The Un-commercial

In our long search for something to help us keep our weight down, Cathy and I became interested in a company others were using to help with their health. The company is Plexus. We asked questions, learned what we could, decided to become “Ambassadors”, and started using Plexus products.

That was a little over three years ago. Before we began, I was…

• exercising regularly (walking 5K most days).
• eating healthy (at least 4 cups of low/no sugar or carb veggies nearly every day) and limiting desserts to once a week (twice at the most except during holidays).
• still slowly gaining weight.
• struggling to keep my bad cholesterol down and good cholesterol up. (Every check up with our doctor of over 30 years contained the following: “Your good cholesterol is too low and your bad cholesterol is too high. You could stand to lose some weight.” I thought it was a recording he made back in medical school and lip synced it just for my entertainment.)

Back in April of this year, while we were on a wonderful vacation, I was exercising every day (stationary recumbent bike for 20 minutes, light workout with weight machines, and walking 5K) when my left knee started becoming sore. I immediately stopped exercising. It has been getting worse ever since.

This morning, I went for my 6 month visit with our doctor.

• My weight was not a concern.
• The bad cholesterol was lower than ever.
• My good cholesterol was higher than ever.
• Every part of my blood work was very good.
• I told him I hadn’t exercised in 4 months because my knee hurt.
• He sent me for x-rays. (I should find out something tomorrow.)

In all honesty, Cathy does the work (the Plexus business). I have personally experienced the results in my own life. Besides the cholesterol and weight issues, I no longer have bronchitis and sinusitis at least twice a year and I have stopped needing to take Mucinex-D twice a day.

If you would like to know how Plexus can help you, please contact Cathy. She is genuinely interested in helping you and is becoming quite a fountain of information.

As a pastor, I have tried to avoid anything that might be seen as a possible conflict of interest. I will continue to do so. I will not use my position to promote a business and my position is a 24/7 responsibility. That is why I refer you to my wife for information on how Plexus might be able to help you. For issues of a greater and more permanent nature, i.e. eternity, God, your purpose in life, etc., I would be happy to talk with you or refer you to someone who lives close to you.

I'm Not Crazy!

(No, unlike Sheldon, my mother did not have me tested.)

For as long as I can remember, certain sounds have triggered very intense stress and tension in me. The primary sounds that inexplicably irritate me come from other people eating and drinking, specifically crunching or chomping, smacking, gulping (swallowing air along with liquids), and, to a lesser extent, slurping or loud sipping. Sounds pretty childish, doesn’t it? It is also potentially harmful to relationships, especially when the sounds are coming from people you love more than your own life.

During my adult years, I came to understand that the problem was not with others. Oh sure, I thought people could eat and drink less like pigs at the trough, but it was obvious to me that I had a problem because no one else seemed to be ready to go into an uncontrollable rage over such ordinary, seemingly innocuous, and apparently unavoidable sounds. As a boy, I disciplined my self to learn how to drink without swallowing air, thus eliminating the gulping sound. I felt others were just lazy and inconsiderate because they wouldn’t do the same. As an adult, I realized that this was rather obsessive by everyone else’s standards.

So, I just tried to cope with those sounds as well as I could. For instance, music or the television is always on when it’s meal time or when we are having snacks. Restaurants are usually safe because of all the ambient noise which drowns out the sounds that set me off. But none of the coping mechanisms countered my self-deprecation.

Then, on February 7, 2018, one of my dear former youth posted a link on Facebook to an article. That article caused me to search for other articles because they were talking about me. And I’m not alone! I’m not crazy! There’s even a name for it: Misophonia. I suffer from Misophonia. It wasn’t even identified until 2000 or 2001. It's not even included as a word at dictionary.com. It has also been identified as “selective sound sensitivity syndrome.”

An article in nytimes.com (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/03/health/sounds-people-hate.html) states, “In a report on the latest study published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, the neuroscientists say that brain scans of misophonia sufferers show that particular sounds, like eating and drinking, cause the part of their brain that processes emotions, the anterior insular cortex, to go into overdrive.” The study of it seems to be fairly new and there is a lot to be learned. For instance, I can’t recall anything remarkably negative about my wonderful childhood (loving parents, siblings, grandparents, etc.) but the nytimes.com article quotes Dr. Sukhbinder Kumar who states, “We think that misophonia may be heavily connected to recalling past memories, because people with misophonia have had very bad experiences.” Hmm. I think more research is needed. Or maybe I have still not adequately dealt with having my birthday overlooked on the day we were moving into a new house. (That would be very childish on my part.) Or my siblings, cousins, etc. owe me an apology. I like that one: Blame my siblings and cousins!

