, Wednesday, and should have the results from that Monday.

Keep my brother in your prayers, he needs God’s hand now.

Thank you for your availability, love and concern. There is really no great need at this time, just your prayers. But I will try to keep you posted.

tbaker

   The  ”W” in Christmas
Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and  peaceful experience.

I had cut back on nonessential obligations – extensive card writing, endless baking,

decorating, and even overspending.

Merry  Christmas  Everyone 
   

HE doesn’t say that we won’t be shaking when we step out, but we have to remember that as we take that first shaky step HIS arms are waiting to hold us.

My Daddy has stage III A, non small cell, lung cancer, in his right lung. This is the less aggressive of the two types of lung cancer, yet the III is of a possible 4 for NOT surviving.

His appetite and energy has been decreasing over the last month.

 He starts chemo and radiation this Wed., Dec. 12. Pray for us a family.

It is sad and a blessing how crisis brings a family together. I’ll keep in touch.

Tammy

He rides to work and home with me.

What an interesting week….what interesting weather….Pete and I had our first Pressure Washing job in a month. And I should note that the weather has been a constant high of  60′s to 70 degrees. So we schedule this job for Thursday; and the weather was looking good… until…. Wednesday night, and the HIGH ended up at a whopping 44 degrees. We survived , half of the day, and the weather is once again gorgeous,  which brings me to the invite.

Pete and I are eating by the spring at church tomorrow after church. Bring your food, chairs, drinks and join us. IT IS GOING TO BE SEVENTY DEGREES. unheard of. Is this December? or what?

Also, Bruster’s in Taylors, is doing a pint for a pint, blood drive from 12:30 until 5:00,Sunday, tomorrow.

 It’s a really, REALLY  good time to give and eat ice cream. See you all tomorrow!

Tbaker

11/21/07 

Dear Jimmy,

Thank you so much for your generous support of Blood:Water Mission. The 1000 Wells Project continues to provide a new sense of HOPE to our brothers & sisters in Africa because of committed, caring, compassionate groups like yours. We are so excited to have you join us on this journey of living well.

                                                                          Grace and Peace,

                                                                          Genie Miller and Blood:Water Mission

     When I do talk to them, I want it to be one-on-one. I like to be alone with them. Not because our conversation is private, but because I don’t want anyone interjecting their thoughts into our conversation. At first, I thought that was selfish, but it isn’t. They are my children and they need to be alone with me as much as I need to be alone with them. Too, GOD desires to be alone with us – HE certainly isn’t selfish. HE wants our hearts to touch. Only when our hearts actually touch HIS can we learn of HIM. Only then can we experience HIS deep love for us. We hear about HIS love; we read about HIS love in HIS Word, but only when our hearts actually touch can we experience that love.

     I recently had an experience where I was praying with my prayer partner and she began to pray in ‘tongues’. She has that spiritual gift as well as the gift of interpretation. She would pray in tongues for a short period of time and then interpret it to me. She said our LORD was sitting beside me stroking my hair and loving me. I could feel HIS touch. It was an experience that mere words cannot describe. That is the kind of experience that GOD wants all HIS children to have with HIM. HE wants to hold us, stroke us, soothe us, and whisper in our heart of HIS great love for us. We often fail to realize that we are HIS children. Wow! Just think – I am a child of the MOST HIGH GOD! That is awesome! Time goes by so fast and our children have their own lives to live. They need to learn to sit with their children one-on-one and have their hearts touch. At this time it seems HE wants me to tell you, “Come. Sit with Me.” (Maybe HE is just telling me to “Come, sit with HIM.” At this point I am not sure.)

Why should we sit with HIM? Because:

• We are special.
• Fearfully and wonderfully made.
• Unique.
• HE misses us.
• We ignore HIM.
• Call on HIM only when we are in trouble
• HE desires to have an intimate relationship with us.
• HE loves us more than we can ever imagine loving anyone.
• HE loves to hear our voice.
• HE wants us to hear HIS voice.
• Ask the HOLY SPIRIT to open your ‘spiritual ears.’
• Listen.
• Obey.
• HE wants to tell us about HIMSELF.
• HE wants to comfort us.
• HE wants to heal us.
• HE wants to hide us beneath HIS wings when we are hurting. 

