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"What Unites Us"

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This past week, I was privileged to be involved in two ministries that united people near and far. My services, as a care pastor for our church, as well as a law enforcement chaplain with the state police, have given me unique opportunities to minister to others. I was privileged to officiate at the funeral of Terry Nydegger on Wednesday. Terry served the New Berlin community as Chief of Police and the Sangamon County Rescue Squad for a combined record-breaking 48 years of service! The Stars and Stripes credit: adobestock.com The life and service of Chief Nydegger was memorialized and widely celebrated across the county and state for his five decades of self-less dedication. His numerous skills and achievements were remembered along with his calm presence, hands-on experience, and steady leadership. He rescued and saved many lives and guided countless individuals through challenging circumstances as a SWAT team medic and member of the dive team. For the eight-mile motorcade from the ...
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"The Older I Get..."

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Last Monday was Senior’s Day at the Illinois State Fair. For several years now, Monique and I have leveraged our retirement age and the privilege of free admission for old folks! It was a beautiful midmorning as we entered the main gate with delightful anticipation and a little extra energy in our step. We knew the location of our favorites for food and exhibits! Our eyes were also alert to any available benches, along the way, for rest and people watching. This was our annual visit to the fair! It was a couple of hours later, after our visits to Vose Korndogs and the Pork Pavillion, that we had doubled back for a momentary respite in the Coliseum to watch the draft horse and pony show. As we sat there looking at some of the horses being groomed, I noticed what appeared to be a feat of physicality and creative achievement. One of the contestants was a cute older grade schoolgirl. She was curiously lying on her belly straddling the backside of a very large horse. While facing downward...
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"Restore My Soul!"

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As you faithful readers have certainly noted, I have been at “low power mode” for the past two weeks since the blog anniversary article. I needed to take a break from writing due to a preaching opportunity, a graveside service, two training events, and two fellowship events to support other ministries in our busy church life. It has given me a welcome opportunity to recharge spiritually and reset for the fall! "Hard to look more relaxed!" - FB Comment by Marc K. One of the training events was our annual staff retreat where we spent the day off campus in a beautiful and nearby setting at the denominational conference center. It was my third opportunity to retreat with fellow staff members and receive training and instruction in “building a volunteer culture that thrives.” The leaders were in-house, but I thought several times, “This subject is so relevant that these leaders should ‘take this on the road’ and do conferences for other churches!” The day-long training included ...
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Anniversary Reader Reflections!

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Greetings, Readers! You will notice that today’s article looks a little different from my usual musings. This is the eighth anniversary of this work in progress. It all started in August of 2018 when I asked our tech savvy son, Marc, to help me set up a blog on my personal website ( www.mjkministries.com ). At the time, I was not sure how long this effort would last or that anyone would even read what I was writing. But to my surprise, God has blessed in an incredible way! Blogger At Work! As of this writing, Serve by Design has logged over one million and ninety-one thousand pageviews since its inception. The site regularly averages 45,000 pageviews each month. This issue represents the 400 th article! I have repeated this maxim a few times over the years, “Writers need readers!” I am grateful to each of you who take the time each week to open this devotional blog, read or scan through it, and then share your reflections. You are a blessing to me! Your verbal and written interaction...
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"I Want a Sandwich!"

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“Dad, you know how a child’s voice can carry!” That’s how Matt started his recap of last week’s early morning flight from a recent work assignment at the D.C. office. He continued to relate how something humorous had occurred on the connecting flight from Atlanta to home. The plane had just reached its optimum elevation, and the attendants were beginning to ask the passengers about their preferences for drinks and snacks. Iconic PB&J Sandwich! Credit: AdobeStock When I used to fly recreationally, I remember the choices for snacks to be limited to a single packet of peanuts or pretzels! According to their website, Delta Airlines offers four choices with fancy names: Lotus Biscoff cookies, MadeGood Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars, SunChips Garden Salsa, and Cheez-It Original Baked Snack Crackers.  Matt estimated that the little person, with a big voice, was about three or four years old. After the flight attendant engaged her about the multiple snack choices, s...
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Eye Contact Noticed!

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Klay, our oldest and sixteen-year-old New Mexican grandson, and I recently enjoyed an hour-long chat at the nearby coffee shop. He and his family were in Illinois for a few days. We treasure these occasions and are thankful that we get to see each other two or three times a year. The world stops when we are together and we can get into a serious conversation quickly about any subject! Early Childhood Education!  ðŸ˜† This time we were in a discussion about the next steps for Klay after he graduates from high school in December. He has been taking advanced classes for years and will be finishing this stage of his education two months from his seventeenth birthday. Now, he is earnestly focused on what his bachelor's degree will look like and where he will do his studies. He wants to get on a track that takes him to seminary in the next three to four years. It’s an exciting time for this special grand who has already been asked to preach a couple of times in his home church the last f...
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Who's Watching You?

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We are still replaying the highlights of our last Saturday evening gathering to watch our beloved Cardinals play the Atlanta Braves at Busch Stadium! It was an occasion full of various elements that included celebrating with Matt, our eldest son, on his fiftieth birthday! Twenty-one family members had come in from New Mexico, Texas, Saint Louis, and Illinois! "Want some Dippin' Dots, Honey?" The mid-afternoon celebration started at Ted Drews Frozen Custard with each of us ready to sample our favorites from their famous ice cream menu of shakes and concretes. As we approached the ordering windows, a light sprinkle or two of rain greeted us momentarily, but it only lasted a few minutes before the sun would shine brightly throughout the rest of the evening. Then, we made our way over to the stadium to check in at the gate, and receive the David Eckstein Bobblehead promotional giveaway. Those of us who were older were eager to get a hand on this commemorative memento that f...
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