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Thursday, October 27, 2005

Pastor's Appreciation

I could not, in good conscience, leave a “commercial” as a post for very long, without creating a “real,” substantive posting. So, in that effort, here goes.

October is coming to an end, and as most of you are aware, October is Pastor’s Appreciation Month. I wanted to share just a couple of thoughts and experiences with you concerning this wonderful month.

I say that with a bit of trepidation. I don’t want it to sound like I think this is a great month because everyone tells me they appreciate me. While that is nice, that’s not the reason. Most pastors, no matter who they are or where they pastor, feel unappreciated most of the time. Whether this is based in reality or not doesn’t matter. The devil makes sure that a pastor feels as though they are doing no good for anyone, that they’re not making a difference in anyone’s life, that they’re not affecting anyone for the better, especially for the Lord.

Taking a month out of the calendar and setting it aside to share your appreciation for your pastor is a great thing, because, even if it’s only for a brief moment, it makes the pastor feel that they are contributing something positive to someone’s life. This does wonders for the morale of a pastor, and positively affects the entire congregation as a result. So, before October is over, let your pastor know you love him. AND DON’T JUST DO IT IN OCTOBER!!! DO IT ALL YEAR LONG!!!

Over this past month, I’ve received several expressions of appreciation from members of my congregation. Each one has touched me deeply, and I appreciate every one of them. For a pastor, it is easy to get caught up in the everyday rigors of shepherding the flock, of seeing the heartache and pain of those who are ill or who have lost loved ones. It’s easy to get swept away in the invariable tide of politics and cliques, to look at all that goes wrong, to wistfully long for what could be, and get discouraged. But then, someone comes along to give you a little encouragement.

I will be sharing a bit of this with my congregation in November’s newsletter, but I wanted to expand here just a bit. This past Wednesday evening, a family gave me a couple of gifts in appreciation: a musical tie, some homemade muffins, and a card and note. These things, especially the card and note, really moved me. The card was from a young girl who thanked me for helping her through the loss of her great-grandfather. The note was from this girl’s grandmother, the daughter of the man who passed away. Their words made me feel that I have been of use, and knowing that I helped someone in some way, during a time of great need, is truly special to me.

The biggest problem for most pastors is built into their job. Everyone looks to the pastor for help, for guidance, for encouragement and strength. But whom does the pastor have like that? Fortunately for me, I have a wonderful man to fill that void. He is my former pastor, and he is my grandfather. Watching his life and ministry gave me the tools necessary to help me in my own calling, and I can still go to him to seek advice and counsel. Without his encouragement and guidance, I would not be where I am today.

And there are others, other men and women of God whom I can go to with questions or problems, and know they will give me sound, Godly advice. And there are still others, in and out of the pastorate, whom I silently watch, on whom I quietly rely for examples of wisdom and strength that come only from the Lord.

I appreciate these people. I appreciate my congregation. I appreciate those of you who visit this blog. And I appreciate my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who sees beyond my mistakes and failures, and helps me help others. My only desire is to have many more years in which to serve the Master, and be a source of encouragement to others. But even if I don’t have many years, my prayer is that someone will have benefited from something the Lord has done through me.


© 2005, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Pardon This Commercial

Hello, friends! Normally, I would not use an entry as a “commercial,” but to share some thoughts, as I have in all of my past postings. However, I believe what I have to share with you in this entry is equally valuable, as a spiritual tool of growth, inspiration, and convenience.

On the left hand side of this screen, you will see the following items: Previous Posts, Archives, About Me, and a little Blogger icon. Well, now below the Blogger icon you will see a small banner ad for a product called InstaVerse. I want to give you a little bit of information about this product, so you can see for yourself if it is for you!

The InstaVerse program allows you to hover your mouse pointer over a Scripture reference (such as Rom 8:38-39 or Jn 3:16), and the program will open a small window with the verse text in it. This way, if you’re reading an e-mail or scanning a webpage with just an abbreviation reference, you can move your mouse over it and see the whole text.

In addition, InstaVerse has the ability to insert Scriptures at the touch of a few buttons! You can type a reference like the ones mentioned above, press Alt + F8, and InstaVerse will place the entire reference text in your e-mail, word processor, etc.

