Putting the Pieces Together
My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
How are you? Really? Things could be better, couldn't they? Sure, there is always room for improvement. Some areas of our lives are doing pretty well while others are, well, in need of a lot of improvement. I love being married. Of course I am married to the most wonderful woman in the world(sorry fellows). Bonnie is georgeous, smart, funny, loving, compassionate, full of faith, a great mom, and she gets me. I love what I do for a living even during the difficult times. I was called at the age of 14 to be a minister. Long story but just let me say that I knew, that I knew, that I knew I would one day be a pastor. It happened at a youth group meeting. So aside from the painful days of death, feelings of inadequacy when I cant help someone, and congregational arguements over the color of the carpet(the things we will say about one another when we dont get our own way...) I love telling people about Jesus and the Gospel message and that this world is not our home so don't sweat the small stuff and Jesus has it all handled, etc, etc. I love family and we love each other even the cousins 3rd, 4th, 5th removed. And as far as I am concerned if you are a Christian then we are family. Really. Nothing to hide and everything to share. I love our country. Sure it needs a lot of improvement and prayer. We are not a Christian nation because we support many beliefs. Thats okay for now because it gives us plenty of opportunity to practice the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. Look it up. I love movies and our pets, Clancy and Shawna. There are lots of things I love about life. There are things that I would love to see changed as well.
I hate money problems. Finances are not my strong point by any means. This student loan is definitely cramping my style and it will likely be with us until the day I die. I dont know what happened to that athlete that was in my body. I am so disappointed when I see pictures of myself or a reflection in a mirror or window. I am 61 going on 100. Boy, I am out of shape and arthur, aka arthritis, is kicking my butt. There are other things that I don't like about my life or life in general. Like racism for instance. I don't get it. How can someone judge someone else by the color of their skin? The skin is only a covering. The person is inside and we are all in this same boat of life together so why don't we just all get along and love and help each other? This world is not our home. Too many people who are homeless or hurting in ways that we can't see. Too many diseases and too much violence and then the political fall out looking for answers in the wrong places. Don't even get me started on politics. Whoa, sorry, I am on a rant now. This world is not our home. All this stuff is just temporary and we can't take it with us. This is why we need to know the Bible because the good Lord tells us how to live and what to do to get ready for the next life which is eternal by the way, which means 'forever'. Joshua 24; 'choose you this day whom you will serve...as for me and my house we will serve the Lord'. NO, this life isn't perfect and there are a lot of things that I can do to make it better. I just have to take responsibility and work at it til things improve(another pet peeve: people who a sense of entitlement and instant gratification). Then there are things that I can't change and I have to make the best out of it that I can. Certain body types, environmental factors, and the weather are a few of the things that are mostly beyond my control. And of course there are the right and wrong decisions that I made which led to certain consequences that I now have to live with. My fault.
The really cool thing is that God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is always there with me. Even through the vally of the shadow of death God is with me. This world is not our home(see John 17:14). Don't sweat the small stuff, not even the big stuff. Jesus is there to say, "I've got this!" Philippians 4:19, 1 Peter 5:7. Thanks for letting me rant(like you had a choice). I love you because He first loved us and filled us with His love for each other. Til next time.
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Bruce