Funny of the Week - Sierra naps

Sierra, our oldest, has never been a napper. From the beginning, she has not liked naps and done whatever she could to avoid them.

So on Monday afternoon I went to pick Sierra up from school. It was a typical pick-up. I got there a few minutes early, looked at the construction being done on the building, visited with some of the parents, and waited for her to come out.

Her class was late, but eventually she came. She took my hand, as she does every day, and we walked hand-in-hand to the car talking about how her day went.

Then she said, "I have something silly to tell you dad."

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well today, during our Take 5 time, I took a nap."

"What?"

"I laid down by the magazine rack, and I just fell asleep. No pillow or anything. I was tired."

Sierra, the non-napper took a nap at school. I was shocked.

But I was also impressed with the teacher who told her to lie down since she was so tired. A tired Sierra is a cranky Sierra, and after her nap she was much better I am sure.

So, the funny of the week for me is imagining Sierra, lying on the floor of her classroom taking a nap. I am sure this will never happen again.

Of course, I never would have thought it would have happened this time, either.

What I Am Reading - CPR

Tonight some of us at the church are going through a CPR class. It is part of a new Health and Wellness ministry at the church and hopefully we will have the funds to open it up to more of the congregation soon.

So I have been doing a little advanced reading before the class starts. The last time I took a CPR class was when I was studying to be an EMT in Savage, MT. So it has been a while.

In looking through the material I was reminded how important it is to continually grow in our education - whether it be for class work, personal growth, or just because. The joy of learning, and learning form others is a true gift.

So may you try something, learn something, new today.

Mentors in the Faith - Anna

Anna was one of the saints at my internship congregation in Big Timber, MT. She was involved in many aspects of the church, truly showing me how it was the women who kept the church going.

And she helped to mold me into the pastor I am today by her advice, seasoned words of wisdom, and gentle corrections when I started to wander a little.

Internship was the first time that I truly had a leadership role in the church, and Anna helped me to see what it means to be a leader, especially a leader in a faith community.

She also introduces me to lutefisk, but I will forgive her for that :)

Pentecost

Acts 2

I love Pentecost.

I love the celebration. I love the meaning behind it all. I love what God does - gathering people from all walks of life into one community, one body.

Yes, I love Pentecost, and it scares me.

It scares me because it is one this day that we are reminded that we are not in charge, God is.

And with God in charge, freely blowing his Spirit wherever it wants to go, who knows what might happen.

Sins might really be forgiven.

Outsiders might really be welcomed in.

The unclean might really be made clean.

The dead might really be brought back to life.

These things won't only be on the pages we read or the stories we hear. They will really happen, and happen to us.

Pentecost is scary because it demonstrates that God is really about action - loving, forgiving, grace-filled action.

And he is working in us just as he worked in the lives of the disciples on that Pentecost day so many years ago.

So as you enter into this Pentecost day, may you feel the breath of the Spirit in your life, and may you be open to the way God is working in and through you.

Joy of the Week - Dilly Bars

Thursday was a beautiful day here in Beloit. After I got Sierra from school we went home, transplanted some hostas, and then mowed the lawn. It was a great afternoon to get yardwork done and work up a wonderful sweat (which isn't hard for me to do :)

After dinner Jennifer went off to choir, and I decided to take the girls out for a treat. So we went to Dairy Queen for Dilly Bars. Sierra had been treated to a Dilly Bar is school earlier in the week and Scarlett wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

We picked up our Dilly Bars, sat at the table outside, enjoyed the amazing weather, and had fun laughing with each other.

It was a beautiful evening. Ice cream and the girl's laughter made for a night to remember.

Often times it is the little things that slip by unnoticed. but when we take the time to celebrate them, to treasure them, it brings an amazing amount of joy into our lives.

So may you notice the little things today, and be filled with joy.

Fast Five Friday

1 - The softball season started this week. Sierra is determined to be a pitcher, so I will be spending a lot of time have softballs flung at me this spring.

2 - Scarlett had a 4K orientation earlier this week. It is hard to believe that she and Sierra will be at the same school in the fall.

3 - I am excited about our summer preaching series. We are taking request from congregation members about what to preach on and the ideas are wonderful

4 - Spending time doing yardwork it therapy for me.

5 - Nothing brightens my day more than the smile of one of my girls and the little giggles they have.

Struggles

I have taken the past week and a half off from the blog to catch my breath and ruminate on a few different things. I will be resuming my regular schedule soon.

But today I wanted to spend a little time reflecting on struggles that many of us face during our lives.

I have a number of friends who have been going through a wide variety of struggles lately. People who have lost loved ones, are having marital issues, are struggling with addiction or depression, are facing health issues, and the list goes on and on.

And it seems like once one of my friends makes it out of the pit they are in, then another one enters one.

There is a lot of darkness, a lot of struggles, a lot pain.

And sometimes it is hard to see the hope.

There are many times when I wish I had the magic pill that would make all things better. There are times I wish I could just grab my friends, hug them like crazy, and everything would be fixed.

But I can't.

And it doesn't work that way.

We all have struggles, we all have pits we stumble into in life.

But there is hope.

The West Wing was one of my favorite TV shows for years. I have watched the episodes over and over again thanks to the DVD series I was given as a gift a few years ago. And there was a modern day parable (adapted from a Biblical parable) told in one of the episodes that reminds me about hope.

A man was walking down the street and as he was walking he fell into a pit that he couldn't get out of. So as he is at the bottom of the pit, he looks up and sees a doctor walking by. He yells out:

"Doctor, I am stuck in this pit, can you help me?"

The doctor looks down, then pulls our his prescription pad, writes a prescription, tosses it into the pit, and walks on.

Then a pastor comes by. The man yells out again:

"Pastor, I am stuck in this pit. Can you help me?"

The pastor pulls our his prayer books, copies down some prayers, tosses them to the man, then continues on.

Then a friend comes by, and the man yells out:

"Friend, I am stuck in the pit. Can you help me?"

The friend looks down, then jumps in the pit.

The man asks, "Why did you do that? Now both of us are in this pit."

And the friend responds, "Yes, but  I have been in this pit before, and I know the way out."

When we are going through struggles in our lives, which all of us do and will at some point, the hope we have is that we do not face these struggles alone. We have friends, we have family, we have a God who loves us.

So my prayer today is that if you are going through a struggle today, may you be blessed with a friend who jumps in the pit with you. And if you are not facing a struggle today, may you be that friend.