July 20, 2009

Good Morning!

I am actually writing this blog on Tuesday (July 21, 2009) because I was experiencing computer problems yesterday when I first attempted to up-date my blog. I'm not sure what the problem was and/or is but I'll give it another "go" this morning.

Social Stuff:

Wendy Jane Koerber had her shunt surgically installed last week and is home doing well. She seems to have gotten by most of here surgical issues and should be able to live a reasonably normal life for the time being.

Jane and I went to the Cardinal baseball game this past Sunday with some long time friends of ours. We saw the Cardinals win 2-1 over the Diamondbacks and it was a great weather day.

I continued my bike ride training this past week with riding 40 miles at 66 Park on Thursday and then 18 miles at Babler State Park on Saturday. While the 66 park ride is a flat course the Babler State Park is a very hilly course. I need this hill training to help prepare me for September's MS Bike Ride in September but it sure is hard to accomplish. I was riding the Bable Ride with the "Monsanto Mavericks" which is a bike team I have joined for the singular purpose of the MS Bike Ride. They are a nice group and it was very helpful to ride with them.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Denise Kelly, Cindy Jones, Bill Nichols, Genny Maas, Betty Caswell, and Terry Pursley.

Prayers were requested for:

1. Betty Caswell's brother who is now home.
2. Bill Nichols relative - Drew Geison - who continues to struggle with cancer issues all thought recent improvements are encouraging.
3. Denise Kelly's co-worker Rosilyn is experience multiple health issues.
4, Denise's son, John, is going through a tough court custody battle.

Material Studied: "I Peter Chapter 3 Verses 1 thru 22

In Verses 1 thru 7 Peter advises wives to accept the authority of their husbands and for husbands to give honor to their wives. Obviously conflicts between husbands and wives existed at Peter's time to much the same extent as they do today; otherwise, the relationships would not have warranted a comment from Peter. Peter does not discuss consequences for either the husbands or wives who violate their covenants with one another. Peter simply reinforces that married people are to respect and honor each other.

In Verses 8 thru 12 Peter encourages us Christians to sympathize and love one another as brothers and sisters. We ought not pass by this point with little notice. We must understand that sympathy and love are two aspects of the Christian Faith that are fundamental aspects of our lives. These aspects did not occur by accident. They are fundamental principles of God that have been passed on to us when God breathed his Spirit into us Genesis Chapter 2. Peter's reinforcement is provided to counter that deceptive actions of Satin to put our selfish interests above others.

In Verses 13 thru 22 Peter acknowledges the sympathetic and love principles of Christianity will many times cause us to suffer, but Peter encourages us to remember that Christ suffered for us so we will be rewarded for our faith and persistence. We must therefore stay committed to unselfish behavior with each other out of our Love for God and each other.

Neither Jane nor I will be in church or Sunday school this next Sunday. Bill Nichols will be providing the refreshments after the first service and the Koinonia members will shepard the class in our absence. Jane and I will be at Montawk State Park with members of my side of the family for some fishing, good times and "tales of daring do"! We will see each of you in two weeks and in the meantime

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!



Terry Pursley

July 13, 2009

Good Morning!

Social Stuff!

Its Tuesday Morning the 14Th so I'm a day late with this week's post but Jane and I had a busy day yesterday and I stayed up to late watching the All Star Home Run Derby on TV last night.

I also missed Sunday School Class this last Sunday because I was riding my bicycle on a training ride in Collinsville, Illinois. I belong to the Trailnet club and they hoist various bicycle rides about 2 or 3 times per month. Unfortunately their club sponsored rides are primarily scheduled for Sunday morning because of the light traffic on the back rodes upon which the rides are conducted. This last Sunday's ride was one that included some hilly sections and I needed this training experience in my preparation for the MS Bike Ride this coming September. I rode 35 miles on this particular training session and it was a good ride for me. I averaged a little less than 13 miles per hour which is slow but for me it was a great training experience. I was able to get into a consistent rhythm and finished strong. This ride gave me confidence that I should be able to complete the 40 mile per day MS Bike Ride in September.

Our Granddaughter, Wendy Jane Koerber, did undergo her surgery yesterday (7-13-09) and appears to be doing well. The surgery was to install a shunt in her head which will allow moisture in the brain cavity to drain into the body cavity. This draining function is a normal one for most of us but in a very few cases, such as Wendy's, this draining function is impeded and thus moisture can build in the brain cavity. Amy reported that after Wendy's surgery the slight swelling in Wendy's head was visibly reduced and thus the shunt was working. The surgeon was optimistic that this is likely a once in a lifetime surgery but it is also a very simply procedure if the shunt needs to be replaced. So while we were hoping the shunt would not be needed at all the fact that it has been accomplished and is working well is very comforting. God does work his miracles thru the hands of his kids!

Jane and I did go downtown to the All Star Festivities just to experience the event. We don't have any tickets to the Derby or the Game but it was fun to walk around and experience the event. We ate at Mike Shannon's restaurant on his patio and enjoyed the outdoor ambiance. We did have a funny experience while eating. While sitting there we noted a fairly large group eating next to us and we noted one of the people had a "Ryan Franklin" look-a-like beard. We both commented to ourselves about how we didn't like the look of the beard. We soon realized however that it was NOT a "look-a-like" beard but it was in fact Ryan Franklin and his family. It was a nice looking group with Ryan, his wife, kids, brothers, parents and others. Jane and I both laughed at ourselves for our beard assessment process.

