Parts of the Church

So, does anyone realize it has been a month since my last post?

Well, I have not forgotten you but I just didn't have anything to say.

Now, that may come as a shock to most, but sometimes I just don't have a pulpit to stand in. I think the drought is over and I wish to talk about a subject that is utterly disgusting but allowed by most churches.

Stealing from their employees.

Every church I have been involved with, the congregation thought it prudent to pay their employees as little as possible. They thought that being a good steward of money meant they should keep as much money for the "missions" of the church as they could. With the money, they would build new buildings, start new outreach programs, and furnish their sanctuaries with state of the art equipment, all at the expense of their employees and their families.

As the son of a Baptist pastor, I can tell you some horror stories of money disputes and salary disagreements. Most of you have seen them and it would be a waste so time, so I'll spare you. But the point I make here is that those people took away from their employees what God intended them to spend on their people.

It is no wonder those churches always have money problems. God simply cuts off the flow of money to the church until the church decides to pay the employees back.

Churches should pay their employees the same as anyone else. If your pastor has a PhD, it is not unreasonable for his salary to be equal with a college professor. If your secretary has a business support degree, she or he should expect to be paid comparable to Administrative people in the business world. Accountants and bookkeepers should expect to be paid the same as their secular counterparts.

I dare you. I dog dare you. No, I double-dog, eye-ball swear dare you to suggest this in a church business meeting.

Paying workers in a church should a joy to every member of a church. It should be the goal of every member to make sure the workers in their church are free from worries and strife that goes with money problems, health insurance problems, and where the money will come from when they retire.

Bank on it.

Overview

For those that haven't figured it out, yet, I have been trying to make sure that what I do to build a church is to support a community. One of the saddest moments I've experienced lately was the understanding that many pastors today want to build a church in hopes a community will emerge inside of it. This is wrong. It is upside down.

By wrong I mean this is the best way to destroy an existing church and to make sure a new church never exists. What needs to happen to start a church is that you need to build a community and the church will emerge from its foundation.

In most nudist communities, you will find that there are the basic materials for building a community. There are people with a common interest. There is a sense of belonging to the group. Most of the time, you will find that the community already exists. It may be broken, fixable, or working out wonderfully, but there usually is some type of community building in any group like ours.

The problem with trying to grow a church where there is no sense of community is that the church will be fragmented. It will suffer from all kinds of ills that can't be fixed without uniting the people into a community with similar goals, similar values, and similar beliefs. they won't function. They won't do the jobs they are supposed to do; heal the sick, feed the poor, and care for the poor in spirit.

A fragmented church will never be viewed as an asset to the people. They will be seen as a puzzle before it is assembled, useless and not pleasant looking.

A community so united and so empowered will have a church spring to life in their midst. No force on earth will be able to stop God's plan if we have done our job in building the community. In this way, the church will be a blessing to the community, and will be viewed as such.

so, what are your thoughts? How can we build our communities to make the nudist world spring a church in its midst?

till next time...

Fun times in email

It has been a while since I received a few emails encouraging me to eternal damnation, long stays in limbo, or perdition. I have almost grown accustomed to the peace and quiet of a lonely mailbox filled with ways to increase my libido, enlarge my boobs, or some new fad in dating. But lately, thanks to some new advertising of my latest book out in e-book form, I have the joy of reading through a few questions and you have the honor of sitting through my rants as I find new and better ways to irritate the textile masses.

The latest asked the simple question "why?". Why would I want to start churches in nudist communities? The logic was mostly flawless. It sounded good. It even had a ring of truth to it. We could simply meet at an already established church and help increase their numbers as opposed to building a block and separation between the two groups of people.

I must admit he had me thinking. It did separate the two groups, that is, the textiles were certainly not coming to the new church. The nudists would likely choose the church where they would not have to dress and leave the park. It seems that I was encouraging separation in the church body.

But, then I realized that the separation was already there. The textile churches were not going into the resorts and parks to visit or to involve themselves in the communities. They had already separated themselves from the church members at the resorts.

There is a small but distinct line between cutting out the herd and rounding up strays. Anyone who has seen any cowboy movies have seen cowboys riding and working with cows on screen and sometimes it is difficult to tell if they are separating them or rounding them up.

The best way to tell the difference is which one brings the cattle home and which one sends them to be slaughtered. Herding them into the pasture is a sure sign of bringing them home. Culling out a few and loading them in the truck might mean a one way trip for the cow.

Argument two goes a long way to hit me in the... well lower than my belt. "Don't we already have enough division in our midst?"

I have to agree. Christians are divided three ways to Sunday. Adding a different splinter group is taking us further away from the "become one" we often hear when we speak of the Christian body, the bride of Christ. The difference is that we are not really dividing here at all. We are establishing a beach head so that the Christians can minister to the nudist community in their midst. I am certain if the textiles want to come to the church, they would be welcome. AND probably more so than if a nudist, dressed properly, showed up at a textile church.

Funny how things have a way of rolling around. What are your thoughts?

Till we meet again.

Dysfunctional Church

For a week, I have received questions from some of the readers of this blog as to why I presume to offer advice about forming a church when there is so much advice available. Well, here is my answer.

First, there are way too many people giving poor advice.

Second, there is a need to form nudist churches in nudist communities.

Third, I felt led by God.

Now, you understand? I didn't think so, but I gave it a shot.

Let's slow down and try it again.

First, there is way too much poor advice about running a church. Most working churches have no real clue why they work. Most dysfunctional churches aren't aware they are dysfunctional until the church collapses into a grand mess. Having worked in several start up churches, some done properly and some not, it is easier to build a church when you start the basic functions correctly than it is to go back and fix them later. Offering some of my own mistakes and how to avoid them might just save some of you a whole heap of trouble later.

Second, there is a need to start nudist churches in nudist communities. The Great Commission sends us out into the missions field. It does not ask us to draw the people into some foreign place to learn about God. we need to be in the middle of the community where we can interact and become a part of their lives. We are responsible for the nudist communities' very souls.

Lastly, God told me to. I don't have proof. I don't have a note or some voice message on my cell phone to play for you. I offer no excuses nor do I require anyone to vet my intentions. You can take the last one on faith or pray for my healing. You decide.

There are just too many dysfunctional churches in the textile world. I don't want a repeat on the nudist side.

For those who want to follow along and help me help God build a Christian world in the nudist community, I thank you and keep on reading. I would also ask that you send a link to others located around the world who might be in a position to start working with new churches in the nudist communities. The more people we have reading, commenting and posting, the better our core knowledge of how to spread the word will be.

