Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Newsletter articles are tough. What can I say in a page that is worthy of your time?
Your time is valuable. And often, it seems like there is so little of it to go around. On Sundays, I try to respect the time that you have set aside for worship. I do not like to go over the gift of an hour. I grew up in churches where that was an every week occurrence. But it is my belief, that if you steal from people often enough, they will begin to quit coming.

I love the Fall. We have begun to see milder temperatures (at least for a few days). High school football is once again king in Texas. Pumpkin spice is showing up in various places. And conversations are starting to happen about Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Time seems to fly from October 1 to January 1.

That said, we want to make the most of our time. We want to maximize the use for the more important things, without neglecting others. Scripture tells us that everything has its time. We read in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, ”For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down,
and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

We get caught up in the details and we forget what is important. These next few months are a good reminder of the things that we should be thankful for. We gather for high school football and celebrate kids, and good sportsmanship, and our city folk neighbors. We look toward Halloween, and we celebrate children, and joy, and candy, and we remember the Saints of the church. Bonus- we also have Trunk-R-Treat and enjoy the Fall weather outside. Thanksgiving is a season to remember the many blessings you have in your life and sit down with loved ones for a meal. It is a good time to remember that the table is a wonderful place to gather. Then, Advent and Christmas. We have all the joy of family and friends and children, but we mostly, we celebrate the birth of Jesus who lived and died for us, so that we might have a relationship with God.

I am excited to enter into this season with you for the very first time. It truly is “the most wonderful time of the year.” Let us commit to looking for the joy of life, and love, and fellowship, and Jesus. Let us strive to let the negative go and focus on the things that bind us together. Let us remember that Jesus said to love God and to love our neighbor. And let us remember that we should always err on the side of grace.

In His service,
Pastor Donny