Where can we sit with HIM?  Anywhere that is quiet. When can we sit with HIM? Anytime! 

“The Eternal Being, who knows everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but a baby, and before that a fetus in a woman’s body.”

C. S. Lewis

Most times I will try to explain what I have just realized, or somehow bring it to light, but I can often read confused responses from whoever will listen.

And so it was, in our recent study on “putting our faith into action,” that I think I fully understood the faith part of this statement. Or at least I realized my own definition. A real test of faith is to be one of the Seventy-Two, and have Jesus tell you to do something you clearly cannot do.

One of his task-list items for the Seventy-Two is in Luke 10:9: “Heal the sick…”

What the? The first thing I would have stammered would be “But… but…,” and then I would have shrugged with a puzzled look on my face, and then I would have stood there stupified, frustrated and speechless. Come on–just like that, heal the sick?

I mean, all the other stuff He wants them to do in His harvest is easy. Go to their town, eat their food, and drink stuff. It’s cake! There’s also the avoid-getting-robbed-and-killed-during-travel part too. No problem, I think I can handle that.

But then there’s that zinger at the end: heal.

“Er, um, Lord? I think I’m going to need a little instruction on this one.”

It wasn’t like he asked them. Or provided some in-depth, step-by-step guidance. There was no option implied. He simply and directly stated “go there and do that.” He wasn’t joking either. He meant it.

I will bet these weren’t 72 physicians he was sending out. I’ll bet there could have been at least a mustard seed’s size of doubt somewhere in the ranks, if not amongst each and every soul. Talk about setting some high expectations, let alone setting these guys up for failure!

It’s like Jesus walking up to you and saying “I want you to play checkers badly, eat a snow cone, and not slip and fall on a banana peel on the driveway today.” No problem! ”Oh, and by the way, I want you to fill the Grand Canyon with chocolate pudding while you’re at it.”

To me, it would have been like calling me out of the nosebleed section of Clemson’s stadium, handing me the football in the center of the field, and saying “You go ahead and quarterback. And by the way, you must win. No option. Oh yeah, forgot to tell you, the other ten guys on offense called in sick today, and your pads are still at the dry cleaners.” I’d have no chance!

But let’s remember something: amongst the Seventy-Two, none among them was the quarterback. They were simply sent to carry the ball forward for a score, the touchdown being to simply show and tell those to whom they ministered that the Kingdom of God was near.

So, back to healing the sick. How to do it? Jesus had given them a seemingly impossible task. Am I wrong to think that they had to look at that short, little command as less than a challenge, and more like moving the rubber tree plant? We have high hopes, but that’s it?

I don’t believe they had to sweat it. These folks came back to Jesus “with joy” (Luke 10:17). This means they succeeded. They transcended hope in their endeavor–they had very high faith in their Lord, the ultimate quarterback. There was no need for doubt; no need for an instruction manual; and it doesn’t say anything in scripture about them asking for a refresher course at the Holy Healing Boot Camp. Seventy-two were sent and 72 returned; not 71; not 36; not none. And all 72 returned ”with joy.”

Jesus makes the same commands of us, but how far are we from the state-of-mind and state-of-heart of the Seventy-Two? Can we do the seemingly impossible, or does our lack of faith stand in our way? I stand in awe of the faith of the Seventy-Two because of the command of Jesus to heal the sick, and the absolute success they must have achieved in doing so (otherwise, there would have been limited “joy”). The endeavor is something that must have taken an amount of faith that was off the charts.

I truly fall short of this kind of faith, and at times I feel like I’m fourth-and-goal with 99 yards to go, and there’s a wall of rubber tree plants populating the playing field.

But I’ve got high hopes, and it’s time to score.

Support Outreach Services (SOS) realized the benefit of the missional nature of Lake Robinson Community Church when we showed up to help move their ministry from an old, leaking, non-climate-controlled facility on Warehouse Court to a nicer, larger, and climate-controlled facility on East North Street.

