We Need to Talk about the Funeral:  101 Practical Ways to Commemorate & Celebrate Life
Jane Morell & Simon Smith

This book explains the wide choices that are available around the type of ceremony, coffin, music and much more. Although written mainly for adult funerals, it offers ideas suitable for a child or baby

https://eu.knoxnews.com/story/news/crime/2019/05/09/former-pastor-nets-12-year-prison-term-rape-adopted-daughter-david-lynn-richards/1143006001/

Former pastor sentenced to 12 years in prison for repeated rape of adopted daughter
Hayes Hickman Knoxville News Sentinel
Published 4:01 PM EDT May 9, 2019

A former pastor convicted of repeatedly raping his adopted teenage daughter was handed an effective sentence of 12 years in prison Thursday by a Knox County judge, who weighed the severity of the crimes against an outpouring of support for the man from friends and family in court.  David Lynn Richards Jr. continued to maintain his innocence, as he had throughout his trial, while asking for leniency from Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steve Sword.  The Knoxville News Sentinel typically does not identify victims in sexual abuse cases, but  Amber Richards chose to speak publicly after the February verdicts.  She sat on the opposite side of the courtroom Thursday, joined by a half-dozen others, including her biological parents, who she has reconnected with in recent years.  "I wanted to throw my body away," Amber Richards said as she delivered her victim impact statement Thursday.

"Not a day goes by that I don't, in some way, think of what he did to me I firmly believe if given the opportunity, he would victimize another young girl."

David Richards took the stand in his own defense, painting his accuser as a defiant teenager who first made her allegations of sexual abuse amid his attempts to impose strict rules for his children.  Forensic testing, however, uncovered the presence of seminal fluid with a DNA profile matching that of David Richards on the girl's bed frame.  A Knox County jury found Richards guilty on nine felony counts, including rape, incest and sexual battery by an authority figure following three days of testimony in February.  Sword had wide latitude in his sentencing decision most of the charges Richards was convicted of, including rape, are punishable by probation alone under state law. Only the charge of sexual battery by an authority figure requires a minimum of three years' mandatory incarceration.  "I stand before you convicted of crimes I did not commit," said David Richards, 41. "I simply believe the system just erred in this case.  I'm not sure why I'm here but I assume it's for His purpose."

Prosecutors sought the maximum term of 72 years behind bars.  The judge acknowledged Richards' longtime ministry he began a Bible study among his fellow inmates while jailed at the Knox County Detention Facility and the support he still receives as mitigating factors.  More than 30 people sat on the defendant's side of the courtroom in a show of support, including David Thompson, who shared ministry duties with Richards at My Father's House Church of God in Lenoir City.  "I find it impossible for me to believe he's guilty of this," said Thompson, who echoed the call for leniency. "His business needs him. His family needs him. Our church needs him."

Sword, though, noted the time frame of the abuse, which began when Amber Richards was 14 and continued for nearly two years before she reported it to authorities, as well as David Richards' abuse of his position of trust as the girl's sole guardian.  David Richards was joined Thursday by a new attorney, Stephen Ross Johnson, who signaled his intention to seek a new trial.

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/mother-baby-home-horror-there-3677328?utm_source=facebook.com

Mother and baby home horror: "There was a secret room of doomed babies who never grew up"
Woman reveals there was a special dorm in Westmeath home for infants who never left the room to play and were never seen again

By Alana Fearon
06:00, 12 JUN 2014

A woman who spent eight years in a religious-run orphanage says she is haunted by memories of a room of “secret” babies she never saw grow up.  The woman, who was put into Mount Carmel Industrial School in Co Westmeath when she was eight, revealed there was a special dormitory in the building that none of the girls was allowed enter.  But speaking exclusively to the Irish Mirror, the Co Offaly native, 62, said the room was full of babies in cots who no one ever saw leave.  And admitting that she has been haunted by these memories for years, she admitted the Tuam buried babies scandal has left her wondering what ever became of the tots.  The mum-of-four, who now lives in Co Louth, revealed: “They were in a tiny room that we had to pass when we were going to the toilet but no one was allowed into it and there was a curtain covering the window but we all knew there were babies in there, sharing cots.  When I was young I suppose none of it added up but it all came back to haunt me later in life because we never saw the babies leave the room, we never saw them being walked outside in prams or playing outside as toddlers and the scary thing is we never saw any of them grow up.  I never spoke about any of my memories until a few years ago when I plucked up the courage to tell my daughter and now that these stories have come out about Tuam and the other mother-and-baby homes, I just felt I had to talk about it.  If the government is going to start an inquiry into these institutions they need to look at Mount Carmel and all the industrial schools like it because there are a lot of unanswered questions about what really went on behind those walls.”

