Well, in a sense.  I spent the last 24 hours moving my website from one hosting company to another.  I’ve got to say – it was an experience.  I learned a lot about what to back up and how to properly move a blog so that you don’t lose all of your data.

Luckily I was able to switch back and forth between them to get what I needed.  I THINK I’ve got everything now except for the links.  I’ll probably have to recreate those over the next day or so.

You may wonder why I did it – two reasons:

1) Cost – The company I went with will save me quite a bit in monthly costs.  2) Speed and Features – My new hosting company offers a much faster site with a lot more features.

So, enjoy the view from The Water’s Edge.  Let me know if you notice any “ripples” so I can get them smoothed out.

So, I’ve been thinking about this passage from Sunday some more and the whole net vs. hook thing.  While thinking about it something else occurred to me.

A net is useful to catch a lot of fish all at once.  When you’ve just gotta “catch ‘em all” (sorry for the bad Pokemon reference).  You throw the net in, let it sink and pull it up.  No matter how bad a catch your get, you’ll probably get at least a couple.

Then there’s the line and hook.  It’s designed to catch one fish at a time.  It’s a slow process, a deliberate process, often taking hours upon hours with almost nothing to show for it.  When you finally land one it feels good and if everything played out as you hope you’ll have caught yourself a keeper.

Looking at the ministry of Jesus there were times when he used the net approach – teaching the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-9), teaching the five thousand (Mark 6:30-34), when he taught from the mountainside in Matthew 5 – 7.  Thousands of people heard The Good News – some may have even chosen to believe it.

But there were other times when Jesus used the line and hook.  He spent time with individuals, investing the time and patience to work with them to better understand what it was he was telling them.  He spent time with his disciples and with people like Nicodemus (John 3:1-21), the woman at the well (John 4:1-26), and Mary who sat at his feet (Luke 10:38-42).

It’s the same with us and our relationships.  We need to ensure that the gospel of Jesus is proclaimed in our daily lives – how we conduct ourselves at work, at the ballgame, when we’re out with our friends.  These actions in group settings are like casting out a net – you may catch one or two.

However, we need to ensure that we are taking the time to drop a line in the water with certain people.  Build authentic relationships, create trust, find someone to share your heart with, that will hold you accountable.  Invest in someone – maybe it’s a peer, maybe it’s a youth or an older adult.  It could be someone new to the faith that needs a guide, or it may be someone strong in their faith and their walk that can mentor you.  Either way, it takes time.  You have to be persistent, deliberate and intentional about it.

So, how will you fish this week?

Beth and I had the opportunity today to visit the Methodist Church in Rittman and hear a message from our friend Pastor Chuck.  He spoke on Mark 1:14-18 – The story of Jesus calling the first disciples.

One of the things he mentioned was that Simon and Andrew were fishing with nets – a very common practice at that time.  He talked about how a fisherman that uses a rod and a hook is really trying to trick a fish into taking the bait, hoping that the promise of a tasty morsel will convince the fish to overlook the line and hook that it is attached to.

This got me to thinking about how I reach out to people.  Am I casting a single line out there – baiting it with a facade of smiles, good words, bible quotes, service, worship leading – using all of that to hide the ugly, dirty hook of sin that is inside of me?  To hide my hurts and fears, my doubts and questions, my real feelings on things?  Sure, a single line is easy to handle, lightweight, I can throw it out, reel it in and change the bait depending on the situation.  But what am I going to catch with it?  And what happens when the bait falls off and the hook is exposed?

Or am I throwing the net of my entire life out there, a wide reaching view of everything that I am made up of.  Letting people see through all the holes to the center of who I really am?  To see the knots that are there that I struggle trying to pull apart, the patched ropes.  What about the strong bonds of it all that work together to make up the entire net.  The net is heavy, it’s hard to handle with just one person, and can be incredibly cumbersome – but look at how much more you can catch with it.

I think as we live our lives as an example of who Christ is in us we need to have real authenticity with one other – real community – and to let people see what Christ is really doing IN us.  We need to use the net.  Be open and honest with people.  Let them see all that we are.  Don’t hide things – the bait is slippery and will  off.  The easy thing to do is throw that hook up there and cover up the hurt and the sins we struggle with under a tasty morsel, and I’ll admit there are times when I’ve done that.

Once you start using your net it will get easier – you’ll see more results and you’ll be streghtened by those you “catch” when they start to help you carry the load of your net and you help them with theirs.

I wanted to begin by thanking all of you who have lifted my Aunt Joan up in prayer.  Here’s the latest.

She went to the ER last night and had suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm.  There was severe bleeding in the base of her skull and she was life-flighted to the Cleveland Clinic.  The doctors were not hopeful as she has other health issues as well and were not expecting her to make it.

Tonight, when I got home from seeing the play there was a message on my answering machine from my mother.  She was obviously in tears and I was ready to hear the worst.  What I was actually hearing were tears of joy.  It turns out that Joan has turned around.  The bleeding has stopped and the doctors are expecting her to recover.

This can ONLY be due to the power of prayer.  I want to thank everyone who lifted her up in prayer and ask that you continue.  She’s by no means out of the woods yet and is still in need of healing.  Please continue to pray for her, the doctors and the family.

Mark 10:27 – “ALL things are possible with God.”

I Just got a call from my mom.  We just found out that my Aunt Joan Blubaugh (my dad’s sister) is not doing well.  She was taken to the hospital and the doctors are saying that they don’t think she’s going to make it.

Please pray for peace – peace for my aunt, peace for my dad and mom, for her two kids, for all of the family.  Pray for the doctors that are treating her, for the nurses and all those that will come in contact with her.  Pray for God’s loving arms to wrap around everyone as they go through this.  Pray for healing – healing that only God can provide.

Most of all pray that God’s will be done and that whatever the outcome that God’s peace and love surrounds us all.  We know that when God calls her home he will be calling her home to be with Him and with her husband who went home to be with Jesus earlier this year.  Her family has been through so much over this last 12 months.

Just pray – thanks.

Saw this on the AP Wire this morning:

Indiana boy licks light pole, gets stuck

HAMMOND, Ind. – In a scene straight out of the movie “A Christmas Story,” a 10-year-old Indiana boy got his tongue stuck to a metal light pole.

Hammond police say the unidentified fourth-grader was able to tell them that a friend dared him to lick the pole Wednesday night. Temperatures in the Chicago suburb were around 10 degrees at the time.

By the time an ambulance arrived, the boy was able to yank his tongue off the frozen pole.

Police say ambulance personnel explained to the boy’s mother how to care for his bleeding tongue.

The 1983 movie is set in a fictional city based on Hammond, the hometown of author Jean Shepherd.

Life imitating art.

What’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever done?

I’m a huge Billy Joel fan.   For the 4th grade talent show I sang “My Life”.  The first concert I ever went to was Billy Joel at the Colisuem at Richfield.  When Gund Arena (now “The Q“, aka “The House LeBron Built”) was opened the first event held there was a Billy Joel concert – I was there.  That was also the last time I saw him in concert.  He quit recording pop music (for the most part) back in 1993 but still toured a few times – most notably with Elton John in the “Face to Face” tour.

I just heard today that Billy and Elton are touring again and will be at The Q this May.  I’m not sure that tickets for this show fit into our budget – especially because we’ve got our summer vacation booked to beautiful Canal Fulton, OH for the Alive Music Festival which I am REALLY excited about.  I would love to be able to see this show.

If you could pick one concert to see this year who would it be?