Can you believe it is September? Where did August go? And for that matter, where have July, June, May, April, and 2020, 2015, 2000, 1980 gone? If you feel as if the world is spinning faster than your ability to process it all, take heart, you are not alone. Many of us are in that… Continue reading Catching up on things
Category: Pastor Paul’s Ponderings and Letters
What’s more exciting: congregational meetings or watching paint dry?
It’s an exciting time to be the church! Watching paint dry. Congregational meetings. Some sermons…okay…many sermons! Boring, boring, boring! That can often be the case – but not this time! For quite some time, our former moderator, Judy Jondahl, has led a group of dedicated church folks on redoing and updating our church’s constitution and bylaws (CaB).… Continue reading What’s more exciting: congregational meetings or watching paint dry?
Keep Moving
As my college class was graduating, it was a hot and sunny day. It was a proud moment as I walked across the platform and received my diploma in front of family and friends; there was a flood of emotions filling my heart, mind, and soul. As I was handed a diploma, I shook the… Continue reading Keep Moving
How do you find balance in your life?
My life needs balance: brains, heart, and courage. Like a three-legged stool when I lean into all three of them, they become pillars of strength to carry my physical, emotional, and spiritual weight through the tough moments of life. If I don’t utilize one of the three or if I depend upon one or two more than… Continue reading How do you find balance in your life?
What happens when we die?
What happens when we die? Do we face a great tribunal? Is God a trial judge over our life’s journey? Here’s a confession: I believe God is more merciful than we can imagine – despite the realities of how we treat one another. I believe God will welcome us with open arms. Now, having said… Continue reading What happens when we die?
Three steps forward and two steps back!
Three steps forward and two steps back! That’s a phrase I have used throughout my life when describing situations that don’t seem to be going in the direction in which I want. It is as if we literally have taken three steps and then have to go backwards. Going backwards seems so hard after these… Continue reading Three steps forward and two steps back!
True Strength
As the Tokyo Olympics winds down, much attention has been given to Simone Biles. Going into these games, she had a combined total of 30 Olympic and World Championship medals, is the most decorated American gymnast, and is regarded as one of the greatest athletes of all time—all at the tender age of 24. While all… Continue reading True Strength
One word for those who prayed for rain: “Moderation”
♫♪ “The rain, rain, rain came down, down, downIn rushing, rising riv’lets‘Til the river crept out of its bedAnd crept right into Piglet’s” (church – The Palms!) ♪♫ Wow! What a Sunday July 25th turned out to be! Instead of flames as of doves descending upon the parishioners, it was drops, fat and wet, plopping… Continue reading One word for those who prayed for rain: “Moderation”
“Abby Normal”
I’ve seen the future and it’s going to be “Abby Normal.” That line comes from the comedy movie, “Young Frankenstein.” In that movie, Igor (pronounced Eye-Gore), is instructed to get a brain from the laboratory that comes from a famous intellect. Instead, having dropped the correct brain, he grabs the next one available which is… Continue reading “Abby Normal”
Learning the art of listening is much harder than…
Harry Emerson Fosdick once told the story of a woman who was left a widow fairly young in life. Having to earn a living, she put an ad in the paper saying that for $2.50 an hour she would listen to anybody talk about anything. Her idea was such a success that within two years… Continue reading Learning the art of listening is much harder than…