The woman, who asked to keep her identity private, claims she was abused from when she was eight until she turned 13 by a young priest who used to come to visit the girls in the industrial school.  Known as number 52, she also said she suffered “horrendous” physical and mental abuse at the hands of the nuns who ran Mount Carmel.  She told the Irish Mirror: “I remember when my periods started they never told me what it meant, they used to call me a dirty animal and I just feared there was something seriously wrong with me.  I was terrified. The priest started abusing me when I was eight, he only picked certain girls to prey on and I remember I used to see his car driving into the yard and I’d just start shaking.  To this day I still remember his number plate, it’s ingrained on my brain forever just like the memories of the babies in the secret room."

Two Canadian geese decided to fly south for the winter. A frog was sitting next to them as they decided this and he decided he wanted to go as well. The geese laughed and said "you're just a frog- you can't fly!"

The frog knew that he didn't want to stay in the cold, so he thought and thought and thought.  "I got an idea!" the frog said.

He found a long stick. "You two hold this stick in your claws and I'll hold on to the middle."

"With what?" the geese asked. "Your little hands could never hold on to a stick!"

"With my mouth" said the frog, proud of his idea.

So the geese put the stick in their claws, the frog clamped on with his mouth and they began to fly south successfully.  A day or two later, a crowd of people looked up and saw the two geese flying overhead, holding a stick with a frog holding on in the middle with his mouth. Someone in the crowd exclaimed, "What a brilliant idea- I wonder who thought of that?"

The frog proudly exclaimed "I did!"

A man was driving down the highway late one night when his minivan broke down. He turned on his flashers and tried to get someone's attention to help him. Eventually a Lamborghini Countach pulls up.   "Any chance I could get a lift into town?" said the minivan driver.
 
"I can do better than that," the man driving the Countach replied. "I've got a V-12 under this hood, I can tow you to the nearest town, no problem. Just honk your horn and flash your lights if I start going too fast."
 
They head off down the road and eventually come to a stop light and up pulls a Ferrari F40 with a V-10. The F40 began to rev its engine to get the Countach to race. The Countach revs its engine and the light turns green. They fly out of there, and about a half a mile down the road they pass a speed trap.  The officer there watches them pass and radios to base saying, "Base, you will not believe what I just saw. A F40 and a Countach were driving down the road doing about 120 with a minivan honking its horn and flashing its lights trying to pass them!"

https://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/lance-witt-the-most-difficult-person-you-will-ever-lead-2386?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=scbpu20190928&maropost_id=742347701&mpweb=256-8280544-742347701

The Most Difficult Person You Will Ever Lead
By Lance Witt on Sep 26, 2019

Who is the most difficult person you have ever had to lead?

Did somebody’s face and name just pop into your mind?
 
When I first thought of that question, the name that immediately popped into to my mind was Cecil. He was a member of the first church I ever pastored. He was a red-headed, hot-blooded, overly-opinionated Irishman. I became Cecil’s pastor at the age of 23. I still can’t believe I was turned loose on a congregation at that age. I feel like I should go back and apologize to that first flock. I was very zealous and passionate but lacking in wisdom and experience. I was still in seminary at the time and didn’t know much about pastoring, but I thought I did.  I had been there about 6 months and was preaching on a Sunday morning to the 60 people in my congregation. All of a sudden I heard what sounded like someone dropping their Bible. I didn’t think much of it at the time. At the end of the service one of the men in my church shook my hand and said “You made it six months. That’s pretty impressive.” 

I said “What are you talking about?” 

Then he explained “Didn’t you hear that Bible slam shut during your message?  That was brother Cecil letting the rest of us know that what your teaching was wrong. He is our self-appointed theological watchdog.”
 
It is an understatement to say that Cecil was not easy to lead. He already had his mind made up about everything! He was a know-it-all who had the gift of criticism. He had an opinion on everything and resisted every change we made. Cecil wasn’t going to be led by anyone, much less a 23 year old, wet behind the ears pastor.  Did I mention that Cecil was not easy to lead?