Once again, we fulfilled our thrust to “Be the Church,” as SOS, in need to change facilities before any future rains ruined merchandise, and before the season turned cold, received aid from LRCC in the way of labor, material support, and donations. Recently, LRCC’s youth group, under Nate Malone’s leadership, also took up collections to help with this ministry.

We exalt Jesus Christ in making it possible for these folks to help SOS move under short notice, and during a very busy holiday season:

Gary and Diane Wilson: Goods donation, loan of a trailer, and a visit of encouragement

Sid Emory: Goods donation, and a whole lot of muscle to move things

Joe R. Beineke: Support in moving goods

Crabbing at Sunset Beach. A hungry Chris and an even hungrier Wes. 

S.O.S. is run by Sharon and Joel Davis, a former missionary couple with great hearts to serve the Lord, and their mission is to raise funding through the sale of donated items to help local ministries and missionaries abroad. They have visited and participated with LRCC at our Coffeehouses, our Community Fest, and bible studies.

They received short notice on this move, and therefore so have we; so the folks at SOS understand that short notice and weekends are polar opposites. But in the off-chance that you have the time Saturday or Sunday, this is another opportunity to serve. For more information, call Joe at 879-9439 or joe@beineke.com.

You can find more info about SOS at www.yoursos.org

I fell hopelessly and mercilessly in love with this girl, and what was the gravy on this relationship entree was the fact that she loved books like I did, and she loved the Lord. I loved the Lord too, but not in the way that, and not as deeply as, I ever thought was possible. She helped me realize these ways, and we helped each other along that path in those early days.

And now, 25 years later, as my beautiful wife, she still helps keep me and our children along that path. This 21 years of marriage has been a wonderful journey, and I count myself among one of the very blessed–one who not only loves but is in love.

And to know how we are both loved by God is the real gravy on it all. 

This is the trail crew who put in the trail for LRCC. Scott Pitmon, Jimmy Hawkins, Pete and Tammy Baker, Don Dockery, Joe J. Beineke, Chris Beineke, Ryan Barron, and Joe R. Beineke. Not pictured (but thought they could get away with it): Gary Wilson, David Butler, and Travis. There are many more countless others who supported this team in their work, and there may be some we’ve missed recognizing above–but to all we thank you for a beautiful trail. Picture by Vickie Beineke.

It’s run-down, ancient, dilapidated, and yes, I spell-checked dilapidated. Despite its appearance, it has its charms. This is a landmark of the property–an old tin-roofed cabin, visible from the new trail. The trees are holding it up for now, but someday we won’t have the unique benefit of seeing this building as we stroll the LRCC property. Picture by Chris Beineke.

Sid meets the pirate. Arrr! This is an outdoor enactment of KidZone, our high-energy and educational play and music program for kids. Nate Malone is the pirate, and the lilly-livered scalawag next to him is Sid Emory. Heather Arms (Arrrrrrrms!) is hiding backstage left. Picture by Chris Beineke.

Why a Governor Mark Sanford pic? We know some of the folks who make Blue Ridge Christian Academy a great place (Lisa Cress and Vickie Beineke, among others), and Governor Sanford, Representative Bob Inglis, and others, visited there last week to see the facilities and read to the students. Here he stands in the new cafeteria at BRCA, addressing students and faculty.

The tape-cutting ceremony. Pastor Jimmy and Joe cut the tape together to open the new trail. The caution tape is appropriate because Joe has the scissors. And since Joe has the scissors, Jimmy is smiling because of the possibility that Jimmy may finally be going to see Jesus. Photo by Vickie Beineke.

Pete suggested I look up the poem on the internet. I didn’t know there was a connection with Mother Teresa. Tammy

Wise Advice
from Mother Teresa

 People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful,
you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank,
people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building,
someone could destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness,
they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today,
people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have,
and it may never be enough;
Give the best you’ve got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis
it is between you and God;
it was never between you and them anyway.
 

 The poem I want to post is in the computer, so there has been a delay. See everyone tomorrow.