If this is not where God has you, I am fine if you follow His lead and spend the time you would be spending reading my blog in pursuit of what God has for you.

Thank you and God bless.

Allen

Labor of Love or Love of Labor

Most of us know a person who is always out there helping people. They are the first ones to show up at the work party at church. On cleaning day, they are cleaning everything in sight. And if there is a need in the community that can be remedied by hard work, they show up first to make sure they get their fair share.

I am not, by any means, trying to down grade these people. It is a wonderful thing to have a heart for service, but what about the rest of us. Could we possibly be the unwashed masses who never want to labor over some poor guys toilet because he can't do it himself?

People who are gifted with a heart for service are special. They don't mind toting the barge line or lift the bales of hay into the loft. In fact, some get their greatest pleasure out of a life of service. They possess a love of labor. In their case, labor is its own reward.

The rest of us are people who labor to labor. It is a chore to force ourselves to spend hours scrubbing toilets at the local shelter. We despise the mornings at church cleaning up after a teen weekend lock-in. It is a labor of love.

For those in the labor of love category, we generally feel bad by the long hours the labor party spends. They show us up. They makes us look bad for our pittance of labor we expend on those projects.

Fear not, however. We can invoke the widow's mite rule. It is not something we were gifted with and therefore, we are only expected to expend what God gave us. This means we do what we can with a cheerful heart and get out of the way of the real laborers.

Sounds easy, doesn't it?

Well, no. How many of us would gladly accept a position of deacon in our church, knowing we are not going o do a good job at the labor involved with the task. These are the tasks of our deacons. As one might have noticed in our churches lately, the job of deacon has morphed into a cushy job where our deacons act more like ministerial staff than workers. But that was not the intention of the position of deacon.

Deacons need to be workers. They need to strive to keep the church on the path of physical health and wealth. (Note: not monetary wealth, but an abundance of riches, both in spirit and in life.) These are physical needs that must be resolved before a church can be healthy. When we, the unlabor people, fill those slots, we take away from the labor pool and leave the deacon board a mess.

Our churches today need to fill our deacon board with the people who love to do physical labor so that those of us who are the spiritual leaders can do the job we were built to do.

I have a special affection for those people who enjoy labor and are rewarded by their actions. I can sit and watch them work for hours on end, without even breaking a sweat. For those people, I have the utmost respect. Two salutes for the true deacons of our church.

Till next time.

No Title Today

In a sense, there is a need for Christians to enter politics. It is important that men of good faith and strong conviction be the leaders of our country. Their policies and the basis for those should be a matter of public record and our leaders should not be ashamed of placing their faith at the forefront of their responsibilities to our country. We should be able to know for a fact that a Christian sponsored a bill and the why just by reading the text of the legislation.

In another sense, there is a need for nudists to enter politics. We need men and women of courage to stand up for the rights of humans and to force our fingerprints onto legislation that would free us to enjoy our lifestyle just as others have found their freedom in the land of opportunity.

If this prospect is a little scary, welcome to my world.

I find the recent crop of politicos running our country to profess freedom and hope and peace. I don't see it. I see division and a whole bunch of yesterday's politics sitting on the desks of every Senator and Congressman in Washington. I find the ads for the Governor's job to be filled with the last great evil in hopes of convincing me each one is the lesser of two evils. I have had it. I want out.

Give me a King, again. At least he will fear the 3 million guns roaming the countryside. At least we would have an accountability system, tried and true for many centuries, that the King would listen to.

Each time I go to my local county seat to discuss business, I feel like I should wear old clothes, look poverty stricken, and hide my wallet. Even is this depressed economy, the county is looking to take every last dime of money to the people who are trying to keep their employees working. It may sound funny, but the governments of the USA are diametrically opposed to a sound work environment.

With all this around us, perhaps a nudist King is our answer. He would spend most of his time sunning on the back lawn and the world would care less if we work or play.

So, I volunteer to be king. Someone peel me a grape.

New blog recommendation

I have been meaning to talk to my co-pastor, John, about guest blogging here, but I failed to do so. Luckily for me, my shortcomings are usually stretched back in shape by John.

For those who would like to read a little about John, his insights, and some commentary ( I highly recommend this blog), zoom out to : http://altogetherjohn.blogspot.com/

The First Meeting

Advertise:

Make up some flyers to HANG on posts, sit on tables, or any place the owner of the resort or club will allow. It is important to speak with him about how and where you advertise. He must be willing to support your efforts. Never, ever, go door to door or placing flyers under the wipers on cars. This leads to hurt feelings, and resentment. Remember, your goal is to support and
engage the community.

Ask about placing an announcement in the newsletter. The task of letting the members know about the meeting will be easier if there is a newsletter going out to all the members, even if it is an online letter. If there isn't one, volunteer to do one for the part. Make you curch announcements small and in keeping with the other announcements so as to be fair to every group that participates.


IN THE DOOR

In a world where there are so many thoughts, beliefs, and understandings of Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, you can not assume anything. Meeting for the first time, especially in the nudist setting, will bring all kinds of beliefs, thoughts, and well, crackpots, out of the woods.

Crackpots here is a term of endearment used to describe a person with a sorted and unbalanced view of Christianity, such as all roads lead to heaven, the path to enlightenment will give you the peace you need to find heaven, everyone is saved, and the ever popular god would never send anyone to hell if he is a kind and gentle god.

Learning to settle these points will make for a wonderful handful of sleepless nights and a goodly sized ulcer. what you have to do is focus on the task.

Once the owner allows you to set up a meeting, pick a traditional time to meet. Sundays, early enough to allow for other activities afterward, is a great time. Most people recognize Sunday as a day of remembering their god, whether it is God or some other entity. Going early, such as 9:30 or so, allows the people to enjoy the meeting and not necessarily feel like they are missing anything.

Setting the time is important. Going too late, as we have said, means some will wander off to other activities. Going too early will mean people will oversleep. Finding that specific balance between too early and too late can be tricky, but there is usually a point where the whole process fits. Coordinating with the owner of the park will cut down on activity conflicts, but has the added advantage of engaging the owner in the church process.

Brass Tacks

No one wants to sit through one of the old fashioned tent meetings of the 1600's where a robed guy stood up front and spoke in a language no one understood. We certainly don't want that today. The meetings need to be styled so that everyone is comfortable about what is going on and the atmosphere is light, fun, and enticing, while at the same time, offering the messages God has for this group.

