Don't Be A Witch

Hello Church,

We are spoiled.  There are moments when we don't realize this.  There are moments when we are reminded of how spoiled we really are.

Our air conditioning went out at the parsonage.

I try to keep things in perspective.  Part of me wants to get grumpy and irritable and pout.  Yet visions of my mother affirming to me that life isn't fair reminds me that grumpiness and pouting doesn't make this unfair world a better place.

First world problems are a constant distraction for all of us... as it is for me.  I grew up with a bedroom that had no heat nor air conditioning.  I slept with a fan blowing on me and my siblings in the Summer and we slept with electric blankets in the Winter.  We didn't know any better then.  Now we do.  In the process we got spoiled.

I wonder what God thinks of it all.  When we are convinced that we deserve the luxuries of life, does He just shake His head at us?  And when we are distracted about the little things (like air conditioning), is He still pointing out to us those opportunities we could show love and grace if we weren't so grumpy and irritable?

I am going to try harder to not get distracted by my first world problems.  I don't want to miss that chance to remind someone that they are loved just because I'm too grumpy to say so. 

I invite you to do the same.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe

Happy Birthday Hope!

Hello Church,

My youngest turns 17 today.  Impossible!

It's a wonderful mystery how we do or don't pass things down to our kids.  For sure, kids learn from their parents... all the good, bad and indifferent.  However, it seems somewhat random on what kids will pick up from Mom and Dad and what they don't.  Joey, for example, took on fewer traits of mine than I would have expected, but more of Kim's traits. 

Hope, however, is her father's daughter.  Her personality, attitude and drive are very similar to mine.  She is the most pragmatic of the 5 kids and would much rather solve a problem than complain about it.  She also loves taking naps; is grumpy when she doesn't; and is okay with not being hugged.  She thinks her dad is funny; appreciates his sarcasm; and picks up on the nuances of his humor when no one else does.  She also talks to herself, sometimes with odd facial expressions..... her father's daughter.

One of the miracles that God gives us is the miracle of genetics.  The whole debate of nurture vs nature will continue forever, but watching how kids learn from parents either intentionally or not is a marvel to me and one we often underestimate.

How many of these miracles do we underestimate?

We see them every day but see them so often that we stop noticing.  Sometimes I wish we could wake up in the morning and experience the universe for the very first time and take note of what we stopped noticing.

Hope turns 17.  Tomorrow she will graduate college and the day after that she will have a family of her own.  It goes fast.  So take time and give thanks for the many miracles that pass us by.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Stupid Covid

Hello Church,

My doctor wants to see me again.  I don't want to see my doctor.  In fact, I should go see my family doctor, my eye doctor and my skin doctor.  It's what I call the trifecta of physical self-care.

But I don't want to.

I was doing great physically until stupid Covid hit.  I had dropped 18 pounds with my Keto diet and planning a bicycle trip down the Mississippi River Trail.  Since mid-March, however, I've been knocked around mentally, taken off my game, and thrown into a world where much of my energy has been used to adapt to a new, strange world.  I fully admit the stress has taken away my motivation to stay physically fit.  Stupid Covid.

So now I am back where I was last Fall, weight-wise.  I suddenly can't read anything on my phone or my menus.  And I am way overdue to get a skin check (my dad's side has a history of melanoma).

I know.... probably more than you want to know about your pastor, but I'm getting to my point and it has to do with how we allow stress to derail us from what is important.

God never promised us a perfect world in this life-time.  What He did promise was that He would be there to help us through it.  I understand it as a process of learning that God is above all and beyond all and no matter what happens around us, God is to be our focal point.  As such, we should be learning to stay focused on what God wants from us.  Among those things is keeping ourselves healthy physically, mentally and spiritually.  A healthy self is best equipped to be God's vessel; to do the things and be the person that God calls us to be.

So let's not blame stupid Covid.  If it wasn't Covid, it would be something else.  I need to get back on the horse and get the positive mojo working again.  And if you have been knocked around in the same way, I hope and pray the same for you.

God is Good,
Pastor Joe