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.