Think this is easy? So did I and I was wrong, too.

The trick is to spend the first meetings learning about the people coming to the group. find out what background they have, where they got their beliefs and especially here they stand. In some cases, you can just ask. Most of the time, you will have to work a little to bring out these details. On the first meeting, try a game or two. This will give you an idea of where people are in their walk and will help break the ice among te members.

Remember, some, if not most, will already be familiar to you. This is just to find out where they are in their walk.

The internet is filled with ice breaker games. Pick one or two and tailor the games to finding out information about the members.


Now, have fun.

Till next time...

On the Grounds

Let's review. We have found a place where we think God is ready for us to start a work, a church that would serve the needs of the community. Next, we became a member of the club and started interacting with the people of the park. We became known around and people have come to depend on us. So far, so good.

Next, we began to find out about people in need. We started gathering people and material means to help these people. Lastly, and most important, we found a partner to help us build this group of fledgling followers into a coherent strong entity willing to support the community and to help the people and the business live life more abundantly.

So, now what?

It is time to approach the park owner for permission to start a bible study or chapel service. You have the following going in your favor:

1. He trusts you. He has to. He let you help build a community in his club.
2. He sees a need for what you are doing. Helping others is really hard to argue with.
3. God is on your side. Who can stand against God?
4. If you have gotten this far with the plan, God has already prepared the owner for this and he is ready to say yes.

Now, all you need is to approach him with the idea of forming a chapel and laying out what your plans are for the community and the chapel. Remember, it is your plan, but it is the one God is setting before you.

Prayer at this point is pivotal. Learning what God knows this park or resort needs is going to tell you how to go about building a church presence, a GOD presence in this club.

Till next time...

Oh, and thanks to all of you who are following along with this program.

Allen

Book Release

For those Kindle and Mobipocket people, my latest release, Nudist Among Us, will be released in ebook form on the 29th of July.

At $3.99 a copy, it is a pretty good savings over the 13 dollar book price. Amazon and Mobipocket both have advanced downloads available now. If you decided this to try it and enjoy it, I would appreciate a return to the store for a review.

Thanks and thanks for sitting through the commercial.

Getting to the Meet and Potatoes

So, now you are the social person of the park. Everywhere you go, you find others calling you by name and the spring cookout grill is always under your control. Now what?

Well, you are getting to the meat of the situation. You are meeting the people where they eat. What you have to do is meet people where they live.


The basic needs for all of us are simple; food, a place to sleep, and the comfort of someone who cares for us. The greatest need we have is for God to cover us in His glory. Once we have that, our needs will be met.

If you are wondering how this relates to our discussion, the result of meeting a person's need gives you a voice to that person. Not some clattering sound of God's love and promise of some future peace, but a special voice that those people will hear and take to heart.

Every park, resort, or club has some special need that must be met by someone. Whether there are people having financial troubles, hurt feelings, or a need for someone to organize the local carnival, the key to getting a say in the community is to start meeting the needs of the people around you.So, now you are the social person of the park. Everywhere you go, you find others calling you by name and the spring cookout grill is always under your control. Now what?

Well, you are getting to the meat of the situation. You are meeting the people where they eat. What you have to do is meet people where they live.


The basic needs for all of us are simple; food, a place to sleep, and the comfort of someone who cares for us. The greatest need we have is for God to cover us in His glory. Once we have that, our needs will be met.

If you are wondering how this relates to our discussion, the result of meeting a person's need gives you a voice to that person. Not some clattering sound of God's love and promise of some future peace, but a special voice that those people will hear and take to heart.

Every park, resort, or club has some special need that must be met by someone. Whether there are people having financial troubles, hurt feelings, or a need for someone to organize the local carnival, the key to getting a say in the community is to start meeting the needs of the people around you.

Sound like last post? No, it is a more intense and direct approach. What I am talking about here is a formal way of meeting the needs of others through a group involvement. Yup! Other people working with you to meet the needs of the community.

Remember wayyyyy back when, when I started talking about building a church in a community, I said that you should find a partner, a co-worker to work with? Now is the time to cement this relationship. You probably have met many people who could do the job, but what you want to find is who God has in mind. Prayer and advice from a trusted friend or spouse would be a great place to start.

The fun thing about two people looking for volunteerss is that you have someone to talk to when you are not getting anywhere. Keep this in mind when you are hitting hard spots.

Now, we are to the point of feet and pavement meeting.

Once you have identified a person or group in need, start to meet the need. If you need to raise money, do it discreetly. If someone needs help fixing a house or other task, put together a team and do it.

What you have now done is found your prospective church members. the people who you can help will be open to what you have to say. The people who are part of the solution will also be willing to follow along with you on this adventure.


Well, till we blog again...

The Location: A Beginning

Last post, we talked about finding the right place to start, a place where God wanted you and how to know where to begin. this post is about making the path to opening a church.

Nothing in the beginning will be easy. You will be under a microscope for much of the beginning. Everyone will watch to see if you are truly something different, or just some fly-by-night shyster who has come to grab a few dollars and run.

To be honest, the beginning starts long before anyone knows you are looking to plant a church at their location. Paul always found a way to be part of the community and we must do the same thing. We must be part of the community before we can start to make changes as drastic as adding a church.

The best advice ever given to me is to be so important to a community that they ask you to start the church. To do this you must first:

1. Join the club. Be a member and be active at all the functions.

2. Be productive. Make being part of the community a priority in your life, so much so that you become part of the infrastructure. Join committees. Show up for work days. Volunteer for open house days. Take small, under appreciated jobs and do them well.

3. Make a place for yourself at the club so that when members think of the club, your name is near the top.

4. Make a point to help people in need. This sounds like something that needn't be said, but we miss this too often. Feed the hungry. Visit the sick. Begin praying for the health and welfare of the club and community.

5. Become so known and respected that when you say you want to start a church meeting at the park, they can't find a reason not to let you.

One special note. If you look at what I am suggesting, you will see a definite pattern to the work. For those who wish to have a better understanding about this, re-read Acts. Spend some time reading about Barnabus and Paul. This is what they did. I think it worked well.

Till another time...

Male Stupidity Syndrome

In what I consider to be part of the natural universe, I often come across men doing stupid things. This weekend was one of those not so rare times when I get to see the male population as if I am not part of it and explore some of the more unintelligent life here on earth.

