11.17.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 11:15 am by Pastor Don
17 November 2008
Dear Friends:
November Greetings! One of the things that I enjoy about November is the day set apart for Thanksgiving. Here at Church, we do it with a gathering of those who would like to come, give thanks, and eat together. You would certainly be welcome.
But Thanksgiving is certainly more than an event. It’s a lifestyle. It’s a style that each makes the choice to say, Good morning, Lord, as opposed to Good Lord, Morning! It’s a lifestyle that continues to state that God is good…all the time.
Over the years I have learned that God dwells in the hearts of grateful people. I do not experience God in the hearts of whiners, complainers, cyn ics, and people bashers. But I have certainly felt God’s presence while working with those serving the homeless, praying with the dying, visiting those in prison, and bringing smiles to those who are sick.
Yes, each day is a day to give thanks, each day is a day to say God is Good, and each day is a day that has been given to me to make this world just a little better place than how I found it. Each day is a day of making Thanksgiving, Thanks-living. May it be that way for you.
Take a moment; count your blessings. Stop by, the coffee’s fresh, the lights are on. God bless you.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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11.05.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 9:45 am by Pastor Don
5 November 2008
Dear Friends:
November greetings! I’m here with one of my new friends, Deanna Blomgren. Deanna has assumed the position of Normandale Hylands UMC Administrative Assistant. She fills the position left empty when Tammy Rottschaefer left to assume full time pastoral duties at the Lake Harriet Disciples of Christ Church. Thus, we here are about change.
Change is something that the whole country is now dealing with, as we are soon to have a new President and other elected officials. Change. How do you deal with it? The old joke says: “how many Methodists does it take to change a light bulb?” The answer: “Change?” Who wants to change? Change can be scary. However, change can also be exciting. Change can also be hopeful.
As a Christian, I know that the change that comes into a life when Christ is accepted as Lord is a wonderful change. One goes from merely existing to purposeful living; one goes from hopelessness to hope for now and eternity. There’s a change that happens as one goes from being me-centered to Christ-centered. Change…it’s been good for me. I hope that change can work for you also…particularly the change that the living Christ brings about when he is allowed to be the Lord of one’s life.
If ever you’d like to just talk about this change, stop by. The coffee’s fresh, and the lights are on.
Blessings to you,
Pastor Don
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10.23.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 10:26 am by Pastor Don
23 October 2008
Dear Friends,
Here’s a picture of one of my favorite people here at Church. I even had the blessing of baptizing her as an infant. I’ve had the blessing of being able to pray for her and many children like her. I’ve had the blessing of watching her grow up as her family regularly worships here at Normandale Hylands.
I love children. They keep me young. They give me honest answers and love me unconditionally. If I listen just right, I can hear God speaking through them to me. I am blessed…for I have met, talked with, and laughed with children all over the world. God is good.
As I look at this picture, I am reminded that I have a responsibility to help care for the children, to help prepare a world daily that allows them to be what God has planned for them to be. That means that, as a citizen of my country, I need to exercise my blessings of freedom. One of the ways is certainly to make time to vote, to do the best that I can in my exercise of freedom. This also means that when I vote, I vote not just for what’s in it for me, but what’s in it for the coming generations, the children of the world.
I love BWCA canoe trip camping in northern Minnesota and Canada. Our motto, whenever we move through the wilderness area, is to leave it better than when we found it. I want to do the same for the children of my country and for the children of the world. Somehow, I want it to be better for my having been here. I want to do it for God, who placed me here, and for the children. Certainly one of the ways to do that is to exercise my freedom and vote in the upcoming elections. I hope that you will also, as each of us celebrates our freedoms, as each of us loves the children, and as each of us serves God.
Let me know how you’re doing with all of that. Hey, feel free to stop by. The coffee’s fresh, and the lights are on. Blessings to you.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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10.10.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 10:56 am by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
I’m standing by a plant in our garden called a burning bush. It’s in the autumn process of going from green to red, thus the name burning bush.
