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Posts Tagged ‘Family Stuff’

As I spend time in Scripture reading and prayerful meditation this morning, I am moved to pray for Haiti this passage from the writings of the Prophet Isaiah (chapter 62). God has promised healing and blessing to the nations from Abraham through Messiah Jesus. May it be so for our brothers and sisters in Haiti as the world watches. Spirit of the Most High God, help us to be revealing Light to the world for the glory of Your Name and Kingdom. Amen.

¹ Because I love Zion (Haiti),
I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem (Haiti),
I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
² The nations will see your righteousness.
World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
by the Lord’s own mouth.
³ The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
a splendid crown in the hand of God.
⁴ Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
and will claim you as his bride.
⁵ Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem (Haiti),
just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

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Today was a significant day. It marked the beginning of the next season in our Christian journey as a family. At the close of our morning worship services in our church today we announced that we would be following the direction of God as He calls us out in this next chapter of ministry…continuing the purpose and advancement of His Kingdom.

Saying “yes” in any capacity means that you must say “no” to something else, and it is with this bittersweet truth that sadness and joy co-mingle in the air of our announcement. There will always be people who do not understand the nature of our decision, but we must be true to what we are “hearing” the Spirit direct. We trust Him, even though we do not know the location or community that He is calling us to. Our experience has proven God’s faithfulness time and time again with every aspect of our lives; we are sure He will prove Himself in this season as well.

With that affirmation, we publicly announce our availability for ministry. My ministry profile, resume, and vision for ministry are all available through links on this website. My contact information is also open through this website should anyone desire to discuss our future. I believe we should live as open and authentic as possible…this post continues support of that belief.

The following letter is the announcement shared with our church family today:

I’ve been giving time and reflection to the past two and a half years of ministry at Valley Chapel and wanted to say how blessed my family has been to be a part of this family. During our time here we have seen people come to learn of God and we have seen lives change. We have had the blessed privilege of partnering with God and people who love Him to reach out to people who did not know Jesus…and we have seen fruit born of these efforts.

We have laughed together and cried together. We have celebrated life and we have grieved over the loss of it. We have prayed for loved ones in their trials and struggles and we have rejoiced together when God has lovingly answered prayers. It is without doubt or reservation that we have enjoyed the gift of community and spirit of kindred heart with our church family.

On a personal level, while serving at Valley Chapel, my faith has grown and I have learned more about myself and the relationship I share with my God. I have been honored to serve alongside a number of gifted people and I have learned many things from them. I have grown as a leader from the things I have learned from my leader and pastor, Pastor Ron. Truly, our time in ministry and our time as a family have been profitable while serving and sharing at Valley Chapel Church.

The teacher and writer of Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time and a season for everything. It is with heavy, but joyful heart, I share with you that our season of ministry at Valley Chapel is nearing conclusion. We have been in extended prayer to discern God’s leading for this next season of spiritual growth and have determined along with leadership that God is “sending” us. To be a church that reaches, teaches, mends, and sends implies the bittersweet joy of sending falls upon our community from time to time. Let us celebrate with joy together, this next season that God has in store for Valley Chapel and for the Borden family.

I am sure that God has given me a personal vision for ministry that is leading us into this next chapter in our spiritual journey. I am currently in discussions with the Conference leadership and will be working with them to determine how God is guiding to put this vision in action for the purpose of advancing His kingdom. We are under appointment to Valley Chapel through the conference year and anticipate continuing in our present roles until early June. We covet your continued prayers as we seek God’s direction and say again, our church family has changed our life for the good and for that we thank you and praise Him.

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Bible Reading 2010

“Bible Reading 2010” almost sounds like a title for a sci-fi thriller…at least to my “40-something” brain. Nonetheless, I thought I’d share my “high-tech” plan for Bible reading this year. My approach might be a little unorthodox and might even seem like overload to some personalities, but it works for me. I am a somewhat choleric (high-task) personality and I find that I work best with multiple goals, filters, and systems in my daily routine; it helps me focus and maintain a forward progress.  Multiple layers (my filters) help to ensure that I stay on track with my daily reading too. If I miss one “filter” there are other layers to keep me connected to the daily word.  My personal rule of life follows this structure and Bible reading is part of my rule of life, and so…

Bible Reading Plan 2010:

Revised Common Lectionary – Cycle C: I’m actually using two tools to follow the Lectionary. I’m using a book I enjoyed last year, Ancient Christian Devotional, as well as Living the Christian Year. Both of these books utilize the Lectionary which also tracks the cycle of the church calendar drawing from Old Testament, Psalms, Epistle, and Gospel readings through the week. The Ancient Christian Devotional also brings with it excerpts from the writings of the church fathers. These writings are among the classic Christian writings of church and Christian history. I am using the Lectionary readings as my lectio divina style of contemplative-meditative reading.

One Year Chronological Bible – NLT: This Bible seems to be one of our “family preferred” methods of reading the Bible. As part of our morning family devotions (Mon.-Fri.) we read chronologically. I love to read the Bible chronologically. It helps me (and us as a family) stay in the thick of the Biblical narrative…the story that is God and man; ultimately the story that is God and us. If you noticed, we join in family reading Monday thru Friday; we are responsible to “stay up with the story” reading the weekend texts individually.