At an open house for a nudist resort, I was able to see a group of visitors who came to visit the nudist resort without their wives. I am not sure how most of the rest of the male population is wired, but I would no more go to a nudist venue without my wife than I would go without my towel. As I see it, the mere fact the guys left their wives at home is a break in their marriage vowels.

Of the many married males coming to the open house, most did not want to give us contact information in case of emergencies. Being that most of them would have their wives as their In Case Of Emergency contact, I can only assume that most married men were there without their spouses knowing what they were doing. This is a shame.

Although these men are not necessarily under the rules and laws of God, it does bode poorly for our nudist world when a husband would be willing to head off to a nudist resort without his wife.

First off, he can never take her to that resort or park. He has already been there. When he arrives and they ask him if he has been there before, he has to say, Yes. Once he does, his wife is going to know that he broke his faith with her and she is going to associate the park with that breach.

Second, if the husband wanted to investigate the resort before taking his wife there, and I think this is a good policy, he would have no problem giving us his emergency contact information. he is starting out a relationship with the park under the basis of a lie. He has broken trust with the park and by association, caused his wife to break trust with the park.

The one male syndrome I see that irritates me the most is the partner swap specifically to enter the nudist parks. A male finds a willing female, not his wife, to enter the resort with. Not only does he deceive the park, his wife, and any people he meets, he causes another woman to come between him and his wife.

I am not the keeper of all men. I am not responsible for their decisions, but I certainly am responsible to my community. These men should be ashamed for depriving their spouses of the beauty and life in our communities.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get down from the soap box and place it back in my closet.

How do the rest of you feel?

Standing on the Truth

Not everyone is supposed to start a nudist church. Some people are supposed to serve the textile world. Some are supposed to support the nudist pastors. And some are supposed to find their way in this world with a stiff upper lips and a frying pan sized dent in their forehead.

So, for the sake of argument, suppose all of us are ready to start a church. The first question you should be asking is where?

Where should I start this mission? The locations are numerous and the prospects of success are the same. If God wants you there, He will bless your ministry and the hard work you are about to begin will pay off. There are several points that make finding a good spot easier.

1. Is it close to home?
If you have to drive more than a few minutes to get to the mission field, you sill tire easily. There will be time when people are sick, dying, getting married, and needing to talk. Each time, you will have to travel in the area to meet these needs.

2. Is the management supportive?
If you can get the management to work with you, the battle is much easier. You will need a place to meet and most resorts have a club house. If you can use this space, you won't have to rent space. There will be not be any utilities, and the start up costs will be much lower.

3. Is there a need for your ministry?
Some places will not be open to the ministry. They won't want you to take part. This is the place God told us to shake the dust from our feet.

4. Can I make a difference in this location?
Finding a place in a community is important to your ministry. You have to be able to melt into the community and share their happiness, joy, and sorrow.


There are many other things that affect the decision as to where to locate, but these will help guide you into this process. For those wanting to take this task under their wings, let me suggest you spend a little time in Acts and Timothy and read about elders, bishops, and deacons. Know what you need to do and what your helpers need to do.

Ok, everyone have a location?

Claim them now.

I ask those of you who have people looking for a way to serve in one of these churches, but is not the person to lead, to pray and search out that leader.

From tracking this in google hits, I know we have about 75 people who read this blog. Of those, I suppose most have some resort or park they attend. If they do not, there may be one near them.

I figure every one of those 75 people have friends; let's say three, who are nudists at some other location. That means we have about 225 people who can suggest a location that coupld use a chapel and the fellowship that goes with it.

Let's see if we can come up with at least 5 valid locations where we can start to plan a church in their midst.

Now, for this to work, each person MUST respond with a comment to this blog. So, invite your friends. Research and find those locations. Make a joyful noise while you are doing it.

Or should I just sit down and shut up?

Till then.

Hold it! Don't pay the ransom! I escaped!!!!

No, not really. I just took a small break that lasted a little longer than I expected. I have been working on some other writings and needed the time to stop and reflect on where this blog should go.

I started out to document the process of starting a new program at a nudist church. I wanted it to be a primer for what one could do to make a church available at every single nudist location in the USA. To that end, I have made some good suggestions, but the blog still lacks the specific instructions needed. So, in case someone out there in the fog wants to start a nudist church, here we go.

Over the next few posts, I am going to write a primer how to get one started. If there are people out there who want to know my credentials for such an undertaking, read through and decide for yourself.

First, however, some caveats.

1. Not all locations are the same. What works at this resort might not work at yours. Be prepared to adapt.

2. Not everyone is called to this ministry. Some are called in the support side. If you are called to support a person starting a new mission, you have the hardest job and the one with little recognition. I fancy there will be special dispensation in heaven, but I can't promise you that.

3. Not all locations will be open to a chapel or church. Deal with it. Move on if you are truly chosen to start a work.

4. Never, and again I say Never let Satan stop you from your appointed task, no matter how hard the going gets.

5. The only people who succeed are the ones who are willing to be bold and be seen. If this isn't you, God might have other plans for you.

6. Not every post will deal with this. I will still digress often.

Now... For the first installment.

The decision to start a community gathering of Christians should start with why we gather. First, God commands us not to forsake the assembly of believers. There is a strength in coming together and socializing. We are creatures that need each other to survive. The belief that we need to offer a place to converge and hold fast to one another in support and comfort is paramount to the Christian lifestyle.

"For where two or three are gathered, there am I also." When we assemble, we are closer to The Son than we could ever be alone. What other reason could we need? Well, how about this.

Most nudist parks are deserts of church support. A church is an assembly of believers who come together as a traditional village. The church supports its members from the cradle to the grave. In our parks and resorts today, there usually isn't anyone to be with the family members in a spiritual way when a baby is born. Or when one of the community gets married. Or when there is a death in the family.

Nudist communities are devoid of the basic support systems necessary for the human experience, that of love, pain, hurt, and sadness. The emotions of our existence can be handles outside of a church, but it is the church's job to do these things.

So, how do you proceed here? Prayer.

1. Pray that you are the person to do these things.
2. Pray for the knowledge to handle these problems as they arrive.
3. Make time for others to come in and pray with you.
4. Ask the churches around you to pray for this mission.


In all fairness, I didn't do this. I was wrong.

During this time, some of you will find you are not cut out for this. That's ok. Many aspire to this, but only few are called.

Second, education.

