08.06.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 6:16 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
Here’s my friend J.J. sitting in a kayak. He looks good…almost too good. For you see, he’s in a kayak that is in the gathering hall of our Church. All the water and background that you are looking at is a facade, not real. It’s part of our Vacation Bible School week background.
It raises the point, however. How much do we do that is just for show? Nothing really happens because of it. A lot of time and effort gets spent in trying to make a big impression, and that’s all it is. All fluff, nothing more. Jesus was so emphatic in being about the Work of God, tasks of kindness, justice, and sharing the Love of God. However just going through the motions didn’t cut it for him. He wanted action with results.
How about you…are you going through the motions, or are you getting into reality? Just looking good and getting nothing done …or is there a lot more to you? Jesus came to give us hope, purpose, and a sense of meaning to life. I’d love to hear about what’s going on in your life in Christ that has given you meaning , hope, and purpose. Come on by. The coffee’s fresh, the lights are on. I’d love to visit with you. Blessings to you a s you navigate in Christ’s name in a real world.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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07.27.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 9:09 am by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
Found here on this picture is a photo of a lily in our Church Garden. It is without a doubt the most beautiful flower in the Garden. However, if you don’t stop and look, you’ll miss it.
That reminds of the old recluse who lived deep in the mountains of Colorado. When he died, certain relatives came from the city to collect his valuables. Upon arriving, all they saw was an old shack with an outhouse. Inside the shack, next to the fireplace was an old cooking pot and some mining equipment. A cracked table holding a kerosene lamp and a three-legged chair stood by a tiny window. In a dark corner of the little room was a dilapidated cot with a threadbare bedroll on it.
The relatives picked up some of the old relics and started to leave. As they were driving away, an old friend of the recluse , on his mule, flagged them down. “Do you mind if I help myself to what’s left in my friend’s cabin?” he asked. “Go right ahead,” they replied. After all, they thought, what inside that shack could be worth anything?
The old friend entered the shack and walked directly over to the table. He reached under it and lifted one of the floorboards. He then proceeded to take out all the gold his friend had discovered over the past 53 years—enough to have built a palace. The recluse died with only his friend knowing how much he was truly worth.
As the friend looked out of the little window and watched the cloud of dust behind the relative’s car disappear, he said, “They shoulda’ got to know him better.”
It reminds me of Jesus. The richness, the beauty, and the wonder and creativity is all there. So much more than we take. “We shoulda’ got to know him better.”
If you’d like to get to know Him better, stop by. If there’s an emptiness in your life today, let’s work on it. The lights are on, the coffee’s fresh.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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07.14.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 10:43 am by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
Have you ever felt overdressed? Out of place? Here we ( a NHUMC youth canoe trip) are sitting in the middle of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area….it’s July. Obviously we are not dressed in the attire of a group that is canoe tripping through 25 lakes and walking over 25 portages. At the end of one of our days “tripping,” we decided to spoof…just a bit.
Nevertheless, it speaks to being a part of the Kingdom of God, does it not? When two of Jesus’ disciples came to him, James and John asked to have high positions of power in Jesus’ kingdom. Jesus’ response was to inform them that in His kingdom, it’s not the clothes, it’s not the position, it’s not the rank, but it is selfless service that gets it done. It’s not how “dressy” your shirt or dress is, it’s what you’re doing in your clothes to make the world a better place for God and God’s people. Jesus’ kingdom is not based so much on “stuff” and dressy attire; it’s based on relationships and love of God and others.
St. Paul wrote , “Clothe yourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, patience.” That certainly goes against the world’s idea of clothing oneself in judgment, self-concern, and and apathy toward others and God. What about you? How are you dressed today? Stop by. The coffee’s fresh. The lights are on. I would love to discuss Christian fashion with you.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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07.13.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 5:30 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
I’m standing in the garden next to a bird bath…graciously donated by a kind parishioner. The birds love it. In the morning and evening, I watch them come in and take a drink, cool down, even take a little swim. It’s a way of coping with the heat, and staying at one’s best in moving through life.
We as humans need the same. We need a place to keep cool, both physically and spiritually. We need to find “living waters” that nourish us both physically and spiritually. For me, daily prayer and Bible reading take care of keeping me spiritually cool, especially when the stress of life wants to heat me up. As for quenching my thirst spiritually, I continue to be filled with the times I allow for worship, and for the Spirit of Christ to have its time with me. When I am feeling spiritually dry, I need to be sure that God is being worshiped and Christ is being celebrated as the Lord of my life. Otherwise, I become spiritually parched.
As you move through the summer and the heat that it brings, do know that there are both physical and spiritual waters here at Church to help you in your quest for “living waters”. Do know that you are always invited at NHUMC, and that there is a place here for you. However, wherever you are, be cool, drink a lot of water, both physically and spiritually. Celebrate life the way that God meant it to be.