The Wesley Study Bible – NSRV: I purchased this Bible last year with the plans to use it as my primary “reader” this year. I used the NLT (New Living Translation) Bible last year as my primary reader and prefer to change translation versions year-to-year in order to keep my brain confused (insert self-deprecating joke here).  Personally, I think we can get used to a preferred version very quickly and our reading can become “lazy” or complacent. I don’t want this to happen to me, so I shake up my yearly reading with alternating translation versions. Another pleasant by-product of this approach is that it helps me with memorization. I remember where passages are by book, chapter, and verse because I am forced to by virtue of changing Bibles. When I was using one Bible as my primary tool, I got used to turning to a “certain page.” I’d look for a certain passage in a certain corner of a page or think, “it’s somewhere in this section…” Reading from multiple translations and Bibles helps me to overcome this deficiency. Another helpful aspect of this approach is that it keeps the language and interpretation fresh…which ultimately, helps me to be a better story-teller and communicator.

I continue to use a number of other tools for my reading and study, but these are my BIG THREE approach for this year. So, what plan or approach are you following? And, what versions or tools will you be using? Please feel free to share here in the comments section of my blog; I’d love to hear from you!

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I have quite a few photos that I never posted over the Summer… I had stuff going on that was pressing for my attention and never really got around to it. I seem to be finding “holes” in my schedule now (Thank you Jesus) and will try to upload them into galleries for viewing as I get the chance. Here is a gallery from a local Balloon Festival in Dansville, NY. We got up early one morning during this three day event and were treated to some cool sights and colorful balloons.

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I’ve been “offline” for most of this past week, limiting my social networking to email only. My attentions have been focused on my family (my extended family) located in Louisiana. You probably remember that I was just in Louisiana on vacation, but I returned on somewhat short notice. My grandmother (Mamaw as she is known to most of us) passed on from this physical life and entered eternal life on August 9, 2009. I was asked to officiate the funeral services and her interment.

The past few days have been good; everyone has been kind and gracious with their words…the tension that grief and sadness bring has been noticeable, but kept under control for the most part. By and large, the time of family gathered and memories shared has been overwhelmingly good. I’ve enjoyed my reflections and memories of Mamaw. As I started considering the context of what I would share during the interment services, one word kept coming to my mind; “Legacy.” Perhaps it comes naturally with age, but I have started thinking more and more about family. I miss the close connections with our large extended family that I took for granted as a child. I have read many writings and heard many a documentary lamenting the state of the American family unit. Being in pastoral ministry, I have seen firsthand the results of degradation within the family. I don’t want to take for granted this incredible gift from God to us…the family. I have made a commitment (several years ago) to protect and develop my family, but in recent days I am renewing that commitment and will begin to put measures into place that will be even more intentional for building family…my own immediate family and my extended family. I want to ensure that the Legacy of my God is carried on through my family.

I will probably share additional reflections and thoughts in the coming days about this topic once I return to my home in New York state (returning tomorrow), but for now will conclude my “pondering” with the words I shared yesterday. What follows is the manuscript that I shared from when I spoke at Mamaw’s funeral: Read the rest of this entry »

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Day 13: Made It Home…and final vacation 2009 post.

Nothing but travel today…

We hit the Holiday Inn Express Breakfast hard like champions before dominating the highway. Early afternoon we landed at a Long John Silver’s just outside of Cleveland (don’t say anything…LJS isn’t anywhere near my favorite 100 places to eat, but there were other riders that wanted to stop). Still Northeast bound, we arrived in Erie, Pa and I couldn’t help but stop off at the Krispy Kreme for a late afternoon snack. The quick sugar rush was enough to propel us on through our trip to Castile, NY.

Nothing real exciting on the way home; like I said, we were intent on getting back and getting ready for the weekend. Laurie and I will be sharing the pulpit this weekend with a message from God’s word on the topic of marriage. I’m pretty excited about our “co-teaching” this weekend. It will be a first for us and hope there will be other opportunities like this in the future.

One other note of interest, we started an audio book authored by Andy Andrews called “The Lost Choice.” We didn’t get to finish it yet, but it is really good. Maybe I’ll review it when I’m done listening. Heard from the boys out in La-La Land for the X-games tonight and they’re doing well too. That’s all for the vacation posts. Back to our regular blog for awhile.

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Day 11: On the Road Again…

We hit the road early today (well, yesterday now), as Stefan and Garrett had a flight they weren’t willing to miss. We dropped them off around 11:00am for the first leg of their West Coast adventure. I tried to chronicle what I could of this day with my best photojournalistic eye, but was shot down by my proof editor refusing to allow my posting of the images without extensive editing.