Some of you have the education already. Others will need to boost up your training. Here is your first assignment. Go to the dollar store or a place where you can buy a bible for a few dollars, one you will not mind writing in or if the cover gets torn, etc. Begin reading the bible from Genesis and continue until you reach Revelation. Mark every passage that deals with building a church. specially in the Old Testament, there is much about Prophets who built the temple back. These guys had the right stuff and the method. You can learn much from them.

Your training will continue for the rest of your life. Learn to enjoy it.

Third. Open a dialog with the someone who you think will be a good co-leader. This person is more important that anyone else in the process. Choose wisely. John is my co-pastor. He and I share a vision for this ministry. He is the advisor and the person who delves deeply into the matters where a descerning heart is necessary. One thing, though, this person can't be your spouse. This is nothing to do with gender, it simply has to do with the fact that if the marriage is working correctly, you and your mate are one. As such, you do not get the back and forth checks and balances.

Whatever the role the two of you develop, having a person to hold you accountable is important.
Remember, Iron sharpens Iron.

If, after all these things, you still think a church or chapel is a good thing, and your co-leader is also thinking the same thing, you are now ready to start.


Till next time.

Thought I'd Forgotten You?

No, not quite. I have been busy trying to catch up on things I have neglected recently.


There is hope for tomorrow. Hope that we will see God on His throne. Hope that we will sit at the table with Jesus for our feast when we all get to heaven. There is hope that I don't think too many people believe in now.

Our days are numbered here on earth. We live, toil, and die to this worldly abode. The good news (gospel) is that we are eternal creatures, built by God for one function, to enter heaven and live a life prepared by God.

In heaven, we will begin to live a pristine life. We will know happiness unlike we have ever seen. There will be no crying, no sorrow, and no pain.

But, what of those that don't find their way home? What about the people who deny Christ, God, and the Holy Spirit? What happens to them?

For centuries, people have been saying that God saves all of us. They offer as a platitude, "I will never worship a God who would condemn a person to hell." We have all heard that. We have all heard people accuse God of horrible things. What we never seem to hear is about the just God who has to send people who choose to denounce God to hell.

There is justice. God is a God of justice. It is only fair that a man who suffers through this world while praising and serving God get the reward promised them. A worker is worthy of his wage.

In the same light, a person who denounces God as irrelevant, unloving, or non-existent is worthy of the wage he earned. Hell is that wage.

It would not be fair for Christians to live among Christ's love and enter heaven and to allow the others the same privilege without the same commitment. It is fair they be given what they earned.

The next time you hear God being maligned in this matter, you have an obligation to point out this misconception out to whoever is spreading the untruth.

The other problem comes from the group that believes everyone goes to heaven. Some people preach that heaven is the reward for everyone. The mansions prepared are there for the taking and no one must believe to get in.

Both the Old and New Covenants bear witness against this. "No one comes to the Father except through me." "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life."


The world around us is trying to keep people from coming to God by so many different ways. Deception is one primary tool used by Satan to deny us of our gift from God. It is important that we sweep away the deception.

Till then...

Today Is The Day You Finally Get To Act

Okay fellas and lovely ladies,

Today, I need action from you. I want the Relationship Weekend to be a success. For this to happen, I need people willing to sign up when the time is right, people willing to announce the date and place for the event, and people coming to the event.

This is where you can be of help.

In the next few weeks, I am going to launch a website with a sign up blank for the event. I will unveil the site on the blog. All I need for you to do is to let every nudist you know and everyone who might try nudism to come to the blog and check out what we have to offer.

Next, I need you to start making plans to come yourself. Mark the weekend on your calendar, tell your boss you need that Friday off. Grab a couple or a single friend you think would benefit from this and plan on carpooling together.

If you camp, clean up the camper or tent and get it ready. If you think roughing it means no room service, call for reservations at White Tail Resort and start practicing not making the bed.


To open this discussion with others, here is the tentative weekend events

On Friday evening, after dinner, we will have an ice breaker and meet the folks time. Part of this time will be to introduce the leaders of the group and what we will talk about. Some of the time will be spent in games. All of the time will be fun.

Saturday will start at 10:00 with a session tailored each group.

11:00 will bring us back together to start interactive programs.

12:00 will bring lunch.

We will return to our sessions at 1:30 and will end around 2:30 From 2:30 until after dinner, we will have time to mingle among ourselves, go to the indoor pool, hot tub, and and enjoy the other amenities of the resort.

After dinner, we will meet again at 7 to have a great session together, where we will all meet for a time and we will have a time in our small groups.

On Sunday, we will have a meal together at Trade Winds Restaurant for lunch and finish up our time with a sendoff 1:00.

The cost to all of this? Well, that varies by your accommodations and what you spend on food. The weekend retreat's cost will be minimum. We are trying to assess the actual cost at present, but we feel it will be around $25 dollars.

The website will have all of this and more. So pray that the site is ready shortly and that the sign ups begin soon.

Relationship Weekend

As promised, I am returning to the topic of a Relationship Weekend. We will be talking about this off and on for the next few months because we now have a date and a place.

White Tail Resort in Ivor, Virginia has agreed to host our weekend. For those familiar with the resort, you know there will be lots of things to occupy your free time. They have a good restaurant and several nice rooms. An indoor pool, a game room with billards, ping pong, and a hot tub highlight the many special features. There are just too many to name.

Now, the date. Tada!!! February 5th, 6th, and 7th. Mark your calendars. Grab some vacation time. Make reservations early.

This relationship weekend is not just for married couples. This is for people who are in a relationship, looking for a relationship, or might want one later. This is about learning the biblical way to interact with your mate.

When we get a little closer, I will have a better idea of a schedule and material for the weekend.

There will probably be a small fee for the event, not counting the day fees and accommodations. For those who have been to a retreat weekend with us before will know that the fee will be small.

We probably will have a meal together in the restaurant. Please plan to be with us for that.

One topic I know we will discuss is the contract and covenant of marriage. John, the co-pastor at WTC will be heading that class.

We will have some sessions specific to each groups' needs. Married couples will have a class especially aimed at them. Relationship couples will have a class prepared for them. Singles will not want for good instruction, either. And so on.

This is going to be a great weekend. Husbands, you owe it to your wives to bring them here.

Making reservations now might not be too early.

I am leaving the comments section open as usual. If there are things you would like to see at this weekend, mention them in the comments and I will see what we can do.

till next time...

Love Our Enemies

Ever thought about loving your enemies. No, not that "I love everyone" type of love, but the kind of love that means making a difference in your enemies' lives. Jesus taught us to love our enemies. The best example is near his death.

