Thanks Giving

Basil Carpenter states: “Thank God every day when you get up that you have something to do that day which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance and self-control, diligence and strength of will, cheerfulness and content, and a hundred virtues which the idle will never know.”

The wisdom that he speaks resonates when we wish to be the recipients of thankfulness. When we need an acknowledgement that the work we have been doing has not been in vain – and better yet is appreciated as people step forward into life. At the same time we need to acknowledge the things that people do for us that act as the grace and mercy of God to make our lives whole and significant. Too often we look at the difficulties we face and see only issues instead of the possibilities. Perhaps our hearts need to be retuned to the symphony of heaven so that we can again sing with power the promises and possibilities of God among us.

Anne Frank suffered greatly and yet she shared: “I do not think of all the misery, but of the glory that remains. Go outside into the fields, nature and the sun, go out and seek happiness in yourself and in God. Think of the beauty that again and again discharges itself within and without you and be happy."

We all have difficulty and stress, but we are also asked to let go of them so that we can instead focus on the things that make life a more memorable and enjoyable experience. There are times when we should recall that sometimes our moments of despair and desperation actually are the only reasons we can savor the success and suspense of greatness. It is only through the cadence, rhythm and cycle of life that brings both joy and
sorrow that we will ever be able to appreciate the things that we have and become.

The most powerful aspect of being thankful however is in the way that it transforms our attitude in life. As Melody Beattie stated: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

This week will you embrace a real Thanksgiving or will you have just overeat on a holiday that is just the marker for the Christmas Shopping Season? My prayer is that you find real thanks and let it impact the way you live every day the rest of your life.

Blessings, Pastor Greg

Valuing People

Have you ever noticed how your values shape your character and transform your life and perceptions? Our values are not the things that we say, but rather they come from deep within our minds and psyches. They drive our behaviors and thus transform our characters because we will become like that which we repeatedly do. Some repeatedly live in defeat and being a victim others live in ways that overcome – even when their physical situation does not change. As it has been said: "It's what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness—all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution."

So then how do we transform our lives and live anew in grace and mercy? We are to do it by living in such a way that what becomes second nature is redemptive in the character that we dwell. How we treat people is indicative of our relationship with God and our respect for God. From Matthew 25:31-40 (The Message) I want to share the first part of a parable of Jesus:

"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.'

"Then those 'sheep' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?' Then the King will say, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me - you did it to me.'”

Did you catch that last part? They were honestly surprised that they were selected to go to a reward. Why? Because they had behaved as simple caring honoring and loving people who treated people well and looked after the most unlikely of people. In short, they valued people and treated tem with love, dignity, and respect.

How low has the world sunk when we have to see a person’s financial ability or similarity to us determines how the should be treated or heard. We need to embrace a new ethos of relating to one another. One that sees in others the greatness to which God has called us. One that sees us as servants one to another and embraces the call to heal one another’s brokenness.

This week I pray that you embrace the unassuming touch of God to be a vessel of change and hope for those around you. I also pray that you not even realize that you do it by it becoming a part of your personality.

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

As much as I LOVE to learn new things, I do NOT learn them easily. There is a bit of stubbornness in my brain cells AND my spirit that says "Don't need that new stuff - why are you tryin' to push it on me?"

This has been especially true in this recent season. Finally, FINALLY, it's getting through my thick head that God's timing is NOT our timing, AND that His timing is perfect.

It is NOT a coincidence that we are getting the final things done on our new space, have a sale contract on our old place AND have called a SUPER new Director of Worship Arts all in the last 2 weeks. We are SO blessed to be under the direction of the Living God! He has a Plan and a Purpose for Covenant and I feel that He is leading us into a wonderful Season of Revival as we head into our new adventures!

If you like excitement and abiding joy, come join us!!

Food for the journey

"Through My blessings, you ARE equipped for peace in the desert."

Sunday night, in the early part of Greg's sermon, I had a vision. Not really uncommon, although I had been in a quiet period, in my spirit, for a while.

I saw a small box, filled with sand. It had what looked like a lower-case "e" raked in it. There were two parallel lines with this "e" though. I asked what it meant. The bulk of what has been shown to and spoken to my spirit this year, has had a theme of fruit...or blessings. But, there has also been a recent trend of deserts.

When I looked at this sand box, I knew that it was a Zen sand garden.

After I asked what all of these things...the fruit, the sand, the "e" meant, subtle parallels between these dichotomies became apparent to me.

Zen, in our society, is equated to peace.
Fruit is blessings, abundance, sustenance.
Sand...desert, are both trial, barrenness, hard times.

The double "e"...parallel lines, both running the course together, equal.

That's when the Spirit spoke this sentence to me:

"Through My blessings, you ARE equipped for peace in the desert."

After this, my spirit was told to read the whole of Acts chapter 20.