Did I mention it was/is Joshua’s birthday today…? I granted him executive privileges all through the day reminding him that the preferential treatment he was receiving was because of his birthday. Immediately following this declaration, I quickly reminded him that “today is your birthday; tomorrow is not.” (heheheheheh) – We treated him to a “Smorges”-borden at the Golden Corral for lunch and we dined at his favorite eatery (sigh) Arby’s for supper. (The things we do for love…)

Our journey took us mostly by highway today making for a very quiet and scenic drive…until we landed on the periphery of a tornado warning in Northwestern Alabama for around two hours of our drive. It was exciting if not taxing for that little piece of the drive anyway. About the time we crossed the Tennessee border, the boys called to let us know they arrived in Los Angeles safely and were proceeding to their hotel; we heard from them a little later once they got settled in to their hotel.

We settled in to a Holiday Inn Express in downtown Nashville for the night and plan to hit the Creation Museum in Kentucky tomorrow. I’ll try to do better with my photojournalism….maybe a good night’s rest will help.

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Days 8 & 9: Catching Up…

Sorry for the lack of updates the past couple of days. It has been a very busy and family-filled blur. The weekend was great…meeting all my expectations and then some. I so much enjoyed talking to my relatives and catching up on their lives. I didn’t mislead you with the promise of pictures either; I have well over 200 that I still have yet to go through. The pictures require cropping and editing to bring out the most in them, so it will probably be a little while before I can sit down to do all that. I promise to share them when the editing gets completed though; “cross my heart.”

I picked out a few pictures to include in this post to tie you over until I can put up more for a slideshow. Most of these are cousins, nephews, and a niece with an uncle thrown in for good measure. I look forward to sharing more in the coming days; I’m really pleased about what I was able to capture with my camera, lots of memories.

Well, I think it’s time to get cleaned up. I have been left behind by my family. My dad took the boys out to lunch and a movie; my mom took Laurie, my sister, and my sister-in-law out for a “girl’s afternoon out.” I’m not sure how I got abandoned, but I’m thinking I shouldn’t let this opportunity pass. I’ll go hit up Popeye’s Chicken or a BBQ buffet where no one will keep score on what I get to eat (wink).

We take Stefan and Garrett to Jackson, MS tomorrow for the next leg of their summer adventure (they’re heading out to LAX for the Summer X-Games). I don’t know if I’ll be able to update the blog before now and tomorrow night, but I’ll try to post up something. Until then, Peace!

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Day 7: Uh Oh…a no picture day (from July 24^th)

I was on my own for the most of today. I had planned to spend some time with my brother, Bradley, and that’s pretty much what the majority of this day was all about. I did have a couple of side projects lined up; one project was to replace the low beam headlight in our Chevy Trailblazer. Can you say “most stupid engineering design ever”? I cannot believe the ridiculous way they designed the headlight assembly, at least with regard to how the bulb would be changed. Thank goodness for the internet, I was able to figure out how to get to the bulb…can’t believe it was necessary to remove the entire front grill, but it was…necessary. Anyway, mission accomplished; bulb changed.

Met up with an old high school buddy too and enjoyed a brief visit with him. (Nice to see ya, Warren!)

Bradley and I enjoyed tracking (recording) a song I had written…although I have to say that I am not American Idol or America’s got Talent caliber. Nonetheless, the song got recorded. I will share it in a blog post when I get a copy from Brad.

For lunch we hit this really obscure little restaurant for Louisiana style PoBoys; mine was a massive shrimp PoBoy and it hit the spot in an equally massive way. After our belly-busting lunch, we headed over toward Calhoun, Louisiana to take a tour of my brother’s property. Bradley bought some land out in the country a couple of years ago with the plan to build a house some time later in the future. It is a very nice place with almost a hundred peach trees, blueberry bushes, fig trees and a pond stocked with fish. He recently acquired a nice little mobile home that he has been refinishing so he and his family can spend weekends there.

The evening ended with my sister, Tracy, and my cousin, Christina, arriving for our family reunion/mamaw’s 90^th birthday celebration gathering tomorrow-today (Saturday). Speaking of which, it’s time to get myself ready and wake up the rest of the family. I’ll have my camera with me for the reunion, so you can expect a photo slideshow with my next blog post.

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Day 6: ON THE RIVER

We spent the day with Mike and LaTonya Lewis today. Much of the day was spent just enjoying leisurely conversation. It was really good to catch up on life with one another and hear what God is doing in our lives. It is amazing to hear encouraging and challenging words that God speaks to us through the lives of other people.

We were able to visit Family Church and see where the Lewis’ worship and serve. We took a tour of the facilities and were able to check out Kimmy’s office too.

Later in the evening we went out to the river with Ryan, Mike’s newest addition to his family (son-in-law…husband to Kim Lewis, Mike’s oldest daughter). Ryan took us boat riding while the younger Borden and Lewis men attempted to learn about wake-boarding and knee-boarding. Suffice it to say while they didn’t master the art of “water gliding” they had a tremendous time giving their all to try. I enjoyed the joy of sharing the beauty of God’s creation and feeling at home on the river…and, I got some pretty nice pictures for the memory banks too.

Day Seven is planned to spend with Brother Bradley as we take a tour of his property and then take some time to work on my song and getting it recorded.

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