Friday, October 12, 2018

Twelve Days of Christmas - Door County Shopping


The Twelve Days of Christmas - Door County, Wisconsin
buying locally for your true love

Your guide to 12 days of gift-giving this Christmas! Go through the list, and decide which item/activity for each day you’d like to share with your true love. You’ll notice that this whole plan can be done for somewhere around *$50. Many of these local shops have the added bonus of gift wrapping options - use it, and make your gifts looks good! Traditionally, the gifts would begin on Christmas Day, December 25, and continue through January 5.
*for best results, plan ahead and spend some money.

On the First Day of Christmas… [a partridge in a pear tree]


On the Second Day of Christmas… [two turtle doves]
  • Turtle candies
  • Pair of Gloves
    • Alpaca  to apparel (Fish Creek) - 920.536.1394      www.alpacatoapparel.com
    • Door County Alpaca (Sturgeon Bay) -920.746.4020 or Facebook @doorcountyalpaca
  • Pair of Socks
    • The Sock Lady (Sturgeon Bay Winter Farmers’ Market) - 920.743.7750  or Facebook @baypoplc
    • Alpaca to apparel (Fish Creek) - 920.536.1394                 www.alpacatoapparel.com
    • Door County Alpaca (Sturgeon Bay) - 920.746.4020 or Facebook @doorcountyalpaca


On the Third Day of Christmas… [three French hens]


On the Fourth Day of Christmas… [four calling birds]
  

On the Fifth Day of Christmas… [Five golden rings]


On the Sixth Day of Christmas… [six geese-a-laying]


On the Seventh Day of Christmas… [seven swans-a-swimming]


On the Eighth Day of Christmas… [eight maids-a-milking]
  • Maid, House cleaning
    • Door County Cleaning & Maintenance (Baileys Harbor) -920.559.7535  www.doorcountycleaning.com
    • Ahnapee Hill Cleaning (Sturgeon Bay) - 920.743.8312       http://ahnapeehillcleaning.com/
    • Mi Casa Door County (Sturgeon Bay) - 920.559.9905 or Facebook @micasasucasadoorcounty
    • Harmanny Green Cleaning (Forestville) - 920.615.8100  or Facebook @HarmannyGreenCleaning
    • Sue Dahms (Sturgeon Bay) - 920.495.6461
    • Amber Sternard (Sturgeon Bay) - 920.495.7440
  • Milk Frother
  • Milk Products


On the Ninth Day of Christmas… [nine ladies dancing]
  • Dance Lessons - Miss Andria’s Dancin’ on the Door
  • Anything from Dancing Bear (Sturgeon Bay) - 920.746.5223 www.dancingbearshop.com
  • Line Dancing
  • Robin Jay Music Shop (Founder’s Square, Fish Creek) - 920.868.1600 ???
  • **Idea: Flash mob of people dancing - no purchase necessary


On the Tenth Day of Christmas… [ten lords-a-leaping]


On the Eleventh Day of Christmas… [eleven pipers piping]


On the Twelfth Day of Christmas… [twelve drummers drumming]
  • Drum-making workshop
    • Chief Oshkosh (Egg Harbor) - 920.868.3240 or Facebook @ChiefOshkosh
  • Comedian (w/ rimshot? – it’s a stretch, but it’ll work!)

If you discover something else to add to this list, or if any changes need to be made, please reach out by email - shepherd_pg@yahoo.com, or by phone 920.743.7750

Thank you, and on behalf of the Door County Visitor Center and the local businesses, we hope you enjoy the Twelve Days of Christmas this holiday season!

How Long?

