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Lowell Greathouse


Lowell Greathouse is the Mission and Ministry Coordinator for the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church. He looks for places to find where the spirit is alive and help them grow in vitality and fruitfulness. Share with him at lowell@umoi.org

Blog Posts



Spirit Alive: Life is a Series of Covenants - 5/2/2019
Honoring Our Commitments and Keeping Life Connections in Balance

Spirit Alive: Who is Invisible to You? - 4/19/2019
How Can You Relate to Those You Do Not Know?

Spirit Alive: It's Time for a Bit More Jesus - 4/4/2019
What Can the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Teach Us About Our Own Life and Times?

Spirit Alive: What's Next? - 3/19/2019
Spring...A Time to Become Fully Alive in an Ever-Changing Context

Spirit Alive: It's Time to Get Real - 3/3/2019
St. Louis 2019-- What Just Happened?

Spirit Alive: Where Is Your Church's Heartbeat? - 2/9/2019
Without a Heartbeat, There Is No Pulse....

Spirit Alive: The Things We Do Together - 2/2/2019
Spirit Alive is a twice a month blog that looks at different aspects of mission and ministry throughout the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference and beyond. February 5, 2019 With Heart, Soul, and Mind: Out of Many, One.... "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:3 "Live in harmony with one another." Romans 12: 16 Unity, harmony, and love toward each other are at the heart of Paul's letters. In fact, he addresses the subject of unity of spirit in a ...

Spirit Alive: Can We Be an All Souls Church in a Some Souls World? - 1/17/2019
Spirit Alive is a twice a month blog that looks at different aspects of mission and ministry throughout the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference and beyond. January 15, 2019 With Heart, Soul, and Mind: What Will It Take to Transform the World? "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.'" Romans 12: 2 "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." President Theodore Roosevelt Some years ago, when I was at a conference in Washington, DC, I ...

Spirit Alive: 2019-- Happy Old Year! - 1/1/2019
How Do You Know If You Made Any Progress Last Year?



Spirit Alive: It's Time to Crossover - 11/30/2018
Sometimes You Need to Crossover in Order to Reach Your Goal


Spirit Alive: Which is More Important, Being Correct...or Learning How to Connect? - 11/8/2018
November 6, 2018 With Heart, Soul, and Mind: What's at the Heart of Christian Discipleship? "Teacher, which commandment of the law is the greatest?" Matthew 22: 36 "Evil is always complex, roundabout, tangled. Goodness is always a reduction of life to simplicity....All great discoveries are a reduction from complexity to simplicity....Life for the Pharisee was very complicated. For Jesus it was very simple. The Pharisees lived by innumerable taboos, regulations, and laws. Jesus reduced these ...




Spirit Alive: Special Edition-- What 9/11 Still Has to Teach Us - 9/9/2018
Traveling Through Samaria in Order to Find Our Common Ground

Spirit Alive: The Difference Between Being a Bystander and a Witness - 9/2/2018
What Do You Do When Something Just Doesn't Feel Right Inside?

Spirit Alive: Activating Your PGSD - 8/3/2018
Keeping Your Sense of Gratitude and Blessing Alive


Spirit Alive: Lessons from Kenya-- When the Spirit Crosses the Threshold of Our World - 7/27/2018
Connect Relationally...Celebrate Life...and Respond to Daily Difficulties with a Sense of Calm and Grace

Spirit Alive: Looking into the Soul of America - 6/26/2018
Finding Our Better Angels in Difficult Times


Spirit Alive: Gone Volunteer in Missioning - 6/23/2018
When Our Encounters Change Everything...and Everyone

Spirit Alive: When Gatekeepers Become Space Makers - 6/19/2018
There are Many New Voices Among Us...Are We Ready to Make Room and Listen?

Spirit Alive: Connectionalism that Changes Lives and Transforms the World - 6/4/2018
Gathering in the Woods to Celebrate Life and Build Community

Spirit Alive: Let Me Tell You a Spiritual Secret - 5/12/2018
Something Remarkable Happens When One's Inner Spirit Comes Alive

Spirit Alive: Sometimes Walking the Talk Means... - 4/22/2018
Talking Kindly...but also Listening with Compassion

Spirit Alive: It's Time to Recover Our Mission - 4/11/2018
When Your Heart is at Peace, Your Mind Can Be Renewed...

Spirit Alive: Resurrection Happens! - 3/26/2018
Learning to Know Ourselves as Already Resurrected

Spirit Alive: What to Do When You are Part of the 5% - 3/4/2018
Finding One's Soul in the Midst of Wealth...and Suffering

Spirit Alive: The Challenge of Following Jesus - 3/4/2018
Making Disciples of Jesus Christ Means Joining a Movement of Love...and Following the Way of the Cross

Spirit Alive: Did You Ever Have a Dream? - 2/14/2018
Spirit Alive: It Takes an Open Heart to Recognize and Honor the Dreams of Others

Spirit Alive: Becoming the Music You Wish to Make - 1/23/2018
Spirit Alive: What Does It Really Mean to Follow the Way?


