Listening to God

Today was hot at church. I mean the temperature inside the sanctuary, the brick sanctuary with no air conditioning and small windows that barely open, was very, very warm. It was the kind of day you could easily fall asleep (or pass out) if you were not careful. I think our pastor is wise to take his month long Sabbatical in July.

When he goes away, others are asked to preach. I have preached twice. The youth pastor preached last week. And this week Pastor Vince Gierer from St. Paul's Collegiate Church in Storrs, CT was our guest speaker. I had never heard Vince (pictured below) before.

I am glad I heard him today. He brought a message from God's Word as shared in Philippians 4:10-20. He entitled his sermon "Excellent Givers". He challenged me to be like those in the church at Philippi as we give. He showed me how Paul commended the Philippians for giving in three specific ways and how I should be like them in my giving.

I should give the gift of friendship to those around me whom God allows me to befriend. In verse 10 Paul commends the Philippians for being concerned about him because they are his friends. I should also give the gift of partnership in ministry as the Philippians did for Paul. In verse 15 he thanks them for their partnership in sharing the Gospel. And finally, I must remember that all my giving is unto the Lord no matter when or where I give it. Paul thanks the Philippians for their gift given to him but really given to the Lord, verse 18.

I am grateful that God spoke to me on a hot Sunday morning in a church in Windsor Locks through a guest speaker about being an "excellent giver" for God's glory. I pray now that I will be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. I wonder what that will look like in me this week.

Confusing Indeed (and Horrifying)

I admit I didn't watch the Casey Anthony trial, not any of it. I was saddened by the story of 2 year old Caylee Anthony's disappearance and the subsequent discovery of her dead body. I was disturbed by reports that her mother may have been involved in her murder, but I didn't watch any of the trial. When Casey was acquitted of the charges it became apparent that many people must have watched the trial because they were certainly outraged at the miscarriage of justice the verdict represented. How could the jury, they asked, ever find Casey not guilty of such a brutal crime.



Watching CNN this week, I saw a report of the congressional hearing on Child Abuse held by in Washington, DC. On July 12 witnesses testified before the House hearing that deaths of children due to abuse and neglect may be closer to 2,500 than the 1,770 per year actually reported by the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System. Many were outraged at this under reporting and demanded the government do something to end this horrible tragedy.


I want to say emphatically, I am horrified by the death of Caylee Anthony and by the estimated 2,500 other abuse and neglect deaths of children every year. Each one of these children deserve to grow up in families where they can be loved and nurtured, not neglected, abused and even killed. But I find it appalling that this kind of outraged can be expressed by the public, Congress and the media while silence continues to surround the estimated (Gutmacher Institute) 1,200,000 abortions performed in this country every year! That's right 1.2 million abortions each year. These little unborn children deserve to have someone express outrage over their senseless deaths. These little preborn babies need to have someone shout in outrage over the miscarriage of justice that permits them to be slaughtered while still in their mother's wombs.

A few months ago a group posted the above billboard in NYC. It is based upon the statistics of the Chiaroscuro Foundation which show 60% of African American babies are aborted in New York City (2009). The same study found that 41 % of all pregnancies in NYC end in abortion. The response was to label the billboard racist and demand its removal, not to express outrage that the most dangerous place for an African American baby, statistically speaking, is in its mothers womb!

I have to wonder why we are so distressed by abuse that happens to children after they are born and so silent about the abuse that takes 1.2 million lives each year.

One Year Later

So, nearly a year has come and gone since my last post, now that's consistency! No excuses, just haven't posted. A lot has happened in the past year. Family members have come and family members have gone. Barb and I now live alone in our home in Connecticut, and while we still love it here, we sure do miss those little boys we raised, now young men, three of them married and dads, and Shawn about to begin his sophmore year at college. How old am I?

Last November we said goodbye for now to my mom who died in Jacksonville after a brief illness. It was hard. Hard for my dad, hard for my siblings, hard for me. Death sure is a tough enemy. But not the winner! Because of Jesus Christ, his victory over death, his resurrection, and because mom had faith in him, we are confident we will see her again at Christ's return, and that is truly a blessed hope.Mom's funeral at the Advent Christian Village in Dowling Park was a wonderful (if lengthy) tribute to a woman who was very influential in my life. She taught me love, she showed me patience, she blessed my friends, she encouraged my participation in sports and above all, she modeled being a loving wife and dedicated prayer warrior. All of her children attended her funeral and all of us spoke in the service (now you know why the service was lengthy).

The four Dean boys and one Melton (Dean) girl were all able to share this special time with dad. We each have our own memories and stories to share, its just hard at times to get them out without the tears that so easily flow. But we are all going to make it and we are planning to celebrate with mom again, perhaps very soon!

