Encouraging Deep Roots

  Dan and I have been in full-time ministry for the past 30 years and during that time we've had all sorts of experiences. One thing we've learned is that when we are obedient to the call that God has placed on our life, we see Him at work. Now that does not mean that things always go well or that life is all rainbows and roses. But we've seen His hand on our ministry and our lives along the way. But so often, when God moves a person to a particular ministry they can come up with a variety of reasons of why they shouldn't do that thing. The reasons can be, "I don't have the ability." "I will meet resistance." "I'm not ready." "I have too many other obligations." And like God did with Moses, He may say, "Fine." "I'll send someone else to do it." and you will miss out on the blessing of God using you. There are also times when God is calling you to step down from a ministry and even in that there may ...

The trees are changing here in the northeast and they are gorgeous this year. Bright red, orange and yellow are everywhere you look. As Dan and I walked yesterday afternoon the views were breathtaking. I'm amazed at how often I can go through my day and not just stop and appreciate what is around me. I do that not just with nature, but can do that with my relationships as well. I'm trying to tune in better to the moment that God has right in front of me instead of rushing through the day. I'm thankful for those moments, which included the following this week: Moments to bless others. Moments of praise and worship. Moments of prayer for another. Moments of rest. Moments of satisfaction. Moments of fellowship. Moments of tuning into whom God wanted me to encourage. Moments of conviction. Moments of joy. Moments of learning. Moments of wonder. All of these small moments when you learn to appreciate them will add up to one glorious week full of blessing. My heart is full. 

  When Covid-19 hit the United States back in March, I was dismayed to see how quickly things turned to chaos. I've been blessed in the sense that my generation has really seen no major trials that our ancestors went through. I didn't live through the depression or any world wars or really anything that affected my basic life too much. Suddenly, I was finding empty shelves in the stores, shortages of things, and sky high prices. And I was unprepared. I still remember the day I went to the grocery store to find the entire meat case cleaned out except for a few packages of pork belly and turkey legs. I'm thankful that for years now I've made everything from scratch and we have simplified our lives so we are not overly dependent on processed foods. We got by and things settled down fairly quickly. But I did think at the time that I need to do a better job this year of canning and getting back into having a more self-reliant and sustainable lifestyle. And then I got busy so...

I often find myself with a performance mentality. I must work hard, do everything with excellence, put my best foot forward and somehow I'll be worthy of approval from people.  This often carries over into my relationship with God. If only I do this ministry, or never mess up, or help so many people I'll earn His approval. If I'm the perfect wife, mother, pastor's wife, friend and neighbor, all will be well. In my head I know this is not what He expects, but my actions often show otherwise.  Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with a good work ethic. That's not what I'm saying. I want to be the best wife, mother, pastor's wife, friend and neighbor that is possible for me to be. But I need to recognize that I'm going to fail at times and yet, I'm still forgiven. This morning, as I had my quiet time, these verses popped out at me and in particular, the bolded words. Ephesians 2:4-9 ~ But God , who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He h...

Fall is my favorite season and this weekend, as well as today, have been been filled with some of my favorite things.  Fall decorations, fall colors, canning tomatoes, apple picking, apple pie and all sorts of delicious smells, tastes and sights.  I have a half bushel of plum tomatoes that I need to dice and can.  The past few days I've really tried to slow down and enjoy each moment as it comes. I'm usually barreling through a to-do list and often forget to just focus on the enjoyment of an activity. Emily was here this weekend and is headed back to college late this afternoon, but first we are going to go apple picking with her. It's one of our favorite things to do and rather than think, "I really need to get other things done, I decided that I'm going to enjoy this moment with my girl." This morning I made an apple pie for my husband and just focused on slowing down and enjoying each part of the process. And you know what? Since I wasn't rushing throug...

  I started the week with this large weight on my shoulders of pressing items that needed to get done. I'm thankful that because I decided to not look at the big picture, but just take one thing at a time, I was able to accomplish all that needed to happen. I had to record a video message for a virtual retreat I'm putting together. I needed to put together all of the videos, come up with discussion questions, and get the attachments together to email out to our district churches. I participated in 4 Zoom meetings and a webinar. I wrote and prepared a children's Sunday School lesson for tomorrow and worked on a small group lesson. On the home front I made 20 dozen cookies for a fundraiser and completed an order of teapot cozies for a tea company and masks for another order. Throw dinner in there every night, laundry, and cleaning and it made for a busy week. Whew! But I'm thankful it's done!  I even managed to throw some long walks in there. Today I have the whole da...