Spirit Alive: Trying to Make Sense of 2017? - 12/26/2017
Spirit Alive: In the End, Spirituality Trumps Politics

Spirit Alive: It's More About Seeing than Saying - 12/12/2017
Spirit Alive: It's Time to Look Around and Notice the Light

Spirit Alive: The Sacrament of Thanksgiving - 11/28/2017
Spirit Alive: Grounding One's Life in a Spirit of Thanksgiving

Spirit Alive: Are You Praying or Just Fidgeting? - 11/14/2017
Spirit Alive: Finding New Ways to Let Prayer Fill Your Life


Spirit Alive: Are You Connected? Let Me Count the Ways - 10/10/2017
Spirit Alive: When We Can Count on Each Other, Our Generosity Makes a Lasting Difference

Spirit Alive: As Christians, Shouldn't We All Have an ISDP? - 9/12/2017
Spirit Alive: What Does It Mean to Wear a Christian Cross?

Spirit Alive: Whose America Is This? - 8/22/2017
Spirit Alive: It's Time to Wrestle with Our Demons...and Let Our Angels Sing

Spirit Alive: What the Dalai Lama Taught Me About Jesus - 8/8/2017
Spirit Alive: When Inter-Faith Dialogue Becomes Sacred Conversation




Spirit Alive: Christian Discipleship Is More Than a Theory - 6/13/2017
Spirit Alive: What Direction Are You Headed In?


Spirit Alive: Can We Talk? - 5/9/2017
Spirit Alive: There's Nothing Like a Good Conversation

Spirit Alive: What's in a Name? - 4/25/2017
Spirit Alive: What's in a Name?

Spirit Alive: One Week Can Make a Lasting Difference - 4/11/2017
Spirit Alive: What Would Holy Week Look Like in a Tweeting, Hashtag World?

Spirit Alive: Better Together - 3/28/2017
Spirit Alive: Being Together Can Make a World of Difference

Spirit Alive: Grounded in the Word - 3/14/2017
Spirit Alive: Reading the New Testament as It Evolves into History

Spirit Alive: Have You Become Too Normal for Your Own Good? - 2/28/2017
Spirit Alive: Have You Become Too Normal for Your Own Good?

Spirit Alive: What Does Being Better Off Really Mean? - 2/14/2017
Spirit Alive: Reinventing the American Dream

Spirit Alive: A Special Post-Inauguration Edition - 1/25/2017
Spirit Alive: A Special Post-Inauguration Edition

Spirit Alive: What Happens When the Spirit Takes Your Breath Away? - 1/24/2017
Spirit Alive: What Happens When the Spirit Takes Your Breath Away?

Spirit Alive: Modulation as a Spiritual Practice - 1/10/2017
Spirit Alive: How will You Invest Your Spiritual Energy this Year?

Spirit Alive: As 2017 Begins.... - 12/27/2016
Spirit Alive: As 2017 Begins....

Spirit Alive: Joy to the World! - 12/13/2016
Spirit Alive: Joy to the World!

Spirit Alive: How Do You Find Hope While Living in a World of Pain? - 11/22/2016
Spirit Alive: How Do You Find Hope While Living in a World of Pain?


Spirit Alive: Remembering the Saints in Our Lives - 10/25/2016
Spirit Alive: Remembering the Saints in Our Lives

Spirit Alive: Living Faith-- Do You Have a Minute? - 10/11/2016
Spirit Alive: Bend UMC Shares "Discipleship Spotlight" Messages

Spirit Alive: Why Did the Church Cross the Road? - 9/27/2016
Spirit Alive: What Happens to Ministry When You Cross the Street?

Spirit Alive: What is Your Church's Signature? - 9/13/2016
Spirit Alive: What is Your Church's Signature?

Spirit Alive: Called to Love - 8/23/2016
Spirit Alive: What's Love Got to Do with It?

Spirit Alive: What Do You Do When Life Breaks In? - 8/9/2016
Spirit Alive: What Do You Do When Life Breaks In?

Spirit Alive: Is Your God Too Small? - 7/26/2016
Spirit Alive: Is Your God Too Small? Only If Your World Is

Spirit Alive: Are You Experiencing Violence Fatigue? - 7/12/2016
Spirit Alive: Are You Experiencing Violence Fatigue?

Spirit Alive: It's Been Quite a Year - 6/28/2016
Spirit Alive: What in the World Does a Mission and Ministry Coordinator Do?

Spirit Alive: It's a Matter of Character and Calling - 6/14/2016
Spirit Alive: What's Your Calling? Who Are You at Your Core?