Blessings to you. Pastor Don
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06.06.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 5:34 pm by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
I’m sitting here with various members of the Church Staff. A dear parishioner took us out for lunch as a way of expressing her appreciation to the Staff.
How do you express appreciation? After the recent French plane going down off the coast of South America, I heard various mourners share how they wished they let the deceased know how much they appreciated them. That happens. Doesn’t it? So often, the ones we appreciate the most, are the ones that we many times most take for granted. Now is the time for appreciation, for encouragement, for putting our feelings of gratitude out where others can enjoy them.
I once heard a piece of poetry that stated:
“I want the flowers while I’m alive; be they pink or white or red. I’d rather have one blossom now than a truckload when I’m dead.”
This day you have an opportunity to be a blessing to someone and express your appreciation to them. When you do, it’s like giving them a flower. Now is the time to give the flower(s)!!
Come on by; visit; tell me whom you have appreciated over the years; I’d love to hear from you. The lights are on, the coffee’s fresh, and I believe that there is a flower here for you with your name on it.
Blessings to you, Pastor Don
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05.08.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 1:38 pm by Pastor Don
8 May 2009
Dear Friends:
You are looking at some of our NHUMC staff, but probably what might capture your attention more is the picture of faith before us. All those tulips (and there are more all around them!) signify that faith is an action word. Those tulips were planted as bulbs on a cold late November (Bachman’s sold them to me, while they were putting up their post-Thanksgiving Christmas lights). 24 hours later a cold snow came upon them, and they lay in the ground for an extended stay. Now they have sprung forth in May to boom out a circus of color and beauty.
Faith, if not acted upon, is not a faith. A faith should lead us to action…whether it’s caring for and feeding the homeless, caring for the orphans and widows, ministering to the hurting. James, in his New Testament book, asks the question, “You say you have a faith; show me then the fruits of your faith, show me the works of your faith, show me how your faith results in coloring the world with beauty and making it a better place in which to exist. Show me how your faith honors God.”
Our faith was never meant to be some private, filed-away-deeply-in-the-bottom-of-our-mind kind of thing. It was meant as an action verb to be actively engaged and in the open as we daily seek to honor God and care for God’s world. How’s your faith? Would I see it if I walked with you for a minute, an hour, a day? My prayer for you: that your faith might be a visible display of a strong and ongoing belief in a wonderful and awesome God.
Stop by. The coffee’s fresh and the lights are on. If you’d like a Bible, let me know.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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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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03.17.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 11:34 am by Pastor Don
Dear Friends:
Spring is in the air! Here at the NHUMC Garden Center, I’m celebrating a new arrival…a bird house. It’s part of inviting birds to come in and find refuge, some bird seed, and peace. Along with it, they’ll enjoy the beauty of a flower garden that is soon to be.
To be inviting and encouraging is certainly a part of the Christian’s agenda. To offer a place where one finds one’s needs met…physically, socially, and spiritually, ah yes, the Christian Church. That place can be a building like NHUMC or it might be a person (after all, Paul challenges the early Christians to be a “temple of God”). How does that work for you? Someone once asked, “Does the room light up when you enter or when you leave?” How does your hospitality grow? Are you helping others to find their needs being met, or are you creating more needs for them to meet?
I encourage you to be inviting, even as I invite you to Normandale Hylands UMC. I encourage you by your example and witness to be an invitation to the refuge and peace that comes in knowing Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life. Blessings to you.
Feel free to drop in. The coffee’s fresh, the lights are on, and the hospitality is grand.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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03.04.09
Posted in General Blog Post at 4:16 pm by Pastor Don
4 March 2009
Dear Friends:
Lenten greetings! While engaged in worship on March 1, I had something brand new happen to me. I became a grandfather. While one never seems to think that they are old enough to be a grandparent, nevertheless the reality is such that I am now one.
Here we are, granddaughter and me; her name is Alexis Lucille. We’re doing a little bonding. Hopefully, we will become good friends. Of course, that will take time, as anything of value does. In so many ways, love is spelled, “T-I-M-E.” And of course, I will dote and try my best not to “spoil.” I’ll probably get her outfitted for a BWCA canoe paddle and get her acquainted with Mother Nature. But beyond that, perhaps the best thing that I can do for her as a grandparent is to help her “to know Christ and his resurrection.” That way, I know that her life on earth will have purpose, joy, hope, love, and faith. What more could a grandfather offer a granddaughter? And…that way, I’ll know that even after I pass on (as grandfathers eventually do), I’ll see her for an eternity.
So…stop by; catch up with a grandpa and share with me a little of your own faith story or of the gifts that you seek to offer the children. The coffee’s fresh, the lights are on. Blessings to you on your spiritual journey.
Your friend, Pastor Don
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