Back in May, I joined a group of 8th graders on a tour of Washington, DC. Among the memorials, monuments and museums were the grave markers of Arlington Cemetery. It’s impressive and humbling to look at the rows of white, and, then even more so, to look closer at the names – some we know (by fame or family) and many we have never met.
War is a word we learn at a young age. Some of you are or know veterans of our nation’s conflicts abroad. Still others serve in their home country, but are away from spouses and families. The multiple deployments and training demands take their toll on the resiliency of our forces. King David’s lament in Psalm 6 could easily come from the lips of any soldier, sailor, airman, marine or coast guardsman: “How Long? How Long, O LORD?”
When our children ask that question, it’s a matter of impatience. They are just too antsy to wait: for Christmas, for sleeping over at Grandma’s, or for their tooth to fall out. For many, in more serious situations, it’s a matter of desperation. It’s an anxious time of not knowing. “How Long, O LORD?” And, in those situations, we really want it to be done and over with right now!
King David, a warrior who led many military campaigns, isn’t the only one who ever asks this question. And, when David cries out, he isn’t just a little bit annoyed with something. He’s not swatting mosquitoes while grilling a steak and drinking a beer over Memorial Day Weekend. He’s in outright anguish and agony as he waits for God to deliver him. What he knows is that he can’t make it better on his own. He can’t get away from it. He’s desperate for God to make things right.
Our military men and women today ask likewise. Deployments are lengthy. Our troops feel alone, surrounded by other lonely people. I can only imagine the weariness that battle-readiness might cause, as the daily search for strength to go on brings despair instead.
The Bible says that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual realm. That’s true, but I firmly believe that when we are worn down in one, we are more susceptible in the other.
How does God respond? When we cry out to Him on the battle field in a foreign land, or in our living room locking horns with our teenagers, we want to know how long this is going to go on! How does God respond?
He responds as He always has - He actually speaks. Sometimes, through a military chaplain or pastor, but often through a friend. The words remind us of a hope we can find – not in ourselves and in our conquests, but in Christ and His Spirit who give strength when our strength fails. When our flesh is weak and our blood is shed, it’s Christ’s shed blood and Christ’s risen body that give us hope!
If the message of Jesus Christ’s sacrificial death is a good one for us, it’s an excellent one for those who are willing to sacrifice for others – to know that Jesus Himself has been in battle, has been alone, and has conquered what many fear most.
“How long, O Lord?” isn’t always a waiting forever question.
Whether we are soldiers or citizens of this country, we have no intentions of a forever existence here. We ask “how long” and we do our duty for God and country, but we really long for the day when we are no longer waiting for the next thing: not a new tour of duty, not the next expedition, not even Friday night when the whistle blows. We wait, sometimes patiently, for Christ to make His long-awaited return in glory.
And that, too, will be a day of battle. Christ’s final defeat of the evil in the spiritual realm, and our deliverance from death. Our bodies raised to new life. Our image, restored – for “how long?” Dear child of God, it will be forever and ever, in the perfect peace of Christ’s nearer presence.

Come Close


“We love because God first loved us.” This is a true statement, but there are other things that we do because God did them first, and made us in His image, to be like Him. We love, we create, we forgive, we serve, and, according to 2 Corinthians, we comfort or console because God has first comforted us.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers…” But, he’s not writing to share information. He’s writing to share his life, whatever it might include. He writes about difficulties. He writes of comfort, rejoicing, longing, mourning, zeal, grief, and regret…with tears, affliction, anguish, and abundant love. These are themes of our daily lives. Lives that are real, raw and messy. Lives that feature pain, death and grief – as well as healing, life and consolation. He pours out his heart and invites the Corinthian church into his world…not to feel badly for him, but to share the load.

Consolation. Para-kaleo. To call close.

Musician Christa Wells tells the story behind her song “Come Close Now.” About grief, it’s like "Being in this room upstairs in a house that is burning down and I'm strapped in a chair. And outside this house there are all these people running around with fire hoses and ladders and sirens and they are trying to fix it and make it better but I'm still alone up in this room. Eventually one, maybe two, people just quietly make their way up the front walk and they open the front door of the house and they walk up to this room that I'm in and they pull up a chair beside me and they sit down and they just sit in the burn with me." – Dan Walser, To Make a Life

Consolation isn’t about rescue, or about saying the right words to make somebody feel better. It’s not about moments of laughter in the midst of suffering. It’s about proximity. It’s about coming close.  You can be in a fishing boat, or taking a walk, sitting down to dinner, or having a beer, and be doing exactly the kind of thing Jesus did when He came close to His disciples.  

Let’s be conscious about coming close to one another. Let’s enjoy and share this life together. Might as well start now, since we’ll be together for eternity, too!

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Crazy Love


A comedian got a few laughs by suggesting that love ranks on the “crazy scale” just after insanity and psychosis. I heard it and snickered for a moment before realizing the truth behind it. Love defies logic, unless getting hurt is high on your list of priorities.

The problem is that we love imperfect people and imperfect things that are bound to fail us. But, then, that’s all we have. Things break or get worn out. People forget or get tired. No created thing or being is 100% reliable.