Oh, there is horseshoes and a surprise at the creek.

Check it out, it is a wowser, (don’t worry you will find it.) God bless you all.

It had helped me through several layers of discouragement. Today was one of those day. Someone we care about very deeply, will alway speak words of discouragement, tho his goal is truly to help us. Today we hopefully came to a new understanding, if I want hard cold facts, go to him, if I want encouragement, don’t. Someone once told me, don’t look for the blessing where the blessing can’t be found.

Billy Graham

An evolution of communication is occurring, and this site is one example. This gets me excited, but the funny (and ironic) thing for me is that when “blogging” (it stems from “weblogging”) first came on the scene a few years ago, I yawned.

The first online journal started around 1992. The modern-day internet was an itty-bitty bambino back then. A couple of brothers, the Bowdens, of Brownsville, Texas, started gathering an online group of people together to tell stories together. It was called “Nerdnosh.” They were nerds, and they noshed on stories. I was one of those people who joined them in the early days.

We didn’t call it blogging then; but the way it worked is you would write your piece and email it to a central email address, and it would compile into a daily digest (a little like our LRCC Email Blast), and it would also post to a web site. So you would read everyone’s postings for the day in a single evening email, or you could go to the web page and read them there. It really was a unique thing, and it was one of the most compelling and soul-satisfying things to identify with others with the same trials, difficulties and victories, as you read of what was going on in their lives. For years during Nerdnosh’s existence there was laughter, tears, deep thought, and soulful sharing. What made it interesting was that it was so global. There were contributors from other countries; there were drug abusers; there were wealthy folks; and poor folks. There were pastors, and the unchurched. Those with suicidal tendencies, and those who seemed sent there to make them rethink. I would now describe it as a melded convergence of human souls. A Clan of Catharsis. I passed emails back and forth for a short while with a lady because I admired the way she wrote, and I wanted to get some tips from her (I was studying journalism at the time). Later I learned that she was a fairly well-known, published romance novelist, and I was also floored by the fact that I was rubbing elbows (virtually) with someone of such prominence. Not to mention I was very, very humbled.

All walks of life.

The Bowdens posted everyday, and served as our emcees. One of them (if not both) had a passion for Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (as do I), and NerdNosh went by the subtitle of “The Virtual Campfire.” The romantic idea of being seated around a campfire like the colorful (and disparate–all walks of life) characters in the Canterbury Tales–all of us stopping by the roadside on a pilgrimage together toward the same, common end goal, despite our wide differences, held immense appeal for me and dozens of others. Telling stories of our lives–whether it was something that happened today, or something we described from our past, was a therapeutic boon to not only life, but to living.

Tim Bowden often introduced NerdNosh like this:

Purpose: The origins of Nerdnosh were in the lowlands of the Red River years ago, with the water moccasins along the brakes and the mosquitoes swarming and the River rising and the wolves in the distance as the sun dropped, and a group of us were swapping stories and the rains came and one of us said, wouldn’t this be a great idea without the snakes and the mosquitoes and the high water and the wolves and the rain?

Here it is. A virtual campfire gathering of storytellers. Bring us your tired yarns and your family fables and your journals of yesterday and your imprints on tomorrow.

Here it is, Lake Robinson Community Church. A virtual campfire. Bring us your tired yarns, your family fables, your journals of yesterday, and your imprints on tomorrow.

Here it is–mostly mosquito, poison ivy, and snake-free.

This coming Sunday we will explore with Randy Bailey, his passion, racing. He has taken his passion, and incorporated it into his ministry.

Each of us are custom designed with different gift. Designed from our birth to be who we are. Lovingly designed by God to reach people within our ‘Radius’ and within our passion.

There are things about the Community Trail that crank Pete and my tractor. Our passion and profession take us into an area of beautifying peoples spaces. Sometimes outdoors, sometimes inside. Our profession also leads us into ministry. After we meet the need, and earn our income, there are always things we see that our customers need, that we can easily supply. Sometimes, God uses one customer to meet another customers need, How cool is that?