Jesus was in the garden, praying for a reprieve from his death sentence. He knew the guards were on their way and in a few hours, he would be tortured, and later killed in a most brutal way. The first tool of his death would be the guards leading him away.

Peter, in his zeal for a physical Messiah, cuts off the ear of one of those tools.

Jesus knows these are the men who will escort him to his trials. He could easily let that man suffer for his part in His death. Instead, Jesus rebukes Peter and repairs the man's ear. He heals his enemy. He has compassion for His enemy.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I believe I would be less likely to be so kind. Loving our enemies is all about seeing them as God's children. I often fail in my quest to be a loving member of God's family. I forget that each of my enemies are my brothers and sisters.

In this time of grace, where God sent His only Begotten Son to us, it seems like such a small sacrifice for us to start learning to love our enemies. We can start to make a world vision to take small steps toward making our world a little nicer by making our enemies' world filled with love.

The first step? Find the person you think you could never love, and begin praying for that person. Ask God to give them peace and love, to bless them, and bring a life of happiness between you and your enemy.

try it for a week and let me know how it goes.

Hope and peace to all of you... Allen

Christians often spend enormous time getting ready for Christmas. We spend hours shopping and decorating. not to mention the time spent cooking and cleaning. When we compare the time we spend on Christmas tot he time we spend preparing for Easter, it pales in comparison.

Sure, we buy our kids toys and we read the Easter story. We bake a meal for the family and the festivities roll through like any other Sunday. Not that I want to diminish the importance of any family gathering, but I want to point out a few things.


First, Passover. Passover is a time celebrated as far back as Israel's captivity in Egypt. The Hebrew nation began to commemorate this special season as a time of learning and fellowship, as well as a time of bringing families closer together. Families took special notice of the grace extended to His people. And in case you haven't noticed, we have been grafted into the House of YHWH and are His people.

Shouldn't we give Passover a look?

I was an adult before I really realized that the Lord's Supper had special meaning because the Passover had special meaning. I was also an adult before I realized that celebrating the Lord's Supper should include the elements of the Passover. Why? you ask.

Well, I'll tell you. We are celebrating our own passover. Instead of passing over our first born males, we are celebrating the passing by of our own lives. The Angel of Death will not stop at our house when we are right with God. The Jews celebrate being freed from the Egyptions. We celebrate being free from sin and its grip on our lives.

Lastly, we need to stop thinking of Easter as a time of firsts, but as a time of many. The Jews celebrate Passover each year as a renewal of their faith and the reminder that their world changed in a night. It is a time when they renew their faith in a God who is capable of great works in our life.

We, too, should think of Easter as a time to renew our pledges and our beliefs. Seeing such a miracle happen in our lives can bring forward a new time of celebration and hope for the future.


I urge you to pick this year to learn as much as you can about the Easter season and to experience it as the first Century church did. The internet is full of good information about Passover and Easter. Make this Easter special. Then continue to work to make our Savior's sacrifice and important event.

until the next time...

Followers

You might notice I have added a Follower's gadget to the left of this post. I have added this benefit to the blog for the convenience of the people who like to keep up with what is happening here.

It is simple to sign up and is really painless. The one millionth customer to sign up will get a free set of steak knives, hand delivered by me. If you win, please bring your own cigarette and blindfold.

I am hoping for three, count them, three bloggers in the next two or three years. Let's see if I am right.

Oh, and did I mention that you get to put a picture of yourself on the page under followers? Pretty cool, huh!

Till then....

There Is No Light At the End of the Tunnel

We all look to see if the light at the end of the tunnel is a train. The brilliance of the sun shining into the dark hole is comforting to all who wish to remove themselves from dark, moldy holes in the ground. Sometimes, however, it is night out and the sun doesn't shine.

Case in point, this blog. I may never see an end to ministries in the nudist world. Not in my lifetime. But that doesn't mean we are not making progress. For some of the time, we can believe there are some good things happening. Other times, we see nothing good coming from our labor. Of course, labor is its own reward.

Noting there are dark times and times of light, we can anticipate both the good times and the bad.

With this in mind, I would like to look back at some of the good, the bad, and the-- well really bad.

First the bad. Nudism still has a taint about it. Neither the world nor the Christian community accepts us for the what we are. Most see nudism as a related activity to sexual gratification. We have not done our job to make sure people know what we do. It is unlikely this will change until we start to cast light into our world so that the community around us can see us for what we are.

The really bad. There is some truth to the fact that nudism attracts a bad element. Just a short google search away from this blog will take you to a place where you can see all kinds of sexual wrongs being done in the name of nudism. As little as 30 years ago, we had tons of exploitive nudist magazines proclaiming the free lifestyle of nudity, all the while presenting young teens in provocative positions and in compromising sitautions. Coming from a 100-year-old tradition of wholesome nudist beginnings, we can see how the freedom to worship and love God and to appreciate His creations has turn ugly.

The Good. We are starting to make a difference in the nudist community. Churches are starting in our resorts. Bible studies are popping up in people's homes. We are praying for one another. Many of the us are looking for ways to serve in our communities to make the whole of the community better.

So, what is this all about? Well, maybe it is time we shine a light in the tunnel instead of trying to see by what falls through the openings.


First, we need to open up to the world. If you are not telling your family about your Christian beliefs, there is a problem. If you are not telling them about your nudist tradition, there is a problem. Covering up either causese you to walk in darkness and allows others to only see a small and mostly errant side of both. We need to shine a light on our lives so that there is no question what nudism is about. For those who would do us harm out of ignorance, the truth will set us free. When all people can see our way of life and see what there is that makes us thrive on God and nudism, there will be no doubt as to our intentions.

Second, we need to share our Christian lives with the community in which we thrive, the nudist community. Shine the light on our lives so that all can see the benefits.

How can we do this? Easy. Let our everyday events tell our story. When you sit down to eat, be thankful and take a moment to pray and thank God for your food and ask him to bless it. It need not be gaudy or loud, just a simple silent prayer is sufficient. It honors God and it tells the world you are serious about this. Take a moment at the end of every day to say thanks to God and to pray for your friends, family and enemies. Take the opportunity to help others in Christ's name. Thank God even for the things you did not want. Accept God's decisions even if there is a "no" in the front of them. And lastly, go to church, become a functioning member and actively encourage your church to use you.