Lucy and John both recognize the lingering pain and inevitable challenges they face. Entering into a relationship, Lucy noted, means accepting the possibility of losing your partner. “If you are lucky enough,” she said, “you will be devastated when they die. Willingly entering that feels gutsy, but what else could you choose?” – When Breath Becomes Air

Football fans know disappointment, too. But, every season we follow the hype and cheer for a team whose season will end in a loss.

There’s a great deal of risk in love. The return isn’t guaranteed. It’s not even probable, if you’re into statistics. So, the comedian makes us laugh, but maybe this isn’t so funny. Love often hurts. It even hurts God Himself, because He loves His imperfect creation.

But, love also heals.

The love of another human lifts spirits, gives hope and inspires peace for a time. The love of God does all of that into eternity. His love never fails, never gives up and never runs out(to quote Jesus Culture), which is absolutely necessary when we keep pouring our love into the other cracked pots of creation. God continues to pour out His healing love into us.

When God tells us to love our neighbor, He isn’t asking us to feel a particular way, but to act. He’s telling us to pour out our love for the sake of that other human, and expect nothing in return. Love doesn’t need gratitude and it doesn’t get compensation. Loving others doesn’t fill your heart and soul. Being loved does.

God does His part, loving us perfectly, unconditionally, and unendingly. It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Today, as you dare to love, may God’s love fill you to overflowing.


When You Have Eaten



When does the “thanks” part come in? Maybe more importantly to consider: When does it stop? When is thanksgiving done?

Many traditions feature a few moments of recognition…naming the tangible and spiritual blessings that come to mind before diving into dinner. At some point, when it’s time to eat, the family looks like they’ve been deprived of food for weeks. Soon enough, the animal that gave his life for a few is no longer recognizable…his turkey-ness is gone.

Look, the turkey starts off running around the farm until he gets his head chopped off and dies. Still a turkey? Oh, yes. Feathers next. Still a turkey? Yep. Guts – gone. Still a turkey. You go to the store to buy, “a turkey.” You cook, “the turkey.” You eat, “the turkey.”

But, after supper, it’s, “the carcass.” His turkey-ness is gone.

And, so often…the “thanks” part of Thanksgiving goes the way of the turkey.

Where does our praise and thanksgiving go after the Thanksgiving Service? Why do our hearts, that feels so full in that moments before feasting, find itself empty again? For other gifts we receive, where does the hand-written or heart-felt thank-you go after the gift has been opened…or eaten? “Thank you” comes easily in that moment we open the gift and first hold that special token of love. It’s just that sometimes, after we’ve received, we forget.

The Biblical book of Deuteronomy 8:10 says, “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord…”

This serves as a reminder to do the thing we don’t do naturally. The thing we neglect when our bellies are full. It’s an appeal to not only count your blessings as we usually do, but to also recount them – remember them and tell the story of God’s goodness and grace, even after the turkey is long gone.

Happy Thanksgiving! And, remember: Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.

Start Stopping Traffic



"A Human Life Is Not an Object"
"Human Trafficking Is Modern Day Slavery"
"This Could Be Your Daughter: Stop Human Trafficking"

With Easter coming in a few short weeks, Christians are ready to celebrate the pinnacle Holy Day of the year: Jesus Christ rising from the dead. I'm looking forward to the big crowd at church and singing the hymns that proclaim the glory of our God!

But, this year I'll be hearing familiar Easter praise in a new light. Human trafficking has come to the forefront of my mind - not because it's in the news in far-off places, but because there are cases in the USA, in Wisconsin, in Door County, in Sturgeon Bay. Phrases like, "No Longer Slaves" and "Redeemed" mean something different when we live in a world where people are physically stolen, sold, bought, and used. 

The Hebrew Passover (March 23 - March 30 this year) commemorates the night when millions of slaves were freed from Egypt and the physical cruelty they endured there. The Christian Easter celebration (April 1 this year) calls Jesus "Redeemer," because He bought us out of slavery to sin, to be free in the Spirit of God.

Christians should be on the front lines of this fight against human trafficking. It's our story. It's our life. It's our Gospel. It's our hope. "Slaves Set Free" is a phrase that should resonate for us, because that's who we are. 

End Human Trafficking (Presentation): Thursday, March 22 at 6:00pm, St. Joseph's Church
Stopping Traffic (Film & Panel Discussion): Monday, April 2 at 6:00pm, Prince of Peace Church

Be part of the solution. Start Stopping Traffic