I want to encourage each of you to explore your giftedness. If you don’t know what it is, ask your friends.

So again I ask, What cranks your tractor?

Anyone who ever watched the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey years ago saw the large black monolith that they found in space, never really solving the mystery of what it was or why it was there. The mystery even continued into the sequel movie 2010. After watching both movies many times, I think it was an attempt to explain the existence of Our Father God. I’ll explain later where I’m going with that thought.

When the work on the walking trail  started a month or more ago, I was constantly drawn to the spring fed stream at the back of the property. It was grown up and there was some debris around that needed attention, but my thoughts of what it could be kept coming to me.

Tammy with her global vision ideas sparked us to more ideas for the area.

This past Saturday, we loaded up our yard working tools, tractor, trailer, saws and whatever else we could think of to work the whole “steam” area. We were excited to finally put our ideas into practical application. I started building a dam across the stream near the property line to form a small pond, and then worked my way up the stream to find the springhead. After a short search I was able to find and clear the springhead so it was easy to see from the bank above.

During this time, Tammy is clearing brush, trimming trees and setting up a bench and swing for the kids to enjoy.

During our lunch break we started to think of what to do with the big concrete drain pipe that was sitting off to the side of the new clearing. It was heavy, a good two feet wide and five feet long. We had the top of a concrete bird bath that needed something to sit on, so we thought, standing on end the pipe could be the base we needed.

Using the truck and a tow strap we managed to get the pipe up on flat land. After a little maneuvering we had it ready to stand up for our bird feeder base at the top of the bank.

As the truck started to pull and stand up the pipe, it turned, the strap fell off the truck and the whole thing rolled down the bank into the stream, killing small saplings as it went.

So, there we were. Both safe at the top of the bank, we looked at all of our efforts lying in the stream. After a little engineering we were able to stand the pipe up and place the bird feeder top on it. It was decided that God must think the feeder needed to be there and not where “we” thought it was suppose to be. Besides, we had no way to get it out of the stream anyway!

As we sat on the bench and looked at the large concrete feeder, laughing about the whole ordeal, my mind wandered back to that movie and the great monolith in space. Here was LRCC’s own “monolith”, a man made, thousand pound chuck of unyielding concrete, sitting in the middle of our space. Ok, maybe you had to see the movies. All in all, we had a wonderful time working with nature to make a peaceful spot to rest as you walk the trail. There are many more ideas coming to the trial.

Maybe others will be led to lend a hand and join the vision as they walk and enjoy.

Half-way through the hike I came upon the clearing by the spring that Pete and Tammy have so lovingly prepared and tended for us. To my surprise, three boys were there, emerging from the area of the spring, smiling and laughing. We chatted for a while: they are from homes in Oak Glen, and they love what we’ve done with the property (to correctly translate, their word for “love” was “cool”). One of the boys would be bringing his father to walk the trail later today, and they were all looking forward to trying it out with their bikes. They loved (thought it was “cool”) hanging out in the clearing–I got the impression it felt like an outdoor clubhouse to them. “The swing is fun!” one of them exclaimed.

These boys (middle-schoolers, most likely) were very respectful and polite, and I enjoyed our chat. I hope we can meet again so that I can invite them to our Youth Service program on Wednesdays.

Are you as awestruck as I that the trail had only been officially opened for two hours, and already God was at work drawing people to it?

This is an excerpt from his book “Quiet Strength,” which I am almost finished reading. My sons got me this book for Fathers Day, and yes, it has taken me this long to get to page 166. I am sometimes a slow reader like this. Some books are like a quick drink of soda, and some books are like a luscious, thick milkshake–the kind I will savor over a long period of time. Coach Dungy is a coach in more than one sense, and here he helps us define what success is, in the way it should be defined.

 Pages 143-144:

“The competing views of success in our world often create an interesting tension. Society tends to define success in terms of accomplishments and awards, material possessions, and profit margins. In the football business, winning is the only thing that matters.

God’s Word, however, presents a different definition of success–one centered on a relationship with Jesus Christ and a love for God that allows us to love and serve others. God gives each one of us unique gifts, abilities, and passions. How well we use those qualities to have an impact on the world around us determines how “successful” we really are.

