John Simons

A Christmas Poem by Abby

Tonight, Abby wrote a Christmas poem:

Christmas Poem
Born in a manger, laid in the hay,
Laying asleep, with no proper place to stay.
Cattle a lowing, stars shining above,
Given to sinners, a sign of love.
Jesus, the Savior, a tiny babe,
Death predicted birth,
by Myrrh, used to anoint a body.
Do you question love’s worth?

The reference to myrrh comes from the sermon in church this past week.  I hope that everyone takes time to remember not only that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus, but that he was born to die so that our sins could be forgiven, and we could know our Creator.

Tags: Christmas, Family, poem

Advent Conspiracy

Watch this:

Think about it.

Then visit their website.

Tags: Advent Conspiracy, Christmas

Walden on Theology, Church and Mission

I love to follow James Walden’s blog.  He doesn’t post very often, but when he does it makes me slow down and think.  I love the fact that he isn’t posting unless he has something to say.  Sometimes I struggle to keep up with his line of thought - James is a very deep thinker - but I love having to slow down to read something deep.  I have put off reading his latest blog post for a week.  I just haven’t had time to sit down and work my way through it until tonight.

As usual it is very good stuff.  James writes about the lack of theological depth in many of today’s churches compared to Paul’s very theological teaching to the churches of his time.   James also touches on the false dichotomies between theology and mission, or theology and real life.  As I have said before, theology touches on everything and is a deep part of our lives.

Read James Walden on Theology, Church and Mission.

Tags: Faith, Theology, Walden

The Beauty of Poverty

Years ago, I had a friend who was house sitting for a wealthy family while he went to seminary. He made a comment that has stuck with me for a long time. He said that he was learning not to want so much stuff, because you eventually reach a point where your stuff owns you, instead of the other way around. He used his situation as an example. The family needed someone to stay in the nice house to keep an eye on it and protect it. If they did not have as much, then they would have no need to hire someone to stay at their house while they were away.

One thing I have noticed when I travel overseas, is that those who seem to have very little, always seem to have the biggest smiles. In this picture is Joel. I met him on my recent trip to Paraguay. The first time I met him, we were walking along the sidewalk, he was singing along to the radio inside the one room house behind him. As he finished the song, singing at the top of his lungs, he saw us on the sidewalk outside his gate, and cracked up in laughter that he had been “caught” singing. › Continue reading

Tags: Joel, Materialism, Paraguay, Stuff

I think Josh is enjoying this

I have been posting photos over at my new Flickr account.  If you look, you can see pictures of Josh playing futbol (soccer to us Estadounidenses), climbing brick walls, and hanging out with his new friends.  Before we came, he was concerned about not be able to communicate with those around him.  He has found the universal languages of fun and love.  He said tonight that he wants to come back next year.  I am glad that he is enjoying it.

He is also doing great things here.  This morning, we visited a Christian school.  They asked Josh to share his testimony with the children. He did a great job!  Afterwards, the principal came to me and said that Josh was a great blessing for her to see.

It has been another long day.  I have been keeping more detail in my paper journal, because I am able to write during lunch time.  After I get back, I will have to add some updates.

Oh, by the way to see the photos on Flickr, just click here.

Tags: Faith, Family, Fun, Missions, Paraguay