Downtown did look great and we did enjoy the new "City Garden". Its a great place or kids and we would encourage anyone to go down and enjoy the experience.

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

As I mentioned earlier, I did not attend this past Sunday's class and Jane was gracious enough to take over for me.

Members Present: Alan and Teresa Schlobohm, Cindy Jones, Genny Maas, and Jane Pursley.

Prayer Requests: Prayers were requested for

1. Steve Gregory - Heart ailment recovery.
2. Wendy Jane Koerber
3. Pastor Suzanne Lyons
4. Cindy's family - Dad, his wife, brothers.
5. Terry Schmieder - A friend of Alan and Teresa's whose wife has died.
6. Diana Childer's family whose son (19 years old) died in a motorcycle accident.
7. Joshe Scholobohm's friend - Amanda.
8. Meridith Jones in her transistion from college to work.
9. A joy for Genny's safe trip to and from South Dakata.

Material Studied: I Peter Chapter 2 vs 13 thru 25.

In verses 13 thru 17 Peter encourages us to respect people in authority. It is important to understand while reading these verses to understand there is a difference between the term respect and agreement. Peter is telling his contemporaries and us that it is important to respect the people in authority, or more specifically the civil government, because this is the system(s)God has established to provide an orderly society. Peter is not saying that any government system established by "humans" is perfect and thus Peter is not saying we should worship or agree with the practices of a government but rather we as Christians must participate actively in our governmental systems, while respecting the protocols established therein.

In verses 18 thru 25 Peter speaks to slaves and suggests slaves should accept the authority of their masters. Again, and similar to Peter's discussion of respecting governments, Peter is suggesting slaves need to respect their masters. This is not to say Peter was condoning a "slave society" but Peter is addressing how people should exist within am established "slave society". The focus is on respecting those people in positions of responsibility rather than focusing on the systems that exists.

I personally suggest to all reading this narrative that slavery was eventually eliminated from almost all contemporary societies because people, working within the systems, eventually determined slavery was wrong and abolished it. Even in the United States, our Civil War was fought primarily for economic reasons since slavery had been gradually falling in to disfavor since the time we declared our Independence. I suggest the Civil War was fought in large part more out of a last ditch effort to save an economic system rather than moral issues.

In summary, Peter suggests we as Christians need to respect the political and economic systems we find ourselves and work to address those issues which we find objectionable.

This completes my report of this week and as always

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry Pursley

July 6, 2009

Good Morning!

I hope you had a great Fourth of July weekend and let us all remember how great it is to live in the United States and enjoy all the freedoms we have.

Social Stuff:

Last Tuesday (6-30-09) our (Jane and Terry's) granddaughter Wendy Jane Koerber went home! She is doing well and enjoying life!

On Thursday (7-2-09) Jane and I took our other two grandchildren to the Magic House in Kirkwood along with two of our nephews. The kids had a great time and Jane and I got a good workout! Watching the four kids was a little like watching 4 new born chicks in a flock of bout 50 similar chicks. Jane and I used a series of hand signals and panicked looks to keep track of and communicate the whereabouts of the kids. It was a great time and the Magic House is a great place for the kids.

On Friday, we took our grandkids to the swimming pool and then took them to their parents in Freeburg, Illinois. The kids were glad to be home with their new sister and it was nice to see the whole family back together.

On Saturday, we went to Jane's sister's home in Webster Groves to eat and watch fireworks . It turned out to be a very nice evening and we enjoyed the entire evening. The Koerber family joined us so Wendy Jane attended her first 4Th of July celebration. I am not to sure how much of it she will remember but she was there none the less!

Koinonia Sunday School Class:

Attendees: Bill Nichols, Cindy Jones, Jane and Terry Pursley

Prayer Requests: Prayers were requested for:

1. The Koerber family including young Wendy Jane.
2. Cindy Jones' mother Esther who is recovering well from surgery to her hand.
3. Mark Nichol's (Bill's nephew) continued physical issues.
4. Bill Nichol's neighbor, Kattie, who is 88 years old and beginning to show signs of aging.
6. Suzanne Lyons as she begins her pastoral work for Salem.
7. Julie Callaghan as she begins her next phase in life.

Material Studied:

Again we were running short of time between the two services so we didn't cover much material. We did read and discuss I Peter Chapter 1 vs 7 thru 10.

In verse 7 and 8 we read the poem that identified Christ as "The stone that the builder's rejected" and "He is the stone that makes people stumble." We developed the analogy with the "Law" that also "trips" us when we fail to comply with its demands. Similarly we call ourselves "Christians" which to many means to follow and live like Christ but none of us can meet this demanding requirement. We all fall short of the "Law" and we stumble " in our attempts to be "Christ-like". However; Verse 9 tells us we are "a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession."

Another word for our unmerited selection by God is - Grace! Because of this selection by God Verse 9 concludes by saying - "As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." In other words, we will all stumble and fall short of our goal, but God thru his Grace saves us and therefore we can humbly live our lives as examples to others so they may also come to realize the power and love of God.

This completed our class for this week. Next week we will begin at Chapter 2 vs 11 and go as far as God determines is best. As of this writing I am intending to ride in a practice bike ride next Sunday and thus I may not be able to lead the class. I will make sure someone is able to lead the class if I am not there.

Have a Great Day and Enjoy Life!

Terry