If we get caught up in chasing what the world defines as success, we can use our time and talent to do some great things. We might even become famous. But in the end, what will it mean?

What will people remember us for? Are other people’s lives better because we lived? Did we make a difference? Did we use to the fullest the gifts and abilities God gave us? Did we give our best efforts, and did we do it for the right reasons?

God’s definition of success is really one of significance–the significant difference our lives can make in the lives of others. This significance doesn’t show up in the win-loss records, long resumes, or the trophies gathering dust on our mantels. It’s found in the hearts and lives of those we’ve come across who are in some way better because of the way we lived.”

I grew up in the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center in after-school and summer programs from infancy through the age of 14. This center is in what I would describe as a lower-middle-class, blue collar area very near downtown Indianapolis. This is the same neighborhood my father grew up in, and very near to where my mother also grew up.

As I look back, some things amaze me. First of all, it amazes me that this center still exists (and I’m no spring chicken), and that my dad also grew up in this center as a boy (and he’s no spring chicken either–sorry, Dad, but it’s true :-).

And another thing is amazing to me: in a racially mixed neighborhood, it is not so surprising that a black man would be a positive impression on me; but I find it remarkable that my mind is so receptive to the clarity of his memory–his name, his voice, his manner…

Reggie taught some of the arts and crafts classes in the basement of the Center. He had what I would now describe as the perfect Christian attitude. He was patient with difficult and noisy children who only held the slightest amount of interest in ceramics. He took the time to get on a personal level of interest with each of us in what our issues and fears were; and in his compassionate reassurances we found comfort. He was also fun and humorous. We all loved Reggie, and his neverending smile.

When Reggie leaned over the back of my chair to instruct me on painting my ceramic ashtray, from the collar of his shirt dangled a small gold cross on a necklace. That single image is crystal clear in my mind and I don’t know why, except I think I have a hunch.

The few Christians in our lives up to that point were kin. Reggie was not. He was African- American, he was older than us, and younger than my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. He spoke differently. He wore an earring–a rare thing in the early 70s. There were a thousand ways he was different from us, and yet there Reggie was brandishing the same cross we prayed to in church (in those rare times that we went); displaying a non-threatening countenance; emanating unconditional love, affirmation and approval.

He stands clearly in my memory because he was both different from us, and the same. We were in his radius, and it didn’t matter who we were, but he loved us. He shared the gospel with us, but only after we asked. And you already know why we asked: we wanted to be like Reggie.

What’s in your radius? Who will you affect today and not even know it? Where will you have the opportunity to share the Good News, and will it be where you least expect it? Are you ready?

The Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center was started in 1911 as the Immigrant’s Aid Society.   Later the name changed to the American Settlement. Located in downtown Indianapolis, the center assisted immigrants (mainly from Eastern Europe) in learning the English language and caring for children. In 1939, guided by its director, Mary Rigg, the center moved to 1917 W. Morris Street in the former town of West Indianapolis.  After Mary Rigg died in 1971, the center was renamed in her memory.  In 1998, the center constructed a new building across the street at 1920 W. Morris Street.

From what I have heard and seen so far,  I would have to say our day with Radius was a tremendous success.  You people of Lake Robinson Church are some of the greatest folks on earth.  The way everyone worked together and truly gave themselves to the projects was such a joy to observe.  I watched new relationships being built on the foundations of those already established.  People working together who had perhaps only spoken to each other a few times in the past.  Bonds being built which God will us as stepping stones for future Kingdom building.   Thanks to all of you for the opportunity to experience this beginning!

Hear some great stories this coming Sunday as we celebrate a great day of firsts for Lake Robinson Church.  Testimonies from our people, Matt Reeves from Radius Church, and the dedication of the new Half-mile Community Walking trail –  also a Bucky’s Bar-B-Q lunch for everyone!   Invite a friend and enjoy!

I could envision community plays and suppers in the finished project. It is now being restored for after school programs for at risk kids, and has room to house several ministries.

