Yes, I'm still here!

I'm back from my adventures in Middle-Earth.  I enjoyed my visit with Bilbo and Frodo, but now it's time to get back to work.  Gandalf says Hi, by the way.  Seriously though - the lack of blog entries is entirely due to everyone else and is not my fault.  Talking about Middle-Earth, though, has reminded me that years ago when I'd just "launched" my Billy Bob character, I created a Powerpoint presentation for one of our staff retreats called "Billy Bob of the Rings".  It was just after the first Lord of the Rings movie had come out and I felt inspired -- so I put my graphic designer hat on and re-created all of the main characters in the movie in the form of Billy Bob.  Kind of hard to explain, so I'll just show you.  The first picture is, of course, Billy Bob.

The rest is self-explanatory.

The original - never to be imitated

 Wow, the wonders of Photoshop!  When I showed this power point the first time, there were literally people in the audience who fell off their chairs they were laughing so hard. I've never had quite the same reaction since; I wonder why?

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We've thoroughly been enjoying a long, relaxed visit from Daphne's parents Felix and Valerie.  They arrived on December 6th, and they're scheduled to leave on February 3rd.  We'll be very sad to send them head back to Jolly Ol' England early next month.  Because so much of our lives take place at our church building, they've come right along with us and they'll sit at the diner literally for hours, chatting with anyone who comes along.  We're planning to take them up to Estes Park on Monday to show them some more of this beautiful state, and to visit our dear friend Sharon McElwain.  They've handled the altitude amazingly well, and

they've only needed to use some oxygen at night to help them sleep.

The church is growing by leaps and bounds, and that kind of growth brings lots of great excitement and plenty of challenges.  Last Wednesday evening I spoke on the topic of spiritual warfare, and it seemed literally the next day - and the following days - the devil came out with his claws unsheathed.  Family problems, health issues, broken appliances... the good thing is we weren't surprised, and I believe half
of the battle is won simply by our alertness to who is behind the problems.  He prefers to stay hidden and make us believe his lies.  Once his schemes are revealed, he tends to back off and wait for a more "opportune time."

Last night did the second in the "Believe It Or Not" series, this time on character.  It was snowing outside, and even though we live in the mountains and people are used to driving in the snow, only three people showed up for the service.  I confess that I get a little discouraged when so few show up, because I try to put a lot into what I teach.  However, all the sessions are recorded, and you can listen to them online if you go follow these steps:
1. www.journeyfoothills.com
2. Click on the image "Midweek @ Journey" on the right side of the page
3. Click on the link and listen to the message on your computer.

Got to run - we're invited out for dinner.

"Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful..."

BCS  CHAMPIONSHIP!!

Today is the big day:  The BCS National Championship between Auburn and Oregon, and I hear that the dinner menu is candied Duck.  We haven't actually won a national championship since 1957, although we could have in 1993 and 2004 because we went undefeated in both seasons.  I only wish I could be in Alabama watching the game with all my Auburn buddies.  Maybe next year.   I've already bought a bottle of champagne to celebrate the Tigers victory tonight - should be fun!

It's been snowing non-stop since yesterday morning, and it should begin to taper off in a few hours.  I'd say we've gotten maybe 12 inches in the last 24 hours.  I plowed the driveway twice yesterday to stay ahead of the curve, and I learned a new trick by watching the big dump-trucks as they plow the roads around here:  the faster you go when you're plowing the better.  The last time I plowed (a week ago) it probably took me 45 minutes to clear the driveway.  Yesterday I could finish the job in 15 by driving the ATV faster because the snow just tends to blow away in front of you rather than heaping up into piles.  I don't know if this idea will work later in the Spring when the snow becomes wetter and heavier - but the snow we've gotten so far is like powdered sugar (must be awesome up on the ski slopes!).

