I relate much of my life to gardening. Summer is a sabbatical, a take-a-break, a time-to-rest season. Autumn is a new beginning because it’s planting season once again. How blessed we are that planting season happens multiple times in the Sonoran Desert! The essence of being rooted, perhaps, is in knowing that who you are… Continue reading It’s planting season once again.
Category: Pastor Paul’s Ponderings and Letters
It was a wonderful Sunday.
We celebrated Pastor Jim’s return from sabbatical! The joy was palpable. The smiles came readily. The laughter was contagious. In the midst of all of life’s brokenness and sorrow, a holy moment of love shined upon us and embraced us reminding us that love is still present and active. And now we get to focus… Continue reading It was a wonderful Sunday.
As of this writing, my mom is in a hospice facility.
We are trying to make sure she is comfortable. I don’t know how long or short this last stage will be. I like to control things, but I can’t control this. All I can do is help her be pain-free and sit with my memories. There are a thousand things to do and yet, the… Continue reading As of this writing, my mom is in a hospice facility.
Thank you
The phrase, “Thank you,” is an odd one. It can be over used while underused at the same time. In any of its forms, “thank you,” “thanks,” or “thankful” there is a sentiment we need to use more intentionally. Because gratitude, despite what the Hokey – Pokey says, is what it’s all about. Gratitude is… Continue reading Thank you
Kindom of God—that’s not a typo!
God’s Extravagant Love connects each of us as “kin” and to each part of the larger Kindom of God. That’s no typo – the Kindom of God – it’s a profound insight. In the 37 times that Jesus describes the reign of God in the Gospels, not once is the kingdom of God like a… Continue reading Kindom of God—that’s not a typo!
Can a computer interpret scripture?
Have you heard about the new computer program that can write language in the style of a certain person? It’s called GPT, an acronym that stands for Generative Pre-Trained Transformer. A GPT can take simple prompts in natural human language as an input, and answer questions, write poems, translations, blog posts, or any other style… Continue reading Can a computer interpret scripture?
“You have to sing louder than the senior minister!”
Hymns are one of my favorite parts of worship. While I like trying to sing the melody, my true joy is hitting the bottom bullfrog bass notes. Music touches parts of my soul that words fail to reach. When I first began in ministry (which was last century!), I found myself in the role of… Continue reading “You have to sing louder than the senior minister!”
I have the same naïve thought every year…
Before each summer hits us, I have this naïve thought that maybe this year it won’t be so hot. Then record heat fries us and my brain back into reality. It has been a typical summer season – one with record heat and we are melting. Some of the good comments about the heat that… Continue reading I have the same naïve thought every year…
A deeply profound and revealing assignment!
How has your church blessed you this past month? It sounded like a simple question – how has the church blessed you? Yet, as person after person shared, I realized that the simple assignment was deeply profound and far more revealing than I first imagined. How has your church blessed you this past month? Everyone responded— those… Continue reading A deeply profound and revealing assignment!
We will not be “taking the summer off” of ministry
When Hitler began interfering with the churches and humiliating, torturing, and killing the Jews, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a loyal German himself, began to resist and protest. Being a minister, he refused to take part in the state churches which bowed to the Nazi’s demands. Some other ministers faced this tragic situation with quite a different logic.… Continue reading We will not be “taking the summer off” of ministry