We were, also, so encouraged, not only by the turnout, but Pete and I were talking about the fact there were no power struggles. Everyone found work, the list that were provided were very helpful and we look forward to maybe making it a ongoing project.Thanks for the opportunity!

tjbaker

All day today the Beineke men worked on the kiosk for the head of the trail, and now it’s ready. It was a great father-sons, brother-brother project. At sunset we delivered the kiosk to the property, and we will dig holes and cement it in during the week.

While we were there, we noticed that someone had cleared some of the stumps, had erected a bench, and outlined a few places in the trail that gave it some extra added definition, beauty and coziness. I didn’t get a chance to look further along the trail (it was too dark), but I’ll bet there were other nice surprises awaiting me.

We share a canvas. These little nuances of beauty are going to make this a great thing, and our collaboration in accentuating the beauty of God’s creation can only serve to bring us closer, if not more in tune with nature and God Himself.

We affirm it to each other constantly: God has blessed us with a wonderful piece of property. As I walked the trail earlier this morning, I thought about our destination: to share this trail with our community, and fulfill the many ideas we have towards wellness, outdoor activity, holiday festivities, etc.

But have we arrived at our destination when the trail is finished?

Or did we arrive at our destination when we arrived on that first day with saws, axes and weedwhackers? In other words, is the journey the destination? We sweated, toiled, laughed, and caught poison oak together (well, that part was mostly me). I worked out there several hours with my sons; I shared an afternoon clearing “Poison Ivy Lane” with the busiest guy I know, Pastor Jimmy; there was the opening morning with Gary, Jimmy, Don, Scott, Travis, and David; I was the first to see the miracle transformation that Joe and Ryan committed in a single, short afternoon; and I got to stand in awe of the hard work and creative visions of Tammy and Pete, who separately are great people, but together are more than fantastic.

Where others might think of the destination as completion of the trail, and how to achieve it quickest, my destination is in maintaining the journey. We might cut the ribbon to open the trail, and a thousand people may take thousands of laps around it, and people may love the trail, but the Half-Mile of Smile is always a work-in-progress, symbolically an unending loop.

Unashamedly we say to you: these pictures are fully intended to bait you into frequently checking this Message Board for great information and discussion, and little else that the Internet has to offer of a less than upright and wholesome nature .

So, already we’re doing our part to keep you out of trouble. :-p

 My struggle was the balance between wanting to see the usefulness in these visions and in it not being “all about me.” I know now that my visions cannot be productive unless I share them with people who are gifted in catching the passion, cut it down to size, delegate task, and complete what God starts in me. I am not administrative, I do not delegate well, and my visions are a ‘blueprint’ of what the final product should look like.

Two weeks after I started Lake Robinson Community Church, the first one came during Sunday morning worship. I saw a drive in church. As Pete and I looked for a church, even as churched people, we wondered what each church we considered looked like inside. Would we find judgment, how were we ‘expected’ to dress, would we leave encouraged and on fire for God’s call in our life, or would we leave condemned and discouraged. It left me wondering “What if I had not had a Christian background? What if the Holy Spirit was urging me to go worship? What if I had had a really bad Saturday night or Sunday morning started with screaming and yelling and I needed a quiet place to be encouraged and meet with God? Where would I go to ‘fill up’?

 Since the building was small at LRCC, but the location was perfect, God’s vision to me was a drive in church, non threatening, meet with God and find peace until I was ready to connect with others. Pete and I did some research and there are none in this area. Hwy 290 is a major bypass for people heading to the mountains or lakes, and a great place to stop and worship. Pete had the vision of a radio signal, where they could listen from their cars. After sharing with several in the church, plans were already underway to set up for a drive in movie night. God was starting to connect the dots.

It really blesses me #1 to be apart of what God is doing and #2 to see him use a group of people to get the job done. Share your visions. If God is in it he will work it out in his time and if he is not in it, move on to where God is and use the gifts he has given you.

Step 2: Send an email to Joe at joe@beineke.com and tell him you have registered, and he will add you as a contributor.