Spiritual Warfare

The video link below is the introduction to my message this coming Wednesday on Spiritual Warfare - the first in the series called, "Jim's Believe It Or Not; Amazing But True Tales From The Mission Field."  In preparing for this particular message, I was reminded of the strange but true story of "The Man Eaters of Tsavo" - a tale that took place in what is now the Tsavo East National Park in Southern Kenya.  I've been to Tsavo many times in my younger days, but was never able to spot any of the now infamous "mane-less" male lions that still roam this arid,  unforgiving land.  In the late 1800's two such unusual male lions lacking the typical magnificent golden mane of the species brought the construction of a railway bridge over the Tsavo river to a complete halt.  These two lions snacked on some 135 Indian and African workers over a period of nine months, and halted the construction of the railway and frustrated the power of the British Kingdom until Colonel Patterson was able to kill both of them.  These lions had an uncanny ability to evade being killed, so much so that the locals believed they were not lions at all but demons in lion form.  Patterson described how he would set a trap at one end of the camp, only to hear the screams coming from the opposite end sometime during the night - again, and again, and again.  It was like they could read his mind and knew where he was going to be.


It's no wonder why the Lord compares Satan to a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.  Interesting thing about lions: they roar to declare their territory or to frighten away other animals; but when they hunt, they go silent because they're ambush killers.  So is our enemy - he would rather convince us that he's not a threat at all, or keep us looking in the wrong direction while he tries to trip us up at our weakest point.  We have to put on the armor we've been given, and resist the enemy at every point along the way.

First Winter Storm

Three Cowboys at church

 We had our first genuine winter storm a couple days ago - about 8 or 9 inches.  I spent about 45 minutes plowing our driveway with the blade on the front of my ATV.  There wasn't enough snow to warrant plowing, except for the fact that our driveway stays in shade all year once it freezes, the ice ruts are there to stay until May.  

We held our first Christmas Eve Candlelight service at church last week.  We put out 188

chairs, thinking we probably wouldn't even fill that many (it was our first time - chalk it up to our lack of experience).  The service started at 5:30.  When people started arriving at 4:45, we realized we'd probably underestimated the crowd.  They just kept coming and coming until the entire parking lot was packed, and we had to bring chairs and benches up from the restaurant to seat everyone - and even then we had at least 50 people standing in the back.  The final count was 436 people.  For this small mountain community that's the equivalent of 5000 down the hill in Denver.  It was incredible.  I didn't recognize at least a third of those who came, many who'd heard about it from the flyers we handed out at the Christmas parade, and 100 posters we put up around the community.  What can I say - the Lord blew us away. 

New Teaching Series

I've finished teaching through the book of John, and now I'm taking a couple of weeks off to prepare for the next series called "Jim's Believe It Or Not! Amazing But True Tales From The Mission Field". I've hesitated up till now to share a great deal of our background (growing up in Kenya for me and in Zimbabwe for Daphne), and of our twenty years serving overseas, because I thought the folks here would not be able to relate.  Then it occurred to me that it's up to us to help them relate by telling our stories.  The best preachers are those who can tell a story that will hook the hearts of their listeners, draw them in, and help them to find themselves somewhere in the story - and hopefully learn something significant in the process.  This is the first time for me to pull together some of the most significant lessons the Lord taught me in the 28 years I spent living internationally, and I'm excited about the opportunity to share our lives with those who attend the mid-week service.

Deer In Our Front Yard This Morning

I've started putting grain out to attract the deer, and they've caught on quickly.  I don't know where they hide, but it isn't usually more than 30 minutes for them to show up once the feed out.  They've become very bold and only walk a few steps away if I come out to where they are.  I'm sure we're not the only ones who feed them judging by their weight!  I would love to draw the elk closer in, but they tend to wander further than the deer.  We saw a herd of 30-40 at the top of our road a week ago, but then they disappeared.  Now that the rutting season is over, the elk gather in huge herds of up to 200 - I'm dying to show them to Daphne's folks, but they're never with us in the car when the elk appear.  Murphy's Law.

First Plow Of The Season

 

The Back Deck

Elk On The Road Just Above Our House