However, over the years, I have become intimately acquainted with someone who is even harder to lead than Cecil. And that someone is ME!  I want to let you in on a little secret the most difficult, challenging, obstinate, flaky, rebellious, defiant person you will ever lead is YOURSELF. Leading Cecil McGugan was a cakewalk compared to leading myself.

The Keeper of the Stream

Dallas Willard said “Our soul is like a stream of water, which gives strength, direction, and harmony to every other area of life.” 

You didn’t create the stream, God did. But you are the keeper of the stream.  If you are going to lead your church effectively and preach spiritually powerful messages, you have to own the health of your own soul.  In Deuteronomy 30 there is a great passage that illustrates this. In verse 1-10, God invites Israel into a life of unbelievable blessing. He says, if you return to me I will:

    make you prosperous
    increase your number
    give you abundant crops
    protect you from your enemies
    restore my relationship with you

 
He then says that this life is theirs for the taking:
 
Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12) It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 13) Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” 14) No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. — Deuteronomy 30:11-14 (NIV)
 
God says that He has made this abundant, rich life available and accessible to you and to me. It has nothing to do with my elder board or my salary or the size of my church.  2 Peter 1:3 reminds us that everything we need for life and godliness God has already given to us.   One of the best days of my life was the day I began to “own” the health of my own soul.  You see, there was a season in my life when I had been neglecting my soul (I’ll share more of that story in another article). I was busy and active and “doing” a lot for God but the stream of my soul was drying up. I was preaching sermons about a life that I wasn’t living or experiencing. I was living the way I was living because of decisions I was making. I am the keeper of the stream of my soul.  In recent years I have been learning a principle that has been changing my life.  Self-care is not selfish, it is good stewardship.  Leading yourself well and taking care of yourself is not being selfish. Think about this for a moment the main thing you have to give in serving God is YOU.  Near the end of that same chapter in Deuteronomy 30, the Lord issues a challenge. He says, This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19 (NIV)
 
“Now choose life” it is a “choice”.

And it is your choice. So, today decide to lead yourself well. Today, embrace that you are the keeper of the stream of your soul.

https://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/lance-witt-do-you-believe-in-miracles-part-1-3083?utm_source=p2p&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button-link&utm_campaign=p2p20190923&maropost_id=742347701&mpweb=256-8268574-742347701

Do You Believe In Miracles?
By Lance Witt on Nov 20, 2017

“Do you believe in miracles?  Yes.” 

Those were the words uttered by Al Michaels as the clock hit zero and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team had just pulled off a David and Goliath moment.  This ragtag group of college students had just defeated the legendary Russian Olympic Team that had not lost an Olympic hockey game since 1968.  Two days later the USA team would defeat Finland to win the gold medal.  When the Americans went up 4-3 against the Russians with ten minutes remaining in the contest, all of America held its breath for those remaining minutes.  It seemed like the longest ten minutes in sports history.  During those final minutes, goalie Jim Craig made several fabulous saves that kept all of us on the edge of our seat.  Sports Illustrated selected that epic hockey game as the greatest sports moment of the 20th century.  And I would wholeheartedly concur. But it was much more than just a great moment in sports.  The games took place against the backdrop of the Iranian hostage crisis and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. “The so-called Miracle on Ice was more than just an Olympic upset; to many Americans, it was an ideological victory in the Cold War as meaningful as the Berlin Airlift or the Apollo moon landing.”

This last generation has seen a long list of uniquely talented individual athletes.  Think Michael Jordan, Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, and Steph Curry.  Part of the greatness of the story of the 1980 Olympic hockey team was that there wasn’t a superstar.  It was a group of no-name college students led by Herb Brooks who wasn’t even the first choice to coach the 1980 team.  Their journey is a great case study in what it looks like to become a healthy and high-performing team. These principles are valuable for the teams we lead.  After all, we are working for something more noble and eternal than a gold medal.  Sometime after the Olympics, Coach Herb Brooks shared some of his reflections about this team. "They were really mentally tough and goal-oriented.  They came from all different walks of life, many having competed against one another, but they came together and grew to be a real close team. I pushed this team really hard, I mean I really pushed them. But they had the ability to answer the bell. Our style of play was probably different than anything in North America. We adopted more of a hybrid style of play - a bit of the Canadian school and a little bit of the European school. The players took to it like ducks to water, and they really had a lot of fun playing it. We were a fast, creative team that played extremely disciplined without the puck. Throughout the Olympics, they had a great resiliency about them. I mean they came from behind six or seven times to win. They just kept moving and working and digging."

Several of Coach Brooks’ phrases become a great tutorial in how to become a great team.