Step 3: After Joe returns your email that he has set you up, in the lower right corner of this page: http://lakerobinsonchurch.wordpress.com, click on the link to “Login.” The link is in the “Meta” box right below the calendar.

Step 4: At the top of the Message Board, you should see a link that says “New Post.” Click on this link and submit your entry. Don’t forget to click the button that says “Publish” for it to show on this page.

I believe we can best be primed to “be the church” by observing the acts of others employed in “being the church.” No matter what physical building we worship in, we, as Christians, are part of the church, not of a church. I received a reminder of this a couple of years ago.

There’s some reason for me to believe that God intersects us with trouble so that we might also intersect with those who are looking to resolve it for us. It sounds funny to express it that way–like there’s some clandestine, elite Christian Delta Force out behind the bushes, standing ready and vigilant to rescue the nearest bumbling, unwary Christian. In reality, the Delta Force that rescued this bumbler came in the guise of an elderly couple in a dually pickup truck with Alabama plates.

It was so simple a thing, but it meant so much.

The church bus had just delivered a group of squealing, shouting teens to the tubing dropoff in Helen, Georgia. It was a brutally hot day, with the traffic just as brutal, as the bus inched through this small touristy town. Something about creeping along with the AC chugging, in a bus laden with three tons of church youth and their various snacks, burns a lot of gas.

One block away from the dropping-off point, the bus ran out of gas (who caused that, I wonder?). The driver–yours truly–put out his warning triangles, and scratched his bald head in consideration of what to do next. Meanwhile, the remaining one lane of the two-lane road had to satisfy both directions of a growling, snarling tourist crowd, all of them partaking in stress-free and happy vacations.

In less than 20 seconds, God placed the aforementioned elderly man and woman directly behind the bus; to which they did offer yon balding, bumbling, bus driver a ride to obtain petrol. In patience, the man and woman drove me around town, looking for gasoline, all the while creeping through a polluted purgatory of bumper-to-bumper, brake-stomping, rollicking good times.

The missus saw the opportunity to bail out at an antique shop so that hubby could complete the mission. She was talkative, cordial, reassuring and loving, and did a great deal to make me feel comfortable, despite what I had burdened them with. She, her husband, and I swapped information on our churches; how we coincidentally intersected at this one single place and time; life, family and children; and then *poof* she was off, on her way to liberate a calico quilt from the discount aisle. Her husband would swing by to pick her up later.

I moved to the front seat and Mr. Force and I continued to look for a gas station. The only one we found was out of gas (who caused that, I wonder?). As we drove out of town, we had one of the most fulfilling conversations on faith I can remember. We both marvelled at our similarities in our occupations; what drives us; how we saw the world; affections for our wives and kids; and church. I continued to shower him with gratitude, and he continued to dismiss it as something I would have done for him. He said the Voice would have spoken to me, as it did for he and his wife. I do hope that it would have.

Six miles out of town, and after nearly 90 minutes, I filled up a gas can and loaded it in the truck bed. The attendant didn’t want my money, somehow it had already been paid for (wink wink). Over the next hour, we sat in the pickup and creeped back into town in the extremely slow traffic. There was too much said between us to detail here. The best I can say was that God had placed me with someone of like interests and temperament, but one who was much, much wiser and Christ-like; and one who could impart the appropriate basking in Christian giving and love that I needed. There was a connection and bonding that I had not felt in some time; and to be in the presence of somehow who walks so closely with Christ was an awesome experience I will never forget.

The bus was fueled, and I had enough to get me out of town after the kids were done tubing. I said goodbye to my friend (were he and his wife guardian angels?), and we exchanged names and cities, so that we could stay in touch.

So, there I was. My needs were met.

Yes, I got the gas.

Yes, I got to rest in an air-conditioned truck for a couple of hours on a blazing hot day.

Yes, the youth group and I made it home safe, sound, and on-time.

But you see, those weren’t necessarily my real needs. Who caused that, I wonder?

If you would like to have a post input into this site on your behalf, then please email Tammy Baker at lakerobinsoncc@wmconnect.com, and she will post it for you.