Doldrums?
My dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,
How you doing? Me too. Long winter and it is only February. I am sitting in my office looking out the window and it is raining, gloomy, 34 degrees, and most everything is covered with ice. The main roads seem to be okay because the salt trucks have been out. Still, it is kind of a yucky day. Again. We canceled Bible study for today because of the weather. I can work on my sermon, maybe go to Walmart to pick up some stuff for my wife. She told me to and you know what they say, "happy wife, happy life!". I love my Lady. We will be married for 40 years this coming Sunday, February 11. Seems like it has only been a few years. But here we are 40 years, 4 children, 6 grandchildren, and a lot of mileage later and we are still having fun and romance. Although we have to deal with the winter doldrums like everyone else. I joined a local gym a couple of weeks ago. I feel the need to reinvent myself which is just a fancy way of saying I am tired of being so out of shape. Mmm, round is a shape though, isn't it? Haa. Interesting how hard it is to get into the habit of going to the gym. It is Planet Fitness so it only costs me $10 a month but I don't want to waste that. Too many other people would be glad to have $10 a month so I must make the most of it. I believe that if I am in better shape I will be a more productive disciple of Jesus Christ. I have always thought that being overweight when I could help it is a bad witness. There are folks that are designed to be big and it is genetics. No shame being big, small, tall, short, or average. Being out of shape now, especially when we have the resources to prevent that is just not a good witness. So in order to be a good steward of my time and resources I am going to the gym. Pray for me because change is not easy and the devil doesn't like it when we try to improve our relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You know I am just babbling, right? Heee, life is good, praise the Lord. Lent begins next week and we should take advantage of the season to effect change in our spiritual lives. Lent is a great time to make some difficult changes that will benefit our walk with the Lord. I believe I will fast lunch every Wednesday and spend that time in more prayer and Bible study. Of course we have our Ash Wednesday service with the imposition of ashes, Last Supper portrayal, ministerium's Cross Walk, Easter egg hunt, Palms, and decorations to make Lent and Easter special. There lots of things that people do to make Lent special. Some people get up early for Bible study and prayer or fast either a meal or a day to spend more time with the Lord or they give up a particular food item such as bread, sweets, or meat. I have known people to give up television or Facebook for Lent. Change is difficult no matter what it is because we don't like to move out of our "comfort zone". Habits are comfortable because they come easily and don't require much effort even if they are not good for us. So if you want to make some changes, especially changes that will bring you close to the Lord, then you can expect some opposition. It won't be easy but it will be well worth the cost. Yep, I think I will go to the gym this afternoon.
God loves you and so do I,
Pastor Bruce
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