All of the photos we have posted so far have been of our own gardens. Tonight we were moving some plants in order to put in a driveway so we don't need to back out onto our very busy country road. We almost forgot to look under the plants for some spring bulbs that were there. It has been so long since spring. Already we can feel fall in the air. Soon winter will be upon us. Then spring again. Is it us or does time seem to be speeding up? It has been over a year now that we haven't been viewing television. We do more reading now. When we feel like watching something we put in a dvd of one of our favorites. This is much nicer, no commercials, no getting offended by content or bad language. When we stopped getting tv programming we thought things would slow down a little. We thought wrong. If anything time seems to be going by even faster.

Our congregation is going through what is being called a transition time between pastors. We have with us now a transitional pastor who will be leading us through a time of self reflection that will help us deal with numerous important issues before we call our next pastor. For the past few months he has been meeting with groups, couples, and individuals. He is interviewing using specific questions to discover what some of the issues within our congregation might be. In the next phase we will be meeting together as a congregation to practice arriving at consensus. He has chosen what he feels is a rather unimportant issue, in this case, whether or not to have sharing during worship time. In a few weeks we will meet and try to arrive all together at a decision about this issue. If we agree that we cannot achieve a consensus, the issue will be resolved by a ballot.

The next two years will be an interesting time for everyone. We will share some of the happenings here so you can get a feel of how things are going. We are somewhat confident that this may be a good thing because of the abilities exhibited by our transitional pastor. Time will tell.

Riddle

Here is a quiz for today.

What is something that most people use every day?

It can protect you or harm you.

Sometimes you can not see it but you can always feel it.

It comes in any color and any shape.

It is useful and beautiful.

It is expensive and cheap.

You wouldn't want to live without it.

Next week we will reveal the answer!

Care and Respect

Just recently we have come to realize how much care and respect go together. There is an old song with a line that goes something like this, "Love and marriage, love and marriage...go together like a horse and carriage." Our revelation is that care and respect are also that closely related. It's very hard to respect someone that you feel does not care about you. By the same token, it is difficult to care about someone when you feel that they do not respect you. No one wants to care about something that they do not respect. And there is no respect for something if one does not care about it first.

In our world today there is plenty of evidence revealing a lack of respect and care. When driving through most cities you will find walls covered with graffiti. Road rage is a new phenomenon that reveals no care or respect. Our nation's divorce rate indicates an alarming lack of respect and care that usually spills over effecting our children. We could go on and on with examples. Instead we choose to think about how to stop that vicious cycle.

We can choose to care when not respected. We might choose to respect when no one cares. It's a very simple answer really. But not easy. Maybe we could pick up that piece of litter instead of walking on by. Or, perhaps we could slow down and let someone go ahead, instead of hurrying on our way. We could choose to be kind and forgive when we are wronged. We might return good for evil when we have the chance, instead of looking after our "rights." What a wonderful world this would be!

Consistant Change

There is an old saying that goes something like this..."the only thing sure in life is change." This is one reason we like to use photos of flowers from our garden as part of our slide show that constantly changes display. In a few minutes we can sit and watch a whole year's worth of beauty in full bloom. Each blossom is frozen in image at its best.

It doesn't seem to matter what our age, humans just don't care for change. Elderly and children are alike in that anything that changes their known world is viewed as unwelcome. Especially if what is changed is something enjoyed. And yet to be alive is an ever changing condition. Children grow up and everyone grows old. Everything changes.

All except God, who changes not. God is the one constant perfect being. He is always longing to draw us near to Him and bring us to His everlasting peace that passes understanding. We will always need to change our ways to draw close to Him. But He never changes.

Collision Theory

Here's the view from our place on an early morning when we like to walk almost every day. Sometimes the traffic is scary! There must be a scientific effect that creates what we call our "collision theory." That's when for about 3 minutes not a single car goes by, then suddenly two cars coming from opposite directions pass each other exactly where we are walking, and there is no way to get off the road safely. There must be a scientific explanation because this happens far to often to be co-incidence. Can you imagine all the factors that are in play for this to occur? Both cars must leave from their origin at just the right time. We must leave our place at just the right time. And we all must meet at just the right time, where there is not a nice place to get off the road. Our "collision theory" happens regularly, about two or three times a week. Please let us know if you or anyone you know also has experienced this "collision theory" on a regular basis.