Moses, when he was called by God for a special task, heard God as God spoke through the “burning bush”. God called Moses to a special task…to be God’s messenger and to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Does God still work that way today? Does God speak to us in special ways? Where have you felt the “Call of God”? Where have you had a “burning bush” experience? For me, it’s been through the Bible, Bible studies, and through people. To see a need, and know that you have capabilities to help fill the need, I believe, is a call. It may be a call to be speak God’s word, to physically help someone who cannot, to give a smile and hope to someone without either.
The “burning bushes” of the world are as numerous as we let them be. Perhaps we simply need to pray for eyes to see them, ears to hear them, and a heart to feel them. I believe that God calls all people for special tasks in this world. All are needed and wanted by God to be a part of the “plans of God”. Are we letting ourselves see? Are we letting ourselves hear? Are we letting ourselves feel?
Enjoy your “burning bush” as you celebrate the “call” of God, and are faithful in responding to it. Let me know about it. Stop by. The coffee’s fresh. The light is on.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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09.19.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 4:08 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
What better thing to do on a warm last Friday of summer than to plant mums and to tidy up a garden? I’m sitting here with a mum that I planted a few years ago, and given nurture, sunshine, and encouragement, it began to thrive. Now with a young plant in my hand, another mum waits to be planted and thrive.
It works that way with people doesn’t it? We offer the children opportunities to grow, and here at Church, we seek to give them the nurture of love, patience, caring, and encouragement. Even more we offer them the shining of the Son, that being Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And in so doing, we have the opportunity to watch them thrive in the Kingdom of God.
Are you celebrating the opportunities to encourage, the opportunities to nurture, the opportunities to share your faith, and to help a young person grow in the faith and thrive? It gets done here at Church many times. To be planted and then to grow; that’s an awesome thing to watch.
We are blessed to be a blessing. That sounds good to me. Come on by. Let’s talk about it. The coffee’s fresh and the light is on. I look forward to it.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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09.05.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 6:58 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
I’m here in the garden celebrating an Easter lily in September. What a beauty! A 40-inch lily plant in the middle of a garden. I like to plant some of the spring lilies from the Easter service, knowing that they will bloom again in the same year. Fun, and a good reminder that Easter continues.
Easter in September…is it possible to celebrate it in September? What a shame if we have to wait until April 12, 2009 to celebrate Easter. The Gospel story says that we don’t have to wait at all. The Christian life style is a means of celebrating Easter on a daily basis. The songs says, “I serve a risen savior, He’s in the world today…….You ask me how I know He lives; He lives within my heart.”
And so for the Christian, each day is a little Easter, serving the risen Christ in all walks of life, whether at home, work, play, school, market, highway, and Church. As a Christian Church, we celebrate that we are an Easter community, understanding that no person is hopeless, that Christ can work an Easter in anybody…even in September.
If ever, you’d like to talk about it, let me know. Stop by, pick up a Bible if you wish, enjoy the possibility of newness. It’s a reality of the Christian life (”If anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation”, II Cor. 5:l6). Come on by. The coffee’s fresh. The lights are on.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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08.22.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 2:56 pm by Pastor Don
August 22, 2008
Dear Friends:
Back to school for many, isn’t it? How about you? Back to school? Here at Normandale, we’re getting ready for Sunday School (the 7th of September), Confirmation, and a host of Bible studies.
It’s all about training isn’t it? Paul writes to Timothy, “Train yourself in godliness, for, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way.” I Timothy 4:7, 8
To be trained in “godliness”…what does that mean to you? Certainly, not that we are gods or goddesses in anyway, but we do have within us a capacity to be godlike. I recall God saying in Genesis, “Let us create humanity in our own image.” And so my challenge is everyday to grow in gentleness, self-control, patience, kindness, compassion, generosity, humility, and wisdom. That requires more than I can do strictly on my own. I do need to study. I do need to find training. I do need to learn and relearn. In my own way of thinking, I do need also to get back to school.
I invite you to get into “training for godliness.” If possible at your church, and if you don’t have a church, then consider Normandale Hylands. The classes are soon to be, the lights are on, and the coffee’s fresh. I’d love to sit with you. God’s blessing to you in your own personal “back to school.”