Lastly, we need to tell our churches we are nudists and why. If you don't know why you are a nudist, it is time to consider the question. If it is for sexual reasons, perhaps you should leave the nudist world. If it is because od gave you a gift of nudist lifestyle, shouldn't you let the church know about your gift?

Shining the light on our world will do two things. It will make us feel better and releive most of our fears. Second, it will let the world see what we are about. Both are great results. It is a win win situation. Third, it will allow us to self police our community. Remember the people here for the wrong reasons? They exist because we keep our world in the dark. Expose it to the light adn these creeps have no place to hide. They will leave. That's a win-win-win situation.



Till next time...

Nothing new under the sun. We hear that all the time, but I am sure there must be some new things popping up all the time. If there isn't wouldn't the world be a terribly dull place to exist?

In our sphere, we might find new things occurring all the time, perhaps a new twist on an old theme. We might see many new faces wander passed us on the path to wherever they are going. I sometimes wonder if the sun doesn't actually make sure we see the new things that pass us. If so, the statement above is wrong.

To be fair, there re very few new things. There are things are are new to us. We see them for the first time and, to us, they are something new and refreshing. Remember the first time you saw color television? Yes, it was new to you, but it might have been a movie that was shown in theaters in color many times before. New to you, old to movie goers.

In a freaky way, I have a new concept. Not new to the world, only new to me. What if the United States suddenly began to make marriage arrangements similar to the New Testament times, where the family arranged for children's marriages. There would many problems already solved before they started.

Today, we are struck by the number of people out of work, a sea of new mortgages being foreclosed on, and a the economy suffering from poor planning by a generation too used to the good life to wait for their share when they could afford it.

In the first century, AD, parents arranged a marriage for their children. They knew the children better than anyone and could make better judgment decisions that the kids themselves. Parents knew enough not to let the kids start out life unprepared.

For a guy to claim his bride, he had to have learned a trade. His father was responsible to make sure he could earn a good living before the son could be married.

Next, he had to have built a house for his family to live in. He had to acquire land and build a structure to shelter and protect his new bride and the coming children.

Lastly, he had to prove to the bride's family that he was capable of heading up the household and providing for their daughter in the manner proscribed in the marriage contract.

This brings us to an interesting point. The marriage contract spelled out what was to happen to each party during the good times, the bad times, and what was to happen if the marriage failed. Knowing in advance the cost of getting out of a marriage is a handy thing to know before you begin breaking off a relationship.

For the bride's family, they were responsible to make sure the wife was pure and wholesome. She was to learn to be faithful even before the two young people married. Next, the bride would learn to cook, clean and run a household's daily functions. Gardening, shopping, and raising her children were responsibilities she had to master before she was allowed to marry.

In the end, when a couple got married, the family had eliminated much of the hardships of marriage before the couple wed, making it easier for them to begin their life together. I personally believe these lessons were the key to successful marriages.

In the past few decades, we have experienced the loss of these skills in marriage. This loss has made our divorce rate soar. If parents today begin to make sure they no longer shirk this responsibility, the divorce rate will return to normal and our children's lives will be much happier.

For those still waiting for information on the upcoming Relationship weekend, plan for the first weekend before Valentine's Day. I have not finalized all the details yet, but I am pretty sure this will be the date. We will begin the weekend on a Friday afternoon. If you are going to attend, please plan on taking the day off on Friday and joining us for some great fun. I will let everyone know when we have registration open for the weekend and all the details worked out.

Thanks again for listening. Till next time....

Most of our lives, we trust God for heavenly things, and trust ourselves for everything else. The world of believing in God rest mainly in the areas of life we feel we don't have any control over. Faith healing, finding miracles, and saving the planet from utter destruction are the territories given over to God. We like to think we can handle the common cold, the poor, and all those pesky habits we hide from the light and allow the world to think we have fixed.

From a personal standpoint, I fit this category nicely. The things I believed I could handle without God's help was enormous. Even when I had come to the point where I decided it was only God's love that could handle this, I run back over and pick up the problem again.

It is a matter of trust. Do we trust God completely? Or do we trust ourselves more than we trust God?

The answers are more telling of our faith than our own abilities. If we don't have the faith enough to believe God can handle any problem we have, how can we say we believe that God is all powerful, all knowing, and all loving?

The truth is all of us lack the faith for some things.

I have seen a church where their members have the faith to pick up snakes and not be hurt. They certainly have more faith in God's control over snakes than I do.

The good news is that God is willing to help us even in our lack of faith. If we look back at the man who Jesus promised to do healings, we see that the man cried out, "Give me faith to have faith." This man had enough faith in God to ask for the faith he needed.

Our Christian world needs this kind of faith.

The Civil War and Decisions.

In the great War of Northern Aggression (the Civil War for those above the Mason-Dixon line), people spent much of their lives trying to survive the tragedy and heartbreak of wartime existence. There was the constant fear of your wife\husband\child\parent dying from some disease or malnutrition, the daily routine of finding enough food to supply your family something to cure the hunger pains, and the overall lack of human kindness. This country was a third world country surviving on sheer belief that God would prevail.

You might ask yourself, "What does this have to do with a good old naked walk with Christ?" and you would be hard pressed to find an answer.

Simply, there are struggles we survive that tell us we are in God's path. We come through the other side and see the fruits of our labor. We hear the calling of our Lord and have traversed the terrain to find His special love waiting on the other side.

In Job, we read about such a struggle and find that Job finally lived in the luxury God can provide for those who persevere.

But often, we find we are heading in the wrong direction and we need to stop and take stock of what we are doing. Balaam and his donkey are prime examples of how God works to stop us from hurting ourselves and realize we are not persevering in God's path, but are heading directly in the path of death.

For those not familiar with Balaam, he was a prophet of God, but not of Israel. He was sent to curse the Israelites and to stop them from continuing their taking of the promise land.

His donkey stopped before and refused to move forward. Balaam tried to force his way forward, but an Angel, unseen by Balaam, kept the donkey from moving forward. When the angel was revealed to Balaam, he learned just how close he had come to death. (The account of Balaam is told mostly in Numbers. It's a good read.)

All of us have a donkey that keeps us from trouble from time to time. God places people of objects in our path to help us stop and look at the situation. Learning to see these signs is important. Balaam was slow to see it. He almost died.

