04.24.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 9:41 am by Pastor Don
On Flowerbeds…
Dear Friends:
All of a sudden, spring is hitting Minnesota. 80’s and 90’s for temperatures. With it all, I had time to open up ground for a new flower bed. Soon, I’ll put in it some some celosia, zinnias, petunias, and who knows what else in an attempt to add a bit more beauty to the Church Circle and a bit more beauty to the world.
The empty flower bed offers a visual reminder to each of us as we move into another season. It reminds me of the gift of time. We all have a block of it. What will we put into it that brings beauty to the world, brings honor to God, and gives us purpose in life. It would be so easy to let the flowerbed go empty, and let it fill with weeds. That happens with time also, failing to plan…equals planning to fail. To not decide is to decide. I’ve heard some of that before. I believe that there’s some truth to each, and so I’m careful not to let my flowerbed of time fill up with the weeds of life.
What are the weeds of life for you? What would you put into a flowerbed of time? It can be a day , it can be a week, a month…you get the idea.
Your flowerbed of time can be time spent with children or with a lonely senior citizen. Your flowerbed of time can put you serving at a homeless shelter, or encouraging a discouraged pastor. Your flowerbed of time can be spent in the scriptures and seeking in a very special way to engage in God’s will for your life. Ah, the challenges of an empty flowerbed…..how will you fill it? I’d appreciate your responses.
Stop by and visit…the coffee’s fresh, and the lights are on.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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04.11.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 4:59 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
Happy Easter! Best wishes to you during this Easter season. Of course, as Christians, Easter is not a season like “Open Fishing” or “Duck Hunting.” Easter is always the season for Christians. It is who we are. We are an Easter community. While we give thanks daily for a Christ who died that we might be forgiven, we celebrate daily that he rose again, and gives us the assurance that we will also. Christ is risen!
And yet, there are those who would say, “Well, where is the risen Christ?” I had a little 7 year old girl tell me that Christ lives in the heart of the believer. Bless her heart. She’s spiritually wise beyond her years. As Christians we can choose to be cynical about life, wring our hands and complain about all the bad things going on in the world. Or we can choose to celebrate what’s right with the world, and that starts with a great loving God who seeks the best for each of us. It starts with understanding that we serve a risen savior. It starts with acknowledging that because He lives, I can face tomorrow; because He lives, all fear is gone.
For the Easter community, life is not about looking down, it is about looking up and around and understanding that life is about possibility and opportunity. With that comes the understanding that “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” He is a risen Christ. You ask me how I know He lives. He lives within my heart.
If ever you’d like to visit with me about the Easter promise, stop by; the coffee’s fresh and the lights are on. Happy Easter!!
Your friend,
Pastor Don
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