I am not a “super fan” of America’s Got Talent (AGT), but I do watch it sometimes. On a few occasions, I’ve been very moved by a contestant’s story and/or talent. I recently watched a re-airing of singer/song writer Jane Marczweski’s 2021 AGT audition and was completely blown away.

Most of us don't necessarily need to be heroes, great leaders of nations, or people with earthly power. But we know that walking with Jesus means one day He may ask us to surrender to His greatness and do something by faith that we don’t think we can do.

Love your neighbor as yourself. Who is my neighbor? How do I love them? What if I don't like them? What if I don't know them?

A year and a half ago, I set out for a two-month mission trip to Finland and Estonia. I was in the middle of my Discipleship Training School in the north of Norway, and I would be traveling with a group of six total. We had our van ready to go with everything packed, and a lot of expectation of what God was going to do.

I have been reading through the Bible this year for the first time. It’s quite a marvelous experience to walk through the history of the universe from the first words spoken by God “In the beginning,” to where I am reading today in the Song of Songs. My focus today is on 2 Samuel about what King David did: an act of kindness toward the son of his childhood friend, Jonathan (Saul’s son).

For a while now, the Lord has been nudging me to write a devotion on a very personal matter. I wanted to be obedient, but just didn’t feel I was ready to write it until He made it very clear on a recent Sunday in church. 

Of all the things that cause us stress, moving to a new home is right up there in the top five. So when my son told us that when he retires from the Navy, he and his family will be moving to Idaho, we were less than enthusiastic. But then the Lord reminded me that moving is biblical (after all, God moved Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, didn’t He?). And He focused my attention on four people in the Bible who moved and lived to tell amazing stories: Abram, Daniel, Naomi, and Ruth.

In our Senior Connections Bible study, we are working through a study titled Developing a Servant’s Heart by the late Dr. Charles E. Stanley. The study is quite comprehensive and discusses, in detail, what it means to be a servant; covering every facet from why God saved us, to how and why we should serve others, principles of effective service, what it takes to develop and maintain such a heart, and ultimately, the rewards of service.

Let me start with something I mean deeply.

I love being your pastor. I love this church. I love what God is doing here. And I love the season we're stepping into together.

Which is exactly why this next step matters.

From the very beginning, God built rest into the pattern of things. Not as a reward for finishing, but as part of the design. The question isn't whether we believe that. It's whether we actually live like we do.

A couple of months ago, I began reading the Bible in a Year program by Nicky Gumbel, the founder of Alpha. I am thoroughly enjoying Nicky’s commentary, as the way he breaks down the information has really given me a better understanding of the Scriptures and drives me to go deep in my questions and seek out the answers. 

A few days ago, I was sorting through a stack of old papers and came across a devotion I wrote two years ago for PLC. I was having a “so-so” kind of day, but as I read the devotion, I felt my spirits lifting, as if the Lord was in the room with me.

Anxiety.
That feeling of doubt.
Fear.
Uncertainty.
Failure.

As I grow older in my “golden years” (the basis of that term is quite interesting), I find myself increasingly dismayed at what I see happening around me. I am particularly troubled by what appears to be a cultural shift in values.

Coming off of Easter, I am still in awe at what Jesus did, because what He did changes who we are, which changes how we think, which changes how we live. Let’s recap…Jesus lived a perfect life, died in our place, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven where He is the King of Kings, our Lord and Savior.

For the last five or six years my husband and I have traveled to Chicago to see our grandchildren perform in their school’s spring musical. This year was no exception until my nephew’s wife died after a long battle with cancer and our daughter offered to drive us…

Many of us identify as creators. We enjoy bringing something new into existence, whether through writing, music, or other creative expressions. We labor over our work, revising it repeatedly, discarding what doesn’t fit, beginning again when necessary, until the final result reflects our vision.

How do we make every day count? Let’s start with fearing the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” To fear the Lord is to have a loving reverence for God that includes obedient submission to His lordship (acknowledging Him as our sovereign God), and belief in His promises.

Life seems to be so busy these days and the “to do” lists just keep growing and growing.  Writing things down in my planner (yes, I’m old school) just doesn’t seem to be enough. I find myself setting alarms and reminders on my phone, putting sticky notes here and there, and even jotting things on my hand sometimes. I’m always thinking…don’t forget! 

Years ago, when I was in high school, Biology was a required course. And I remember dreading what I called “Dissection Day,” the session where we would be given a scalpel and a worm. Yuck.

I am convinced that at my birth, my foot began tapping to the beat of whatever music the angels were playing in the background of that hospital birthing room seventy-one years ago. And it hasn’t stopped tapping and moving to the beat of any type of music ever since, although hip hop did give me pause to figure it out.