2017-2018 Family Letter (aka Annual Christmas Letter)

Jim & Cathy

We Are Grandparents

and Other Less Important Information

The Very Short Version

• We adore our THREE precious, wonderful, incredible, beautiful, heart stealing grandchildren!
• All three kids and kids-in-love are in their 30s and busy.
• We are still living in Port Orchard and serving at Kitsap Lake Baptist Church in Bremerton.
• Our folks are pretty old now and we’re catching up with them!
• We love vacations and think they are too few and far between.
• We continue our gardening among raised beds and dwarf fruit trees.
• We now have our Medicare cards (so speak up).
• We will be offline April 5-22 but don’t worry. We will be just fine! 

__________________________________________________________

The Less Short Version

They have stolen our hearts!

Selah Grace Marie turned two on October 27. Emma Lynn Marie was born on June 17. Both girls belong to Aaron and Denise.
Levi James was born on August 8. He belongs to David and Jordan.

On being grandparents…

WOW! WOW! WOW! If we had known how great it was going to be, we may have started with the grandkids. It was tempting to just post family pictures in this letter, starring Selah, Emma, and Levi like this one with my parents. It was taken the day after Christmas. For those who wonder: Dad and Mom are doing pretty good for being 92 and 88. Here they are with our three treasures.

They are real adults! 

Adolescence begins at puberty and ends when a person fully assumes adult responsibilities. We have been the proud parents of real adults for some time now and are thankful for phones, etc.

The run down…

Aaron, Denise, Selah Grace Marie, and Emma Lynn Marie (grandchildren get to have their full names listed) Gantenbein live  just 15 minutes away. Aaron works at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton and Denise has recently become a stay-at-home mom, taking care of Selah and Emma.

Shane and Alison Calhoun have embraced the coast of Northern California after moving from Phelan, California earlier in the year. Now, they are just a quick 10 hour drive from us (8 hours closer). Shane is on faculty at Humboldt State University in Arcata and Alison works with special needs students.

David, Jordan, and Levi James Gantenbein live in “warm” Phoenix AZ, just a short 23 hour drive from us (plus stops). Flying is so much quicker. Either way, Phoenix is HOT! David works with Students (Youth) at Foothills Baptist Church. Jordan works, too, but lives to come home to Levi (and David).

A family Christmas…

Although the kids didn’t come “home” for Christmas this year, they did something even better. Everyone travelled to Eugene, Oregon on Christmas Day where we were able to stay together, play together, pray together, and get together with most of Jim’s sisters’ clan (Nancy). The trip provided several special opportunities for my folks to spend time with their youngest great grandchildren. (BTW, in two more months, they will be great, great grandparents!)

For Gantenbein and Poppino relatives, here are most of us who gathered the day after Christmas.

We have other family, too. Our kids aren’t the only ones who married up. I set the example by marrying into the Van Scyoc household. Cathy was able to return to Enid in December for a visit with members of her family, especially Mom who resides in a Christian Senior Adult Living community and continues to live with worsening dementia. Nevertheless, my godly and caring 92 year old mother-in-law continues to have a sweet spirit and loves singing familiar hymns of praise. 

Moving Forward

“When will you retire?” With over 31 years working for the City of Tacoma, we are both looking forward to her retirement sometime before 2020. She’s already working at developing our new business as Plexus Ambassadors, helping people who want to improve their health!

Currently, I (Jim) do not have plans to retire. However, I am fully aware that the time will come when I will not be physically (and/or mentally) capable of serving as the Pastor of a congregation. Until God directs, I will continue trying to make and help develop disciples of Jesus.

Both of us are looking forward to a wonderful time of rest and relaxation as we sail away on the Disney Wonder with stops in the Bahamas, Caribbean, Panama Canal, Central America, and Mexico. 

Woah! I almost forgot the garden. Here is a quick photo from this very successful past season:

Now to close with the latest picture of our family…

We thank God for our family and friends. It is our hope and prayer that you experience the most wonderful year of your life by living it immersed in the love of our Savior Jesus Christ!