What do you have to pay for such a terrific program? That’s the beauty of it. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! InstaVerse is free with the King James Version of the Bible. There are over 30 translations available, and you can purchases additional translations if you wish. The program is compatible with other Bible programs, so if you have other Bible software and translations on your computer, InstaVerse may already be compatible with them and automatically include them in the program!

The InstaVerse program is from the fine people at WORDsearch, makers of quality Bible software. I use many WORDsearch programs every day, and I am very happy with the new InstaVerse addition.

A word of caution, though. If you use Internet Explorer as your browser, you have no problems. But if you use Mozilla Firefox as your browser, you will have to wait until Firefox 1.5 is released in the very near future. It is in the Beta stage right now, but should be released as a full version very soon. You can still use InstaVerse in other programs, though.

Well, this has been a very interesting commercial. I’m not getting a dime from any of this. I just wanted to share with you a valuable resource for studying God’s Word. I feel sure you will love the program, and that it can help you. So, if you would like to give it a try, and see an animated demo of the product, just click on the InstaVerse banner ad on the left of the screen, or visit http://www.instaverse.com/ . I hope you enjoy this program. God bless you!


© 2005, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.

Monday, October 17, 2005

A Fistful of Hours

I have been delayed in writing an entry for this blog for longer than anticipated, but there has been much going on. I have found that, no matter how busy you think you might be, it can always get worse. I have been astounded at the amount of things to occupy my time and attention, as well as the speed at which time flies.

Looking outside my window right now, I can see the hints of autumn, the subtle changing colors of the leaves, an almost perceptible crispness to the air. As the year winds down, once again completing the cycle of time, I think back over the past year, all that I hoped to accomplish, all that I wish I’d had the opportunity to do. I realize then that what seemed like a long time in childhood is apparently not long enough.

Of course, we all look around and see how we could have used our time differently, how we could have made different or better decisions. But this time of year really illustrates how quickly time goes. What are we really doing with our time and our choices? Are we focusing on things that truly matter, or wasting time on things that are more of a distraction than a crisis?

Very often we do make mountains out of molehills. We fret and worry and use the one thing we truly possess: time. Sure, there might not be enough of it to satisfy all we wish we could do, but we all have 24 hours a day. What we spend that time doing determines who we are, and who we will eventually become.

Each of us uses our time to what we believe is our own advantage. But I believe the only way to truly spend time wisely is to use it helping others, whether it’s working for or just being there for others. There is no greater use of time and life than by positively affecting those around you, especially for the Lord.

My birthday was a little over a week ago, and it doesn’t seem like it’s been all that long since my last one. I think back over this year and, while I wish I could have done more for the Lord and for others, I believe I’ve done some good for people. I don’t always feel like this; no one does, especially when we get down and depressed. But when I see people whom I have perhaps helped, I am inspired to spend the next year doing more.

Now, what does God want us to do (and want us to do more)? There are the old standards: study the Word, pray, assemble together for worship and fellowship, tithe, witness, love one another. But I feel the best way to get closer to the Lord, in addition to all of these things I’ve just mentioned, is to dedicate yourself to “being there” for others, to allow Jesus to be truly lived through you. Jesus’ earthly ministry was one of service to others, and by letting His life be shown through our charity (not necessarily of money, but of time), we will be truly blessed.

But this comes with a price. When we spend our most valuable resource of time on others, we can’t spend it on ourselves. But this sacrificing of self brings us closer to the character of Jesus. I can really think of no greater purpose in life than the purpose of others. How will we spend our time? Are we willing to pay the price? There are some decisions I’d give almost anything to go back and change. But I am glad I have chosen to do my best to help someone else, and I hope that when I reach the Autumn of my life, I can look back and see that, in some measure, I’ve succeeded.


© 2005, Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press. All rights reserved. All material printed on this site is protected by the copyright law of the United States. It may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of Chris Keeton and Soulscape Press, obtainable by writing to soulscape@alltel.net. Altering or removing any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content is not permitted. Any and all portions of material copied from the Soulscape Blog must be properly attributed to Chris Keeton and Soulscape, and cited with original blog web address.