Spirit Alive: What Really Matters? - 5/24/2016
Spirit Alive: Not Everything that Matters Happens When People Vote

Spirit Alive: Someone Out There Cares - 5/10/2016
Spirit Alive: Someone Out There Cares

Spirit Alive: Where Do You Do Your Field Preaching? - 4/26/2016
Spirit Alive: Where do you do your field preaching?






Spirit Alive: Culitivating Communities of Practice - 1/26/2016
Spirit Alive: Cultivating Communities of Practice

Spirit Alive: Prayer Matters - 1/19/2016
Spirit Alive: Prayer Matters

Spirit Alive: You Don't Have to Have It All Together to Be Together - 1/12/2016
You Don't Have to Have it All Together to Be Together

Spirit Alive: Are You Ready to Re-Up? - 1/5/2016
With Heart, Soul, and Mind: Are You Ready to Re-Up?





Spirit Alive: When You Pray for Children - 12/1/2015
Amazing Things Happen When You Pray for Children


Spirit Alive: Places are People First - 11/17/2015
We call it a place, but it's really a community of people




Spirit Alive: Asbury-Our Redeemer Partnership - 10/6/2015
Spirit Alive is a weekly blog that looks at different aspects of mission and ministry throughout the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference and beyond. October 6, 2015 Signs of Life: The Asbury-Our Redeemer Partnership -- Hood River, Oregon Sometimes in Spirit Alive, I will share an example of a “sign of life” that I see in the larger world. For this installment, I traveled to Hood River, Oregon to learn more about the Asbury-Our Redeemer Partnership, between the congregations of the United Methodist ...

Spirit Alive: Are you present? - 9/29/2015
Lowell explores what preparedness and presence can mean each day.

CLD Program Brings Focus to Church Vitality - 11/20/2014
This six month, intensive experience has been an important part of our learning culture as a district,


Everyday Blessings, September 24, 2012 - 9/24/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings!  May this coming week become a feast of blessing and connection...


Everyday Blessings, September 20, 2012 - 9/20/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings!   The birth of a good society comes when people start to...


Everyday Blessings, September 17, 2012 - 9/17/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings!

 


Everyday Blessings, September 13, 2012 - 9/13/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings!   ...“All the way to God is God.”



Everyday Blessings, September 6, 2012 - 9/6/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, September 6, 2012


Everyday Blessings, September 4, 2012 - 9/3/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings September 4, 2012


Everyday Blessings, August 30, 2012 - 8/30/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 30, 2012


Everyday Blessings, August 27, 2012 - 8/27/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 27, 2012


Everyday Blessings, August 23, 2012 - 8/23/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 23, 2012


Everyday Blessings, August 20, 2012 - 8/20/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 20, 2012


Everyday Blessings, August 13, 2012 - 8/13/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 13, 2012


Everyday Blessings, August 16, 2012 - 8/13/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 16, 2012!


Everyday Blessings, August 9, 2012 - 8/9/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 9, 2012!


Everyday Blessings, August 6, 2012 - 8/6/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 6, 2012!


Everyday Blessings, August 2, 2012 - 8/2/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, August 2, 2012!


Everyday Blessings, July 30, 2012 - 7/30/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 30, 2012


Everyday Blessings, July 26, 2012 - 7/26/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 26, 2012!


Everyday Blessings, July 23, 2012 - 7/23/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 23, 2012


Everyday Blessings, July 19, 2012 - 7/19/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 19, 2012 ...“The tragedy of life is not so much what men suffer, but rather what they miss.” ...


Everyday Blessings, July 16, 2012 - 7/16/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 16, 2012


Everyday Blessings, July 12, 2012 - 7/12/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 12, 2012   ...wisdom from Mother Teresa...


Everyday Blessings, July 9, 2012 - 7/9/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 9, 2012  ..."We are each blessed with ears to hear,.."


Everyday Blessings, July 5, 2012 - 7/5/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, July 5, 2012


Everyday Blessings, July 2, 2012 - 7/2/2012

Everyday Blessings, July 2, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Everyday Blessings, June 28, 2012 - 6/28/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings! 


Everyday Blessings, June 25, 2012 - 6/25/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, June 25, 2012  ...May our hearts be open to others…


Everyday Blessings, June 21, 2012 - 6/21/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, June 21, 2012

 


Everyday Blessings, June 18, 2012 - 6/18/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, June 18, 2012 ...Holy One,
Touch our mouths that your words might...


Everyday Blessings, June 14, 2012 - 6/14/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, June 14, 2012 ...‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’


Everyday Blessings, June 11, 2012 - 6/11/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, June 11, 2012   "...May we notice the thin places in life, where the veil..."


Everyday Blessings, June 7, 2012 - 6/7/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, June 7, 2012 ... “When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—


Celebrate the Signposts - 6/6/2012

...after all what could reconfiguring districts really accomplish? But on another level it reflects that we, as an annual conference, continue to be in a process of active change...