In His love,

Jim and Cathy

When God Isn't Enough

Christians, followers of Christ, believers, children of God… We know who we are. We are born again, saved, redeemed, reconciled to God, forgiven, predestined for Heaven, and the recipients of eternal life. Not only that, we have “Heaven on Earth” as the Holy Spirit lives within us. He is all we need. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”

We are very capable of telling others how much our relationship with God means to us and that He is our “very present help in times of trouble.” They may be slaves of the world but our treasures are in Heaven. Their hope is in material gain or power but our hope is in Him who carries us through every trial and tribulation.

Until God isn’t enough.

And that seems to be the case more and more. I have a lot of friends (hundreds on Facebook alone) and many, if not most, are card carrying Christians. Yet, in increasing quantities, the testimony I read in posts is this: When life gets you down, when the stress of the work day has piled high, when you need to unload and catch a moment of peace… (this is where the title comes into play) …you don’t go to God in prayer or sit in a quiet place reading His Word. No, in times like this, God clearly isn’t enough, or at least He isn’t preferred. So don’t bend your knees, just bend your elbow. Don’t find a encouraging word in the Bible, just follow an enticing recipe that uses enough alcohol. Hallelujah?

I know the Bible says don't get drunk but it doesn't prohibit drinking a little wine. I know Jesus performed His first public miracle by turning water into wine. But nowhere does it even slightly suggest that we should use alcohol or any other substance to relieve our stress, calm our fears, forget our worries, or anything else He wants to in us.

But perhaps that’s just me. You're sure Jesus understands and is perfectly okay with it, right? So, I’ll let Him have the last word.

"So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." (Revelation 3:16)

Decisive or Divisive… or Both?

While preparing to preach a sermon from 1 Corinthians 4:20, I read the following commentary on vv.14-21. It is copied with the citation at the bottom. I think it is safe to say that the second paragraph — "Before we trace…" — would make an "interesting" discussion starter in a group representing various denominations.
____________________________

7. Fathers and children (4:14–21)

In verse 14 Paul seems to recognize that he has been verging on sarcasm in the previous paragraph, and he pulls himself up by assuring the Corinthians that he is not trying to make you ashamed, not in any wrong way. He is not averse to arousing in them a proper sense of shame,21 but here he emphasizes that he is speaking as a father to his beloved children (14).

  Before we trace the way in which Paul sees himself as a father to the Christians at Corinth, it is necessary to stress that he does not see it as an authority-position, let alone as one invested with status. He would have known the words of Jesus himself: ‘Call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven … He who is greatest among you shall be your servant.’22 The way the title ‘Father’ is given to, and accepted by, the ordained ministers of certain denominations flies in the face of this teaching. Indeed, many other sections of the church often manifest a paternalistic, over-dominant style of leadership, even if they do not use the title ‘Father’. The folk-religion which lies behind this is not nearly so serious as the unbiblical theology which gave rise to and still endorses such an understanding of status and authority in the church. This false teaching is arguably the strongest barrier to the growth and health of the church in our day. It affects church unity, evangelism, worship, lay ministry, the ministry of women, theological training. Indeed, virtually every aspect of the mission of God’s church is hampered, so long as this anti-Christian view of leadership in the church is perpetuated.

Positively, Paul sees himself as father to the Christians at Corinth (and particularly to Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, verse 17) in the sense that he proclaimed the gospel to them and was, therefore, responsible on a human level for their faith in Christ. Like any father, and because children always copy their father, he has striven to set them an example in daily life of the behaviour expected of Christians; I urge you, then, be imitators of me (16). Timothy’s task was to remind them of Paul’s ways in Christ (17). This consistent example was number one priority for Paul wherever he went (as I teach them everywhere in every church, 17). It underlines the vital importance of exemplary behaviour in the daily lives of all called to leadership in the church. The Corinthians had not seen Jesus in the flesh: they had no Bible; but they had seen Paul (cf. 11:1). Many others had pointed the way to Christ,23 but he was the first to come all the way to them with the gospel: I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel (15).

