Lenten Devotional

Day 7 – March 11, 2025 There are times in life when we hit a surprisingly sharp curve.   In 2017 an ominous mammogram led to an immediate ultrasound.   Although both tests had been conducted at the end of what had been a normal Tuesday, I was told the doctor would be in touch with me very soon.  The immediacy of the situation heightened my anxiety.   The following morning, I was told a biopsy was scheduled for me the next day.  The news hit hard and fast.  The curve had taken me “off road” and I was landing in the wilderness.  Fear was like a wild stalking beast ready to consume me.  This multi-headed monster was growling all

Day 6 – March 10, 2025 Reflections of September Hurricane  – by Donna Reed Payne Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck, I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.  I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for God.  Psalm 69:1-3 Hurricanes are unstoppable storms that bring widespread devastation from destructive high winds, water surges, tornadoes, flooding, and residual mold.  In my mind, my wilderness was like a hurricane. When I arrived home from one of my summer pilgrimages to Bellingham, Washington I found myself facing a multitude of storm surges. Before

March 9, 2025 (1st Sunday in Lent) Quick reminder:  TODAY 9AM – doughnuts in the gathering room by Sanctuary (main bldg. Room 214) 10:00 AM – ONE SERVICE of WORSHIP  Hope to see you!  All are welcome. This is DAY 5 of our Lenten season. If you’ve added or given up something for Lent, that change hasn’t been going on long enough to become part of your muscle memory yet, so stick with it! It is often said you must do (or not do) a thing for a series of days before it becomes a habit.  Our verses for today’s sermons involve trust and faith. These two things can prove seriously challenging for us.  Our Old Testament reading is Deuteronomy

Day 4 – March 8, 2025 The Right Person at the Right Time I thought moving back to my hometown would be a breeze after nine years as an expat, but the transition was harder than I expected. Family dynamics had changed—my mom and grandparents had passed away, and my dad had remarried. My worldview had shifted, and I struggled to meet people with similar outlooks and interests. And then COVID hit, making it tough for Alex and I to find our place in the community. One day I was out for a walk with baby Elliott, frazzled from new motherhood, when a woman I didn’t know pulled her car over to ask about the baby. Under normal circumstances, I

Day 3 – March 7, 2025 Spiritual wilderness is what I’ve experienced. And at the time I was experiencing it, I would not have called it wilderness, nor would I have said that there was refuge/a society to serve as a foil to that wilderness. I would have said there is no spirituality at all, and that all that we experience in the flesh is all that there is. For about five years, I was a pretty staunch atheist. I grew up going to church and all that, but by my second year of college, I became fed up with where the Lord had me. I thought if He’s so great, why has he allowed such disappointment in my life?

God’s Hands “Yet, O LORD, you are our father.We are the clay; you are the potter;We are all the work of your hand.”   Isaiah 64:8  NIV  I took a pottery class many years ago.  I remember learning how to knead, push and even slam the clay to get out all the air bubbles before beginning a piece of pottery.  Then I had to learn how to center the clay on the wheel.  If it was not centered properly then the clay would spin out of shape as I kicked the wheel to create the spinning motion that was needed to produce a vessel.  I learned the processes and created many bowls.  I gave them away to friends and family