Your friend, Pastor Don
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08.01.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 6:40 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends,
As we think about bridges in Minnesota it reminded me of relationship bridges, and those that lie in bad repair due to anger and resentment. Resentment is a funny commodity. The moment you begin resenting a person, you become his/her slave. That person controls your dreams, absorbs your digestion, robs you of your peace of mind and good will, and takes away the pleasure of your work. That person ruins your religion and nullifies your prayers. You cannot take a vacation without him/her going along. He/she destroys your freedom of mind and hounds you wherever you go.
There is no way to escape the person you resent. He/she is with you when you are awake; he/she invades your privacy when you sleep. That person is close beside you when you eat, when you drive your car, and when you are on the job.
You can never have efficiency or happiness. He/she influences even the tone of your voice. He/she requires you to take medicine for indigestion, headaches, and loss of energy. That person even steals your last moments of consciousness before you go to sleep.
So, if you want to be a slave, harbor your resentment. Otherwise, pray for those who disturb you, bother you, trouble you, distress you, stress you…get the picture? Do so for your own spiritual health. Get rid of your resentment that you in turn, might draw even closer to the God who seeks to be in relationship, seeks to build bridges with you. Build a bridge and get over it.
Think about it. What are you doing to build a bridge? Come on by. Let me know. Drop me a line. Either way, the coffee’s fresh, and the lights are on.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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07.16.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 4:56 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends,
I’m out in the fields. Actually, it’s part of the NHUMC Gardens. Lots of beautiful flowers as you look. However, it does need help. For if you look closely, all is not well with the garden. Look closely and you will see weeds of all sorts, seeking to take hold, and in so doing crowding out and even choking the flowers for which we hoped.
That happens in my life too. I seek, by God’s grace, to allow God’s beauty to be seen in my life. A beauty to be seen that honors, and draws others to God. However, there are spiritual weeds of pride, worry, fear, impatience, laziness, and (the list goes on). If I’m not vigilant, the spiritual garden of my life looks more unChristlike than Christlike.
So I go to work spiritually through prayer, Bible study, and worship, and I seek to plant, cultivate, and weed. This summer, I take my cue from the Apostle Paul where he states in Philippians 4:8:
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
As you go about your own spiritual personal gardening, my blessings to you. Weed often, seek the best, don’t settle for the least. Be Christ-minded, not world-minded. My prayers are with you. If you need a Bible, stop by. I’d be delighted to give you one, free. Besides, the light’s on, and the coffee’s fresh. Love to see you and visit with you, if you’ve got the time.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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06.27.08
Posted in General Blog Post at 6:57 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
I’m standing here by my good friend, Al Roedecker. Al is a veteran, as am I. Al is from the WWII era, while I am a Vietnam War vet. I wanted to take this picture with Al, and with the ribbon, because it’s symbolic of our country. Here you have different generations, yet common bonds, seeking to preserve and celebrate freedom. On the upcoming 4th, I give thanks for Al and the many like him, whose sacrifice has allowed me and many others to enjoy so many freedoms.
Nevertheless, as I celebrate the freedom I have as a U.S. citizen, I celebrate even more the freedom I have as a believer in and a follower of Jesus Christ. In Christ, I find the freedom to be the person that God created me to be. In Christ, I find the freedom to be disentangled from the grips of guilt and the past. In Christ, I find the freedom to understand that Christ looks not so much at what I’ve been, as to what I can be.
As I celebrate the gifts of freedom this July 4th, and give thanks for the many who have helped to pay the price for it, I give an even greater thanks to Jesus Christ. While I have this earthly existence to celebrate the freedoms made possible by veterans like Al and current U.S. soldiers now serving, I give thanks for my eternal existence made possible by Jesus Christ, there on the Cross, and there at the Empty Tomb. For that I say, THANK YOU.
My blessings to you who read this piece. Celebrate your freedom, both now and forever. Do stop by, the coffee’s fresh, and the light’s on. I’d love to see you. Also, anyone needing a new Bible, come on by. I’d love to give you one, as I celebrate my freedom.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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