Jack’s Winning Words 12/28/20

“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.”    (Dr. Seuss)  Older people keep picture albums.  As I page through mine…Oh, the memories: My mom and dad, the dog I had as a boy, my 6^th grade school class (I remember most names), high school, college, seminary,  the wedding, the children…I feel like Clark Griswold locked in the attic.  I need to thank God more often for the gift of memory.  What’s a moment from the past that you treasure?  ;-)  Jack

FROM KT IN MI:  Thanks for this one!  I’ve been trying to record lots of memories about my dad. Precious gifts to remember and to record.===JACK:  The Memory Bank shows various deposits, some new and some old.  Even with the passing of years I am able to recall good times with you and your family.   It's sad when dementia makes withdrawals from "the bank", as happens with some people. 

FROM OUTHOUSE JUDY:  My family made scrapbooks from the late 1800’s.  Before my parents passed away, I took those albums and had them tell me the names of the people in them!  Most people they knew.  I thank God for those gifts of the albums!===JACK:  Are you still carrying on the tradition of scrapbooking?  And, who, in your will, is to receive your outhouse collection?

FROM WILLMAR REV:  Just give me a minute, its right here on the tip of my tongue . . .!?  0;-)===JACK:  Did you ever lose your train of thought during a sermon?  I have...some stuttering and stammering before the train got back on track.===REV:  Early on as a youth pastor coming back from a weekend youth retreat with our youth and told the pastor I was good for preaching the Sunday evening sermon...did the same, shuttering and chasing the proverbial rabbit not in sight...early alter call (we prayed around the alter on Sunday evenings)...really did not have the proper notes and thought I could “wing it”...on the way out of the church that night the pastor said “that will fly only once” as the congregation felt sorry for me...I’ve used manuscript sermons ever since. 0;-)===JACK:  Those "wing it" sermons are bound to crash more often than not.  Reading a sermon from a manuscript can be a snoozer, too.===REV:  True, put myself asleep with a few of them, but work well down the road when preparing a message where they fit better than previously! Funerals especially! Latest count: 332 since September 27, 1998

FROM ST PAUL IN ST PAUL:  good one, Jack.  and this year we have more time to remember and reflect and give thanks for 1,000s of good memories.===JACK:  One of the great things about starting a new congregation is the experience of having memories that no one else has..to have had the experience to bring something into being from when there was nothing.  

FROM LBP:  How do you share out those memories?===JACK:  I do it by telling (and retelling) stories to  my children and grandchildren.  Just recently, David videoed me telling one of those memories.  I was laughing hard even in the retelling.

FRO ER IN SKO:  Great quote! Very appropriate for the week of New Year's.  👍 ===JACK:  One of my recent entries has your face in it.===E:  Uh oh....

FROM MD IN BSFL:  First thought was Holy Spirit baseball team. You on the mound Don Zimmer behind the plate remember when he broke his finger?Ghastly. Ralph Green hitting the ball a mile and the young bucks who fielded and ran the bases like we could not. Can you remember their names?===JACK:   What a fun memory...the Holy Spirit softball team.  I still have my red shirt with Holy Spirit printed on it.  Chuck Sturtz was one; Ralph Green could hit them out of the park.

FROM DAZ IN DENVER:  Finger was only dislocated not broken  When I went into ER with Holy Spirit tee shirt the nurses were amazed because they had been talking  about the laying on of hands and the Spirit===JACK:  I remember your yelling (almost crying).  But big men don't cry...much.

FROM BB IN CHGO:  Beautiful – thank you for the inspiration.  On Christmas eve our pastor used the Charlie Brown Christmas special as an illustration.  If you watch closely, Linus drops his famous little blue blanket when he recites the Christmas story; he then wraps it around the tree.  For decades, none of the Charlie Brown characters could wrest the blanket from him, no matter how hard they tried.  In the moment he recites the message of hope/salvation, he no longer needs the security blanket.===JACK:  What a nice remembrance of Christmas...and what a great sermon idea.

FROM BLAZING OAKS:  Yes, how precious memories become as we age!  Crutch Carothers being elected Home coming king, and in the Spring, Prom King, which meant as his girlfriend, I got o sit with the Royal Court..(!), My wedding to Bill, the birth of our 3 sons, and finally, a daughter!  Our 50th anniversary 3  day retreat at Turkey Run State Park, with all our kids and a grand baby, and Jan and Hal, etc etc. Like you say, SO MANY good things!!  We are blessed indeed!!===JACK:  Precious memories, how they linger.

FROM EMT SINGS IN TC:  So many I can't count them, but surely an important one happened November 10th, 1990!===JACK:  As with many weddings I've performed, I've wondered, "How's this one going to turn out?"  Thanks for giving me a good answer.  One bride came in during the first week telling me that she was filing for a divorce.  I thought that her wedding was going to be a winner.