Everyday Blessings, June 4, 2012 - 6/4/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings...  "This week, may we be willing to surrender to..."


Everyday Blessings, May 31, 2012 - 5/31/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, May 31, 2012  "...But many who are first will be last; and the last, first."


Everyday Blessings, May 28, 2012 - 5/28/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, May 28, 2012 ..." As we move from Sabbath rest to the activity and busyness of daily life,..."


Everyday Blessings, May 24, 2012 - 5/24/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, May 24, 2012
“My rule is to receive you with hospitality and to let you go in peace.” (A desert hermit)


Everyday Blessings, May 21, 2012 - 5/21/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, May 21, 2012 "May our eyes be open to beauty…"

 


Everyday Blessings, May 17, 2012 - 5/17/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, May 17, 2012   Gandhi: “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”


Everyday Blessings, May 14, 2012 - 5/14/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--

As we go about our daily activities this week,
Let us realize...

 

 


Everyday Blessings, May 10, 2012 - 5/10/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, May 10,2012
John Muir: “I used to envy the father of our race, dwelling as he did in contact with...
 


Everday Blessings, May 7, 2012 - 5/7/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, May 7, 2012-- 
This week may the rains of spring be welcomed, so they can...


Everyday Blessings, May 3, 2012 - 5/3/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--May 3, 2012   Paul Woodruff: “Reverence is the well-developed capacity to have


Everday Blessings, April 30, 2012 - 4/30/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, April 30, 2012


Everyday Blessings, April 26, 2012 - 4/26/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--April 26, 2012 :  “Be still and know that I am God.”

 


Everyday Blessings, April 23, 2012 - 4/23/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, April 23, 2012--


Look around and see the Kingdom of God among us:


Everyday Blessings, April 19, 2012 - 4/19/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--April 19, 2012


"Like an apple tree among the trees..."

 


Everyday Blessings, April 16, 2012 - 4/16/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, April 16, 2012
May life become for us a living sacrament of…


Everyday Blessings, April 12, 2012 - 4/12/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, April 12, 2012
"It is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts."


Everyday Blessings, April 9, 2012 - 4/9/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, April 9, 2012

May the horizon before you provide inspiration and

 


Everyday Blessings, April 5, 2012 - 4/5/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, April 5, 2012

Patience means allowing things to unfold at their own


Everyday Blessings, April 2, 2012 - 4/2/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, April 2, 2012

 


 


Everyday Blessings, March 29, 2012 - 3/29/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 29, 2012


Everyday Blessings, March 26, 2012 - 3/26/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 26, 2012


Everyday Blessings, March 22, 2012 - 3/22/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 22,2012 


Everyday Blessings, March 19, 2012 - 3/19/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 19, 2012


Everyday Blessings, March 15, 2012 - 3/15/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 15, 2012


Everday Blessings, March 12, 2012 - 3/12/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 12, 2012


Everyday Blessings, March 8, 2012 - 3/8/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 8, 2012


Everyday Blessings, March 5, 2012 - 3/5/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 5, 2012


Everyday Blessings, March 1, 2012 - 3/1/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, March 1, 2012


Everyday Blessings, February 28, 2012 - 2/27/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, February 27, 2012


Everyday Blessings, February 23, 2012 - 2/23/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, February 23, 2012


Everyday Blessings--February 20, 2012 - 2/20/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, February 20, 2012


Everday Blessings--February 16, 2012 - 2/16/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--February 16, 2012


Everyday Blessings--February 13, 2012 - 2/13/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--February 13, 2012

 


Everyday Blessings--February 9, 2012 - 2/9/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--February 9, 2012


Everyday Blessings--February 6, 2012 - 2/6/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--February 6, 2012


Everyday Blessings--February 2, 2012 - 2/2/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--February 2, 2012


Everyday Blessings--January 30, 2012 - 1/30/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--January 30, 2012


Everyday Blessings--January 26, 2012 - 1/26/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--January 26, 2012


Everyday Blessings, January 23, 2012 - 1/23/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings for Monday, January 23, 2012


Everyday Blessings-- January 19, 2012 - 1/19/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings for January 19, 2012


Everyday Blessings-- January 16, 2012 - 1/16/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings, Monday, January 16


Everyday Blessings-- January 12, 2012 - 1/12/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--a resource for you to use weekly as you pause for a time of quiet spent with God.


Everyday Blessings-- January 9, 2012 - 1/9/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--a resource for you to use weekly as you pause for a time of quiet spent with God.


Everyday Blessings INTRODUCTION January 2 & 5 - 1/2/2012

Welcome to Everyday Blessings--a resource for you to use weekly as you pause for a time of quiet spent with God.

 

 

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