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.

We make promises, and others make promises to us. Promises are good, but they are only good when and if they are fulfilled. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to make a promise that turns out to be hollow for any number of reasons: we forget or we made the promise without ever intending to keep it, or perhaps the promise is too hard to keep.

Well, the first month of the year has already come and gone. As many of us do, I spent much of January focusing on good health habits; getting better sleep, and trying new physical activities. My husband and I decided that rucking was going to be our new activity. What is rucking, you might ask?

The other day I put a Christian music playlist on YouTube and sat down for a little one-on-one with the Lord. But as I was listening, a commercial interrupted the music, and rather than being annoyed, what I saw made me smile. A grandpa was in his workshop carefully painting and assembling a small table.

I remember when I was younger, I heard about missionaries doing amazing things around the world, almost thinking of them as “super Christians.” I would hear stories and testimonies of healings and miracles and long for that kind of faith. It took a while for me to realize the Spirit that filled those ambassadors of Christ was available for everyone. But why couldn’t I see the same things happening in my life?

We all know that God’s ways are not our ways, but often it is really difficult to see good in an event where our lives are turned upside down and we are left stunned by unexpected bad news. Just recently, one of my grandsons in Hawaii had such an experience. Stay with me and read on.

There are moments in life when we feel overwhelmed, uncertain, or alone. It’s in these times God often brings encouragement in the most unexpected ways. Sometimes it’s a comforting word from a friend, a passage of Scripture that speaks directly to our situation, or a quiet assurance in our hearts that we are not forgotten.

As 2026 gets underway I’m foregoing any new resolutions; I can never seem to keep them anyway. But this little verse from 2nd Corinthians has inspired me to shift my focus a bit. Are there seen things, motivated by unseen things, that deserve my attention this year?