Goin' Mercer…ramblings and rants!

Painting Therapy

 

Being lost in your thoughts and questions

 

This past two weekends Leah and I painted our living room and Kitchen.  It is our first permanent mark on our home.  Also, it is the first time I have lived in a house that actually had color other than beige and white on the walls.  I am not complaining, I love it.  Now when I walk into the house I get a warm feeling that makes me comfortable.  It will take a few weeks to confirm that it is the color giving me that feeling and not merely the fumes, but we will see.  I have decided that painting as tedious as it can be, is extremely therapeutic.  As I rolled paint onto walls for hours, I had no option but to listen to Leah’s music and become lost in my own thoughts.  My thoughts quickly turned into questions.  Some of the questions really searched my heart.  Here are some that I remember thinking:

 

Is all this work really worth it?

Will we like these color choices for a long time?

Can life be more exciting that rolling paint for endless hours?

I thought this paint was “true one coat?”

Will I survive in ministry long term?

Am I giving my students all I have?

Does she really like this song?

Does God find molding and shaping us as tedious as this painting?

Will Maverick (our cat) survive the fumes?

Do I love enough?

Who is it that I need to show more grace towards?

Do you think she will see where I got gold on the white?

Do you think she will see the small smudge I just created trying to wipe it off?

Does God really love Leah more than I love Leah?

Does God really love me more than I love me?

Do I really need a dropcloth for every place I paint?

Will Leah notice the drop of paint on the carpet?  (also an answer to the above question)

How I can I serve others more?

Can I cut it much longer in ministry?

Who can I sucker into helping me move my entertainment center, so I can paint behind it? (thanks Brock)

How can I be a better husband?

Will I be a good dad?

How many gallons will this take? 

How is it that she looks gorgeous even with paint on her skin, old clothes and no make-up and I still look bad dressed up, well rested, and well groomed?

How do I make a straight line when painting?

What does God have in store for me next?

Well, this may be long, but these are the questions I ask myself.  Some are asked not only when painting.  What are some questions you ask yourself when left to your thoughts?

 

-Michael

 

Refreshing

My One Word to Sum up Mission Ganado 2004

In our last team time, where we process the day, I asked every member of our mission team to sum up their week in one word. As they thought how God blessed them during the week, they thought about compressing 4 days of God’s glory into one word. Not an easy task. I heard words like, Amazing, Rewarding, Exciting, Unbelievable, and Wonderful. My word for the week was refreshing. On the first evening of our VBS I really challenged the students during our worship time. The next day they really rose to the occasion. The put in extra effort, love, and compassion. It was refreshing to me to see a group of students, really go for God’s glory and do some amazing ministry.

Physically I am anything but refreshed, but spiritually I am refreshed, renewed, and restored. I am back in the office for today and then off again. I will be back in on Monday. My body is a little tired, so this blog will be kept short.

-Michael

Grace Uncovered

A Salvation Story from Mission Ganado 2002

Two summers ago while we were at Ganado we were able to witness an amazing conversion. The preacher had went through the phone book of the town calling random names and talking with them and inviting them to the church. Remember that this church is less than 20 members at the time. Well, it just so happens that one of those that he called had broken the law previous to the call and soon to be sent to jail. He was broken and sorry for his unlawful behavior.

While we were there, not just in the town but in the building, he came by to talk with the preacher again. We were planning for the next day and had no idea what was about to come. However, through the swinging doors from the foyer to the auditorium walked the preacher and a man and woman. The man had talked with the preacher and discovered his great need for grace and forgiveness. He discovered his need for Christ. He was around 6′3″, thin, and tan from years of work outside. You could tell that the life he had had wore out his skin and had drained some life from his body. His face was dull and lacked expression. His mustache covered his lip and his eyes had lost any luster they once may have had. He walked slowly and cautiously and shook a little when still. The preacher announced this man’s desire to give his life to Christ. The baptistry was exactly clean and wasn’t exactly full. A baptistry in the midst of twenty saved people is not often used. However, there was no stopping him from the grace he desired, there would be no more hesitations from the forgiveness and Christ that had found him. He walked up the steps, I offered the baptismal gown. He kept walking and went into the water. No gown, fully clothed. Again no desire for hesitations. The preacher took his confession and baptized him in the shallow water. The man fully drenched, with clothes sticking to him, did not immediately leave the pool. He stood and with watery eyes gazed upon our youth who had begun to sing. It was as if he never wanted to leave that place and for a moment became a sponge and soaked up as much Father, Son, Holy Spirit as he could. He finally walked down the steps out to the auditorium and shared with us all his story and his new attitude of life.

Later that night he came to a cookout we were having and met the church. Still later in the months to come he would have to leave, serve his sentence, and then be able to return. No matter what happened those following days, He had uncovered grace in a small town, in an old Church of Christ, with only a few people. Just proving all the more that grace is not anything we can do, but everything of what God can do and has done!

Live your life today to the fullness of the grace that is in Christ Jesus!

-Michael

A Church’s search for Desperate Freedom

I tried to blog yesterday, but some kind of error prevented me from ever writing. Sorry about that!

We leave for our Junior High Mission trip this Saturday. We call it “Mission Ganado.” Ganado is a small town west of Houston. The population is around 1900 people. The size of the church is around 20-25 people. This will be our 5th year going there for a junior high mission trip. The incoming 6-9 grades are participants, while the incoming 10-12 grades are leaders. The first two years we did simple work projects on the building. The third year to the present we have been running a Vacation Bible School for the church.

This church and town are special to me. I was born in Ganado and though I grew up in Bay City, I visited this town often because of family. Both my mom and dad’s families live in Ganado. So two sets of grandparents, three sets of uncles and aunts, my brother, dad and step-mom, and a slew of cousins live there. I have family in town that I have no clue are family.

It is also special, because every summer I relive my roots, my past, and memories. It is even more special because my students and volunteers understand me better by seeing these things as well.

However, the best part about returning to Ganado is realizing how the people of that church have grown. There are so few people to work in the church that they cannot afford to turn down visitors or people who come through their doors. Therefore they cannot hold onto their traditional preferences. They must let go of what they want and totally surrender to God. It is an awesome thing to see an 80 year old member realize that tradition doesn’t out way the gospel of Christ. That all are welcome and we must be the people to do so. My prayer is that the churches I work for and love won’t have to wait until their elderly age or the desperate need for community to discover this freeing truth.

Tomorrow I hope to tell you about one of the Salvation experiences that our entire youth group was able to witness in Ganado two years ago.

-Michael

Back to Life, Back To Reality

Vacation in San Antonio was great! It was great to relax, not worry over work and spend quality time with my wife. Now, we get back to real life where other people exist.

We did the whole thing at San Antonio. We went to the Alamo, Riverwalk, Fiesta Texas, Guenther House (Pioneer Flour Mill),Downtown, side trip to San Marcos, and read a book. We ate a lot, slept a lot, and went real slow!

I feel very rested and ready to complete the summer. Thankfully, I have some wonderful people here at home who can make it possible for me to leave and things not go undone.

Some of those people are: Donna, Blake, David, Dan, Kenneth, Leah H., Bill, Toni, Dan M., Doug, Gary, Chris, Denise, Debbie, Pat, Laura, and many others.

Every minister must be a team player. Every minister must be a part of the team, not merely it’s leader. I have a wonderful advisory team that is official (Youth Ministry Team). However, I also have many wonderful parents and friends who are willing to step in and help out!

If you can leave and things run as if you never left, then you have a sign of a healthy ministry. I am blessed to be here and minister to these families of Clear Lake.

-Michael