It is, then, as their father that Paul now promises to come to them. When the father has been absent from his family for some time, he wants to come home with love in a spirit of gentleness (21), not with a rod. Many of those in Corinth whom he had brought to faith in Christ were now behaving in an arrogant and boastful way, writing off him and his ministry and causing great trouble and division in the church. Paul’s fatherly heart was deeply hurt by this behaviour and something of that pain can be gauged by his comments elsewhere: ‘My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!’24

Children often make loud claims in a boastful way: it is a reflection of their immaturity. There is a lot of talk, and not very much power to put the big words into action. So Paul ends these two chapters in the same mood as he began—with a strong (and strongly-felt) plea to the Corinthians to stop boasting and to grow up: the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power (20). He does not often use this phrase the kingdom of God, so common in the Synoptic Gospels; but, when he does, it always refers to fundamentals. He does not ever explain its meaning; he accepted it as the heart of the gospel—and proclaimed it day by day.25

David Prior, The Message of 1 Corinthians, The Bible Speaks Today; ed. John R. W. Stott; Accordance electronic ed. (Downers Grove.: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 67-69.

Almost a Nickel

If memory serves correctly (it still does once in a while), I have already posted my two cents worth regarding the current political melee. Since this is an additional comment on that subject, I figure I am up to "almost a nickel."

I have read or listened to many who are saying, in essence, that the only valid choice a biblical Christian has in this election is to vote for Trump. It is, at its bare bones, the insistence that no candidate is perfect but Trump will not do as much harm as Clinton so we are spiritually obligated to vote for him. The arguers of this stance even toss in scriptures, albeit none that specifically address the requirement to vote for the "lesser of two evils." However, they do postulate that their opinion is the authoritative word on the matter.

So, in an attempt to offer some balance, here are some scriptures to chew on ("meditate on" if that sounds more spiritual), beginning with three from Romans 14 (I am using different translations in an attempt to gain at least a measure of the criticism Rick Warren regularly receives.):

Romans 14:1 "Welcome those who are weak in faith, but do not argue with them about their personal opinions." (GNT)
Romans 14:4 "What right do you have to criticize someone else's servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right." (CEV)
Romans 14:23 "Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin." (ESV)
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 "Don't fool yourself. Don't think that you can be wise merely by being up-to-date with the times. Be God's fool—that's the path to true wisdom. What the world calls smart, God calls stupid. It's written in Scripture, 'He exposes the chicanery of the chic. the Master sees through the smoke screens of the know-it-alls." (MSG)
1 Corinthians 10:31 "Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (NIV)
2 Timothy 2:4 "As Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in worldly affairs, for then you cannot satisfy the one who has enlisted you in his army." (TLB)

What it boils down to, for me anyway, is this: I am seeking to be led by the Holy Spirit who convicts and convinces us of what is pleasing to God and I believe there are a lot of people trespassing on His territory.

P.S. Please, do not assume you know for whom I am or am not voting. This was not about the candidates at all but rather those who assume they are God's 2016 Presidential Election prophets.

Growing Pains

I do not like pain. Really. I do not like it. But they say pain serves a purpose: Pain tells us when something is wrong. Pain also occurs when drastic steps have been taken to fix something that was wrong. Everyone who has ever gone through major surgery understands this.

You face double the pain when the two come together and that is bound to happen for anyone seeking to live a Christlike life. First, there is the pain of identifying something specifically wrong with your life in spirit, thought, and/or deed. Sometimes the error is so deeply engrained that it is a tangible part of what defines you. Next is the pain that comes with making a clear, meaningful, and permanent correction. Then, and only then, healing and recovery can occur.

Here is an example in down-to-earth terms: 

1. We love God and we love our country.

2. No matter how many good people immigrate into our country, some bad ones slip in, too, and it only takes a few of the bad guys to do a lot of damage (witness 9-11-01).

3. A conflict arises (or should) when we seek to be Christlike but desire to "protect" our country by turning away immigrants because some might do us harm (rather than recognizing where our real safety lies as revealed in 2 Chronicles 7:14).

4. You have to make a decision to be totally Christlike or seek a worldly solution to national security. 

It isn't pretty but it is true. Denial only cancels the hope of change and healing.

Final note: I am not a fan of the modern Episcopal Church. But I do have respect for a recent stand they have taken and thank Tom Wiles* for sharing it. You can read it here.

*Tom Wiles is Executive Minister for the American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island. We were also roommates our Senior year at Oklahoma Baptist University. I had the great privilege of having his mother-in-law, Marilyn Bryant, as pianist when I served in my first staff position out of college at First Baptist Church, Lindsay, OK.