Since my last post we are excited to have added a new little Dean to our family. Last December, Robbie and Kelly adopted Eli Efrem Dean and he joined them in January of 2011. In February he turned 1 year old. What a joy to have Eli as our newest grandson, just wish he didn't live so far away. I did have the chance to meet Eli in person when Rob and Kelly brought him to Jacksonville where I had flown to attend some meetings.

He is a happy, somewhat shy, fun loving little boy. We look forward to watching him grow into a great young man. I love the picture below of when I first got to meet Eli at a Chick-Fil-A in Jacksonville, FL.

The other big news in our family is that after 5 years of living as a family in China; David, Marianne and Sarah (she is only 2) have moved back to the US where David will start law school at Washington University in St. Louis in late August. We were thrilled when their flight to Dallas from JFK in New York got cancelled and they got to spend a night with us before heading on to Dallas. How Sarah has grown! Barb and I both loved getting to see her and enjoy her company. (Yes, it was nice to see David and Marianne too.)

How much joy is ours when we can be around our grandchildren and watch them grow and develop their own personalities. We are looking forward to more such times in the future.

My Children's Children

"Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children - " Deuteronomy 4:9 (ESV)

In light of my last post, I was thinking today about the amazing responsibility I have as a grandparent. I am charged by Moses in the verse quoted above to be very attentive to my assignment to teach my children and my "children's children" the lessons God has taught me. But how can I teach a 17 month old that she needs to be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit when He speaks. I wonder how that is most effectively accomplished.

Today Barb and I were babysitting Sarah while her parents went to NYC to attend to visa stuff at the Chinese Consulate. We really had no objections to that task. Below is Sarah watching her favorite television show, "Blues Clues". She can't take her eyes off it when its on.

We found ourselves amazed at how much this cute little 17 month old is learning and knows already. She loves music and dancing, climbing and running, exploring and reading. She has fun when Grampie holds her so she gets wet in the lawn sprinkler and when Grammie feeds her or holds her sit in her lap and reads to her. And today we discovered that she loves to have Grampie hold her up in the air, almost touching the ceiling. She learned the word "again" today and she had Grampie lifting her "again" and "again" to giggles of delight. Here she is giving Grampie a real workout.
As I thought about how we can teach her the truths of God, I concluded that for now, our task is to show her the unconditional love of her Heavenly Father as demonstrated in the love we have for her. Whether lifting her to the ceiling, holding her next to the lawn sprinkler, feeding her at meal times or reading to her as she sits in our lap, we want to teach her that the love we have for her is a reflection of the love God has for her. And we are already praying that when Sarah is old enough, she will be filled with wonder when she learns about the love God demonstrated for her when He sent his one and only Son Jesus to be her Savior and Lord. I wonder when that will be.

When it Hurts

Isn't she just about the cutest 17 month old you have ever seen? This is our granddaughter, Sarah Grace, who is visiting us with her parents right now. We just love having her around and sharing in the joy of watching her grow and learn new things daily. Sarah lives in China, that's right, CHINA, the country on the other side of the world! We visited her there when she was just a few months old and she looked like this... Now Sarah she is in Connecticut and has a developing personality, an expanding vocabulary, an inquisitive mind and a wonderful smile.
So perhaps you can understand one of the things that made it so tough to get word on Saturday of last week that a very dear friend and pastoral colleague was in the last stages of his year long struggle with pancreatic cancer. I knew immediately that I needed to go and see him. But doing so would take some effort since I was working Saturday evening and had to be back for work Monday morning at 7:30am. I wanted to go to see Mike, and his wife Debbie. But I was scheduled to lead worship at our church on Sunday morning. I wanted to thank Mike for his friendship and encouragement and for his being an example of a caring pastor, devoted husband, loving father and faithful friend. But my granddaughter is only going to be with us a little while longer and I didn't want to give up a day with her, showing her off at church, playing with her, hearing her parents relay stories of her exploits. It hurt to know that Mike's end was coming so quickly and we had only spoken on the phone twice since I found out about his cancer.


I was made painfully aware that at times we must all make tough choices about how we will use our time, prioritize our activities, decide what will be left undone. For me, I had learned this lesson many years ago while a pastor in Tampa, FL. I had sensed I needed to go say thank you to a man who had mentored me but instead I had been overwhelmed by the tyranny of the urgent and three days later he was dead. He died of lukemia. I told the Lord and myself that whenever I sensed His prompting from then on, I would yield to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. That voice spoke to me again on Saturday.


