10-27-11

Dear Family of faith,
Have you ever felt beaten up by the stresses of the day? That was the kind of day I had today. Jill and I were supposed to take our hot air balloon ride this morning (second attempt) but it was called off due to wind. When I got to the office, I discovered that my newly installed email account did not work correctly (A big thanks to Karen Schrader who spent hours straightening it out!). Then the smoke alarms started going off so I was scrambling to disable them for the sake of those of us in the building. I answered the phone about two dozen times and the door about half a dozen times, not to mention all the calls I made to try to straighten things out with the alarm company and cable company! I was ready for a stiff drink and it wasn't even five o'clock! But then, I went to choir rehearsal and, there, as if appointed by God to be my angel, Addy Hackl (who knew nothing of my day) gave me a sheet of 29 little thoughts to think about. Among them were these two: "No one can ruin your day without your permission" and "When things go wrong, don't go with them." Coincidence? Hardly! After singing about God's beautiful world and going on to Bible study to teach about the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus, my rattled spirit grew more calm, and I "came to myself" again. Gratitude does wonders for the soul. If you find yourself beaten up by life, do something that will bring you close again to God's beauty and love. And be thankful, for what rattles you today will pass tomorrow.

10-19-11

Dear Family of Faith,
By now you should have received the special email that I sent out today about the unexpected death of Bob Maas. We hold Carol and their family in our prayers. If you would like to send a card, Carol's address is 5331 Harbinger Road, Spring Hill, FL 34608. A memorial service will be held next month of honor of Bob's life.
Every unexpected death causes us to pause a moment and consider our own mortality. As Christians, we do not fear death, for we know that God promises us life that goes beyond our physical death. Even so, the knowledge that our time in this world is limited should always remind us to do the things that are important today. The only day of life we have for sure is today. If we need to tell others that we love them, today is the day. If we need to help those in need, today is the day. If we need to get our spiritual house in order, today is the day. The greatest freedom in life comes not from pretending that we will live forever in this world (which is not true), but rather from being ready for our last day whenever it comes so that we can enjoy the time at hand. That's one reason Jill and I are going on a hot air balloon ride (now postponed until next Wedesday morning). We only pass this way once; don't live with regrets. Celebrate and mourn, laugh and weep, dance and sit still, write letters and listen to others-- do what is important today.

10-12-11

Dear Family of faith,
I had the chance to be in Tampa last weekend on Sunday evening to see a movie. When I exited the theater and walked to my car, I noticed about a dozen or so men curled up on the sidewalk under a cement overhang on one of the buildings. They were sleeping or attempting to sleep. It was one of those moments in my life when I was struck by the inequity of life and felt God calling me to do something about it. I hope to return to Tampa streets one night a month with a bundle of blankets to pass out to those people who are living on the street. I can't solve their problems, but I can show some compassion and give them at least one warm night, if not more. If any of you would like to help provide blankets for this ministry; please let me know. For a few years now God has put it in my heart to help those who are cold (since I like to be warm). And if anyone would like to go with me when I go, I would like a companion in this ministry. Let me know. Even as Christians we can't change the world all at once, but we can change life for one person at a time.

10-5-11

Dear Family of faith,
It's been a fun evening around the church. Today was Wayne Raymond's 62nd birthday and his last day at school. He is officially retired now from teaching, so the choir had a surprise party for him after rehearsal tonight. Wayne began as our church's Music Director when Rev. Dr. Dan Horn was the pastor back in 1990. We have been so blessed to have him and Sherrie (and their girls) with our congregation all these years. The Hernando County Schools are losing one of their best, but we get to "keep" him!
Speaking of schools, recently I have become aware of three of our own youth who are struggling to stay in school-- not so much because the requirements are too demanding, but more likely because they don't see how education will help them in their future. When I was young, I had one thing going for me-- hope-- hope for a good job if I got an education, hope for a happy life, hope for a world that seemed to be getting better with new inventions and technologies and new breakthroughs in medicine. What I sense lacking in today's youth is this sense of hope and promise...and I regret that maybe we adults are to blame. For sure, the connectedness of the world especially among the youth through Ipad and twitter and the web have contributed to their gloom because they hear about every tragedy and uprising, every disaster and riot in the world. Yet how many times do we find ourselves talking in front of our kids about how things were "better in the good old days?"
And how often do we talk about how bad the economy is and how we are struggling to get by and how we don't know how anybody is going to make it in today's world? All of these comments can't but add to the sense of futility and desperation that our youth feel. We need to think more about encouraging the next generation and giving them dreams.
Nobody will care about doing well in school or even staying in school if they think it's worthless. We know things can be tough, but they were tougher eighty years ago and things got better. As Christians we can affirm that with God, life is always full of promise, and tomorrow always holds hope for us. If you know any kids who are having a tough time, listen to them, affirm them, and help them to believe in the God of hope.