1. Mentally Tough

To me, that phrase is about self-leadership.  No team is stronger than the individuals who make up that team.  It is about showing up every day with a mindset to deliver your best.  It is about not taking the easy way, but rather taking the best way; the way that leads to accomplishing the goal.  Mental toughness is about “owning your stuff” and not being a victim. It is about realizing that I am not entitled to anything and that serving on this team is a “get to” not a “have to”.  It means not be a whiner or complainer, but rather being a problem solver.

2. Goal-Oriented

All great teams are crystal clear about their objective.  They know what the “win” is and they align their efforts and energies to accomplish the goal before them.  The pursuit of a gold medal is a very clear and tangible goal.  For those of us in ministry, defining the “gold medal” is a little trickier.  But because it can be less tangible, that is why it is even more important for us to do the hard work of discerning, praying, and clarifying “the win” for our ministry.  This also means that we must have the discipline to say “no” to the opportunities and ideas that don’t lead us toward the accomplishment of our unique calling.  In next week’s article, we will explore some more valuable principles for building great ministry teams.  So, as we get ready to transition into 2018, let me ask you a question.  Are you clear about your vision and focus for this coming year? 

Or, are you simply going to do the same thing as you did this last year but just slap it on a new calendar? 

And, is your team clear about your priorities for the coming year? 

As you move into this holiday season, let me encourage you to block out some time with your team to pray, discern and discuss your key priorities for the coming year. The story of 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team’s pursuit of the gold medal was one of the greatest Cinderella stories in all of sports history.  But it was far more than just a great sporting event.  It is also a great case study in what makes a great team.  And the principles apply to church teams as well.  Sometime after the Olympics, coach Herb Brooks talked about the team and gave several insights about what this team so special.  In this week’s article I want to mention three of the qualities that Brooks mentioned that can be helpful for building church teams.

1. Build A Sense of Family

Brooks said that even these hockey players came from all different walks of life, they “came together”.  They became a true team.  They weren’t just “on” a team, they “became” a team. That means authentically caring about the other players on the team and taking the time to enter into relationship with them. They had a sense of community that transcended the goal they were trying to accomplish.  When we think about building great teams in our church, relationship and a sense of community are crucial.  It can’t just be about results, it also has to be about relationship.  Brooks mentioned that these college hockey players came from different walks of life but they came together as a team.  What a beautiful picture of how it should be with the body of Christ.  People from all different backgrounds coming together, united in a common cause, for the glory of God.

2. Hard Work and Sacrifice

Not surprisingly, there was an incredible commitment and work ethic.  You don’t half-heartedly stroll into greatness.  Coach Brooks set up an extremely rigorous training schedule.  They played 61 exhibition games prior to entering the Olympics.  One night after a poor exhibition performance against Norway, the team started toward the locker room after the game.  The coach yelled “Get back on the ice.”

For more than an hour they did grueling line drills, which the team called “Herbies”, named after their coach.  After trying to get the team to leave, the custodian turned off the lights.  And Coach Brooks had them keep skating in the dark.  Representing your country and playing for a gold medal is an incredible honor and worthy of your very best.  How much more should that be true for us as we represent the King of Kings and do ministry that has impact for eternity.  We make lofty statements like that all the time in ministry.  But I do think we should really take the time to ask ourselves if we really believe that.  Do my actions and passion and work ethic reflect someone who deep down believes that what we do in ministry matters and matters for eternity?

3. Great Resiliency

One definition of resiliency is the ability to recover quickly from difficulties.  Great teams don’t give up.  When they get knocked down, they pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and get right back to work.  They learn from their mistakes and they get better.  They have a strong spirit of endurance and perseverance.  Doing ministry is messy.  And doing ministry with a team is even more messy.  We are in a battle.  Spiritual warfare is real.  There will be time when there is lack of clarity and lack of communication.  There will be seasons of chaos and dysfunction in your ministry organization.  You will be let down by people and trust will be breached.  It just comes with the territory.  To be a great team you must develop a thick skin and a never give up attitude.  It’s pretty easy to read an article and gain new insights about teams.  And it’s fairly easy to sit with your team and discuss this stuff.  The real challenge is take the risk to start implementing and living this out.  Building a great team is not easy… it never has been.  But it is not an overstatement to say that your ministry’s kingdom impact hangs in the balance.  I leave you to ponder a famous quote from Herb Brooks “Risk something or forever sit with your dreams.”