by Scott Howard | Apr 14, 2017 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
I don’t know about you, but there are certain times that my mind clears and when that happens it is eye opening.
Mowing the yard can be one of those times, but that’s only part of the year.
Often I take time to take the road less traveled in my daily commute. I get to see the sunrise over a farmers field, or the morning mist of a foggy morning.
A view of the city from some forbidden spot on railroad tracks
Other times, on the weekend I may stop and explore the city and snap a few pictures of a perspective that most people, including myself don’t see as we do our daily hustle.
It’s Easter weekend. There are two events that all Christians hold near and dear because they are the events that mark the significance, in a public way, the life of Christ. Christmas in December is remembered as a celebration of the birth of Jesus, the son of God and son of Mary. 100% human and 100% God.
A few months later, the church calendar varies the exact date year to year, but in March or April, Easter is celebrated by Christians. The significance of Easter is that Jesus did not die on the cross and have his body remain in the grave (or tomb) like all other humans, but he really did conquer death, the devil and according to scripture, 40 days later the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost.
Check out your local Christian church or Christian friend to get more, I want to get back to the topic I started with.
On a daily basis, my morning routine is to start with a nice warm shower to wake up. The shower I use in our home, is just that, a simple shower with a frosted glass door.
When I first turn on the hot water, (followed by the cold), before I step in the shower, a burst of cool air rushes by as the warm water displaces the air. I’ve noticed this before but today decided to share the thoughts that came to me this morning.
The Shower & God.
The metaphor I experience , as a Christian, when I turn on the shower goes like this:
The warm water is like God’s Love thru his Holy Spirit that chases the cold air (or my own self-spirit out of the shower. Physics say the capacity of the shower is finite so when the water is turned on, it pushes out the cold air that was occupying that space.
When I actively seek God’s Holy Spirit to occupy my life, it pushes out my own self desires which are replaced with His desires in my life.
I could go deeper and come up with metaphors for the soap and scrubbing clean, but for today… that’s it.
The shower has become a quiet corner in our house for me to refresh and start each day with God in thought, prayer, reflection and conversation to start each new day clean again.
What do you do that draws you closer to your creator?
by Scott Howard | Nov 21, 2016 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo, ScLoHo's Fort Wayne
I’m in the middle of reposting the 5 most shared articles I’ve published in the past 12 months. As we get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas, this reminder is from last November:
There is a video on social media that is calling out Starbucks for their choice of an all red cup for the season. I won’t link to it but you can do your own searching and come up with it.
The guy in the video says that Starbucks hates Jesus. Here, let me quote him directly,
Starbucks REMOVED CHRISTMAS from their cups because they hate Jesus
Sorry but this is so un-Christlike.
About a year ago, I reached out to a church inviting them to participate with our church in a project to benefit the neighbors in our neighborhood. One lady, who was not a member of either church but is actively leading a Christian prayer group in the neighborhood, came up to me and told me I should not invite the other church because the other church supported homosexuality. Her comments surprised me, and saddened me. Sorry but this too is un-Christlike.
What is Christlike?
Instead of creating hate and division, how about showing grace and mercy? Instead of judging with our human eyes, minds and hearts, how about helping by demonstrating a willingness to serve?
Saturday I was blessed to be part of a group of volunteers that raked leaves of 30 yards in the Frances Slocum neighborhood of Fort Wayne. You can see more here.
Let me tell you how this works. A few weeks before the Leaf Raking Day, we put announcements on social media, in the church and school newsletters and bulletins. The event was open to anyone and everyone. It was not limited to people connected to Holy Cross School or Church. It was not limited to people in the Frances Slocum Neighborhood.
This is the 3rd year we have had this event and the concept is simple. The concept is to be a blessing and be Christlike in giving of time and energy.
Of the 30 homes that had their leaves raked in preparation for the city of Fort Wayne street departments leaf collection next week, only 3 were requested. Two from the church and one from the neighborhood association. The rest were houses we did in the past or ones that we noticed needed help.
There was not “qualifying” involved. We didn’t ask if they knew Jesus, if they were Christians, if they were poor, if they liked gay people, or if they were, well anything.
We just went to work. About 50 volunteers ranging in age from 6 to 76. After lunch I double checked to see if we got all the houses we were planning on raking and noticed that three were missed by the crew. So a few of us who were left went and made sure those homes were taken care of too.
This is just a tiny example of being Christlike. It was a blessing to those who needed help with their leaves. And it was a blessing to our hearts as we served.
The Christian Battlefield isn’t fought in a coffee shop, or in a public forum. It’s doing good, one person at a time, (sometimes in groups like the leaf raking project). Who can argue with that?
by Scott Howard | Jun 7, 2015 | Really? The Personal ScLoHo
As always, it is a busy weekend at our church. My wife and I attend the Saturday service at 5pm at Holy Cross Lutheran in Fort Wayne and it was graduation day for the 8th graders from the school.
The pastor delivering the message, Pastor Tom Ahlersmeyer talked about a concept that I’m sure I’ve heard before years ago on the acronym T.H.I.N.K. but in this social media equipped world, it was a good reminder for those of us who are active online and a excellent lesson for those who have not heard it before.
If you search online you can find various versions of T.H.I.N.K. but here’s the version that was used in church:
We reviewed examples of each of these and practical ways to implement them in face to face conversations and online.
T = is it True
H = is it Helpful
I = is it Inspiring
N = is it Necessary
K = is it Kind
This is a tough list, I know. The pastor was commenting about how he has failed with his own family at following this. Living a T.H.I.N.K. life is a goal. We will not be perfect. Before I went to sleep last night, I already had violated this. I realized it the moment the words came out of my mouth.
But the point is not perfection. The point is to have a higher standard to live up to. I am challenged by this and hope you are too.
One last quote from the message:
“Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it…”
This was actually a quote from Timothy Keller that Pastor A used to tie it all up. May you find it as inspiring as we did.
(By the way, our church has 4 services most weekends. 5pm Saturdays, 8:15am & 10:30am Sundays, and 6:30pm Mondays. You are welcome to join us.)
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