Today, just like with the Civil War, God places these objects, sometimes a person, others a series of events, to keep us from harming ourselves or others. Our lives are influenced often by what we consider coincidences and happenstances, but are no less than the hand of God protecting us. Whether it be an angel protecting others at a cost of our life, such as with Balaam, or a small child who begs us to stay home and play a game with him, there might be a reason for this behavior.


One thing for us to watch is how these events occur. I am sure there are donkeys who refuse to go further, but with Balaam, he had been riding this donkey for some distance and the donkey stopping was something strange and out of character. When we encounter something out of the ordinary in our path, it is an indication we need to stop and look at what is ahead. Is it of God, or are we being warned away from harm?

Secondly, we need to see where the smart people are heading. If you are on a ship and everyone suddenly jumps overboard, you might want to follow and ask why later. The crowd probably has a better understanding of the situation and is acting upon what they know. With Balaam, the countries around him had already abandoned their towns once the Israelites began destroying everyone who remained behind.

Third, a good solid prayer in the heat of the moment is not a bad idea. Some people call the flare-prayers, flares sent to God to ask for directions. He is faithful to guide us. If He has sent an angel to stop your progress and you stop before the angel cuts your head off, certainly God will help you wander your way back to His will.

A little common sense goes a long way with this type of work. If it looks like a Devil trap, it just might be. If God seems to be holding you back, He just might be. If you have to manipulate a situation to make it work, perhaps you are manipulating God out of your plan. Think before your beat your donkey into submission. Balaam almost lost his head over that silly little animal.

Until the next stroke of... well, common sense hits...

Allen

Renewing Our Minds

In the bible, we are often taught to renew our hearts and minds as a way of accepting the process by which we are saved. We stop doubting and begin to believe in the Good News of Christ.

The part we often forget is to clean out the junk before we start. Have you ever wondered why children learn so quickly and adults don't. My theory? Our minds are full.

Children's minds are like brand new sponges. They are empty of water and readily collect water on contact. the older we get, the more our minds have absorbed and the less they will hold. The process is merely a lesson in filling a bucket.

If this be true, when the sponge is full, we can not accept any more water. If our minds are like the full sponges, we can't accept any more knowledge until we make room in our sponge.

The real truth is that we all have ideas, thoughts, and knowledge that is taking up space where good solid knowledge of things of God are supposed to be. What we need to do is spend some time cleaning out our minds so that we can renew our thought process and begin to draw closer to God through the renewing of our minds.

Be brutal in your search to eliminate wasteful knowledge. Rip those horrible thoughts from your mind and begin to see the difference in how you look at life, love and truth.

How, you ask? Well, meditate on the word. Read things that tend to uplift your soul. Spend less time dwelling on problems and spend more time listening to what God has to say.

I find if I take time everyday to spend with God in prayer and meditation, He takes the time with me. Meditation has lately been the realm of other religions and has gotten a bad reputation as something of a mystic tool, but it belongs to God. As Christians, we need to begin to practice the art of meditation and communing with God. When we can sit down with God and get to know Him, he will allow us to really experience his love, as well as His plan for us.

First, find a place away from all the hustle and bustle of the world. Toss off all earthly trappings, such as clothes, books, radio, and television. Especially avoid other people. Closets are nice. Caves are better.

Next, find a comfortable position to sit and be quiet. relax your arms and legs. Feel the presence of the darkness around you. Listen for that still small voice. Find the peace in simply existing without worries.

In your mind, ask for forgiveness. Ask for peace. Ask for that special time to learn.

Soon the things of the world will become unimportant. When all you can feel, hear, or experience is that serene calm. Wait and be patient, for God is near.

So you want to be the boss

I find it odd that anyone would like to be the boss. Instead of having one person telling you what to do, everyone is telling you what to do.

I have never ventured far from the bottom of the totem pole when I could. I like the basic premise that I can sit at the back of a church and heckle the guy upfront for doing a better job than I ever could. That does not mean I get to do this very often.

For those who want to be a leader, I must caution you, God judges the leaders more severely than the followers. It is by this creed we must be certain we are called to lead. I have a co-pastor, John, who is a good strong leader in bible study, discernment and other area. He does not feel comfortable in the areas of public leadership or in most places where mercy and hope are needed. It is his makeup, how God built him. But he does a great job where he serves.

If we all could be so good at finding our niche, our own personal area to lead, the churches would be growing by multiples hereto unknown.

And that is the point! All of us are leaders of something. The secret is to find where we are supposed to lead and get out front.

So, until I see you leading me somewhere else, I'll stand by and watch the crowds run by...

Anyone need a ride back from DC?

A Weekend Away

For some time, I have been mulling over an idea I have for decreasing the divorce rate, insuring happiness in a marriage, and having fun at the same time. This is an old idea with a new twist.

We always want to build a marriage after it is already running. Sure, it can be done, but it is kind of like trying to rebuild a car engine while still driving down the highway. WE start way too late and finish way too early.

My idea is this: Plan a weekend where people who are married, thinking of getting married, wanting to figure out what went wrong with a previous marriage, or people who might want to get married could come and learn about the spiritual side of marriage and develop good skills in making a marriage work.

My goal for this year is to prepare a plan to announce in March for implementation in 2010.

I've thought of calling it 2010 A Space Oddity.

It is odd how we plan and connive to moved into a small space and live with someone the rest of our lives. We make a point at placing ourselves too close to an individual and then hope upon hope it works.

So, what you think. Would you be interested?

If it were located in Virginia or NC, would you still be interested? How about your home resorts or parks?

I am all open for suggestions. Anyone wanting to volunteer should first have their head examined and then see me immediately.

Till they close my account...

Well again

well, after some rather unpleasant procedures and few explicit words with the tools usually referred to as torture devices, I seem to be better. Finally!

Thank you guys so much for all the prayers and concerns during the last couple of weeks.

I apologize for not writing more, but it was a struggle to work and attend to church needs. To those who I missed that were sick or down, please know that I have been with you in spirit.

Now, today is a new day. I feel good. I got a great report from the doctor. And I can continue with life as I know it.

To all those who missed my writings, you really need to get a life. I'm not that good.


Next post will be about a plan I have for a Marriage Enrichment weekend. I would love everyone's input.

Till then...

A New Year

Today, I have a New Year in my life. My wife and I start our 25th year of marriage. This is our 24th anniversary.

After many wonderful years together, we find it necessary to mark our milestone with a visit to the doctor, a trip to the grocery store, and dinner at a restaurant. Well, this might not be your idea of heaven, but it works for us. If you see my wife, congratulate her on 24 years of surviving me.

Allen