I was able to arrange for someone to lead worship at church on Sunday. My wife agreed to keep me company on the 600 mile roundtrip. My son and his wife gave me their blessing to go see my friend. And at 6:00am Sunday morning we left our home in Connecticut and drove to Morrill, ME where we were able to sit and visit with Mike and Debbie and their son Chad in their living room. Mike was in a hospital bed, heavily sedated but aware. I was able to thank him for his friendship and example, for his encouragement and challenge. We spoke of his faith, his hope, his trust and his readiness for this struggle to be over. Barb was able to renew her friendship with Debbie and listen to a concerned wife shared information with a nurse. We were able to watch some of the British Open and joke about Mike's golf game. And we were able to pray, thanking God for the chance to say goodbye and making plans to meet again in God's Kingdom. Then it was time to say goodbye and begin the return trip to Connecticut. Mike's other son Shane was flying in from New Mexico later that day and the family would all be together again. Barb and I made it home at 10:30pm, a 16 and 1/2 hour day.


Today I got a call and learned that Mike had died at 2:00pm this afternoon, his family by his side. I am so glad I listened to the still small voice. I am so glad I got to see Mike and thank him and say goodbye. I am so glad we could pray together, laugh together, cry together. Sure it hurts, but I'm glad I don't have to wonder how it would feel if I didn't go see my friend.

Its About Time!

Its hard to believe that I haven't posted anything since Memorial Day, but the proof, as they say, is in the pudding! Can't say I have been too busy, I was unemployed from February through August with only a few speaking appointments during all those months. I did have the opportunity to do some preaching at the church we have been attending in July as well as the privilege to serve as the chapel speaker at Camp Lakeside in Maine. But being unemployed is now a thing of the past.

Beginning September 1st, I joined the ministry staff of the Windsor Locks Congregational Church as the Director of Adult Life Groups. In this capacity I have responsibility for recruiting, training and supporting the leaders of the 21 Life Groups sponsored by the church. It is so exciting for me to be able to work with these wonderful people who sense the importance of Christians being in community for personal spiritual growth and ministry. This is a part time position and I am paid a stipend to spend 10-15 hours a week doing this and a few other things as well.

Just a couple of weeks later I began a second part time job as an Individual Support Instructor working with some autistic men one on one. This has proved a very challenging and rewarding venture and has begun to fill my weeks with responsibilities. I will be spending 20-30 hours a week working with 3 men in this capacity.

As far as our church involvement goes, I am teaching an adult Sunday School class on Bill Hull's book, "Choose the Life", and Barb and I are leading a Life Group in our home and using the Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom book, "Seeking Him" as the our resource book. This group is composed of 8 wonderful people who are together hoping to experience the joy of personal revival. We meet every other week and are forming some wonderful friendships.

Our son Shawn is now a senior at Windsor Locks High School and is playing on the soccer team again this year. He is carrying a very challenging course load and spends hours doing homework every night. He is not working now but did work at Six Flags during the summer where he earned enough money to order the parts and, with the help of his cousin Stephen, to build his own computer. Barb is still working at the hospital where she has worked now for over 5 years.

The other big change since I last posted is that our granddaughter who we went to see in China in April, is now crawling and sitting up on her own. We enjoy seeing her weekly via Skype and marvel at her growth and personality development. Oh yes, we enjoy chatting with her parents too! Here are a couple of more recent pictures of Sarah Grace Dean.

I hope I will be able to do a better job of keeping the blog updated than in recent months, you'll just have to check back to see how I'm doing. Bye for now!

Memorial Day - 2009

Today has been a spectacularly beautiful day! The sun burned off the early clouds and revealed a day of clear blue skies, gentle New England breezes and comfortable temperatures. At about 9:00 AM Barb and I made our way to the Congregational Church in downtown Windsor Locks where we joined a large contingent of willing workers. We had come together to be a blessing to the crowd gathered to honor the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country and its freedoms. The Congregational Church is located along the parade route and not far from the Veteran's Memorial Hall where the Memorial Day parade ends. For several years the church has gathered to bless the crowd who comes out with free coffee, water, lemonade and hot dogs.On this day we would have the privilege of serving, sharing and saluting! We would be able to serve the community in the name of Jesus. We would share the provision of God and His people as we gave away free coffee, water, lemonade and over 1,000 hotdogs! We would salute the many soldiers who died to keep us free. What a joy to watch as members and friends of the Congregational Church worked shoulder to shoulder and hand in hand in the name of Jesus!The morning provided opportunities to make new friends as Barb is doing above as well as to stand in the presence of some of the world's best grillers as Larry demonstrates below!
By the time the parade had ended over 1,000 hot dogs had been grilled, put in buns and given to the crowd of onlookers who passed by the church. It was great fun to serve with others in the body of Christ and share this holiday remembering all those who served our country while enjoying such a wonderful day outdoors. I wonder how you spent your Memorial Day?