One of the things that is clear, as we study the lives of those who followed Christ, is that, over time, their lives were changed.  Consider the amazing transformations:  Peter, who was impulsive and denied the Lord three times, became the apostle of steadfastness.  (The theme of steadfastness under trial is the main focus of the epistles he penned). John, who was known as a "son of thunder (a man with temper management problems) became the apostle of love (as evidenced in the epistles he wrote).  And Paul, who at first was a persecutor of the church, became one of the church's great apostles and missionaries.  In each of these cases (and in many others) through their relationship with Christ their lives were changed.  As we continue our journey through the season of Lent, I am convinced that our lives can be changed too...

I was so happy for my son and his family this week.  Because of hectic schedules, covid, and calendar conflicts, it has been two years since they have been able to take a family trip together.  But this week, they found the opportunity and took a four-day family outing to the Sipapu Ski resort.  The fact is, over these past two years, many families have had difficulty being able to coordinate any meaningful family time.  But having a "break in the action" is not only important for us as individuals, it is essential for family health.  Not every family will be able to go on several-day ski trip, but hopefully every family can find some time to "get away" in some fashion and spend time together.  I'm thankful for this opportunity for my family and I'm praying for others that times of family rest, renewal, and recreation might come.

Not every family (child) is able to take a vacation (or go on a ski trip) during Spring Break.  So, this year my Director of Children and Family Ministries decided to have a Vacation Bible School in March.  By recruiting volunteers from our church and joining forces with the ministry team of Shoulder to Shoulder, coupled with workers from the Salvation Army, we were prepared to host 60+ children from our community.

I had an unusual experience the other day; I went into a fast-food store to have a quick lunch and ended up in a conversation with a store manager.  We talked about some "general things" then talked about the coming of Christmas and how that would effect his store.  (Open till 10 on Christmas Eve but closed on Christmas Day).  Then he told me how he and his wife would share Christmas morning.  As I listened I was stunned; this is a story to share...

Advent is a season of joy.  The theme of joy is found in many of our Advent and Christmas hymns:  "Joy to the world the lord is come...."  "Good Christian friends rejoice..."  "Oh come all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant."  The list goes on and on.  On the third Sunday of Advent we light the candle of Joy on our Advent wreath.  In some ways there is an expectation that even those who are "down in the dumps" will have their hearts filled with joy during the seasons of Advent and Christmas.  But even though this is a season of  joy, for many this is also a season that is filled with sorrow and grief...

The season of Advent began November 28th.  As a part of our Advent tradition we light a candle each week on the Advent wreath symbolizing the qualities of:  hope, love, joy, and peace.  On Christmas Eve we will light the white center candle - a symbol of the presence of Christ who is the "light of the world."  As we continue through the season of Advent I've been struck by the fact that perhaps there has never been a time when the qualities these candles represent are more needed in our world and in our personal lives as well...

It's the time of year when spiders build large webs around our home (which is semi located in the country).  One of these webs recently took shape near our front walk way; it was attached between a tree in our yard and our front lamp post.  A rather large spider was busy at work and paused only for a moment to make sure we weren't going to bother him.  (Or her, I really couldn't get close enough to tell).  I teased our adult daughter, who is quite small in frame, telling her not to get too close.  I warned that given her weight and size, if she got tangled in that web the spider might just have her trapped!  She laughed but seemed to heed my warning and kept a safe distance.  But as I thought about our "jesting" with each other I realized that it is usually not "the web of another" that entangles us but rather the webs that we ourself spin through our lies, deceit, and sin....

We almost had a calamity the other day as we prepared to launch our church's Pumpkin Patch.  The pumpkins were originally scheduled to arrive on Friday afternoon.  This time was scheduled so that our Scouts, youth group members, and school sports participants could be present to help us unload the truck.  Each year it is a blessing to have so many young people doing the "heavy lifting" as 900 pumpkins are moved from the back of a truck to the appropriate pallet's in our Pumpkin Patch.  But, this year our truck could not make it at the scheduled time.  Instead, it arrived on a Tuesday morning at 9:30 (while school is in session).  Further, our church was experiencing email difficulties and we had difficulty communicating about the immediate need for workers.  For a while I thought there may be only 4 of us who would be working all morning and afternoon trying to get our Patch set up.  But then a miracle happened., the Faithful showed up...

My wife and I had a wonderful time, recently, visiting in the home of some of our church members, Jake and Dorotha.  It was a day of joy as Jake was celebrating his 97th birth day!  Jake and Dorotha are both restricted in their activities now, due to challenges with their health, but just two years ago Jake was still mowing (on a riding mower) our church lawn on a weekly basis.  Dorotha too, until just before the covid pandemic, was a regular participant in our services of worship, United Methodist Women, and our Wednesday night fellowship.  Throughout the years both have served the church, community, and our nation in many, many ways.  Truly they are a part of what we know as, The Great Generation...