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End of October Greetings, People! Man, is fall just flying by?? Here we are, on the cusp of November. The craft fair is past, All Saints Day is Monday and Thanksgiving beckons. (I’m already looking forward to dressing. That’s the bready stuff with sage, etc, not getting dressed…). I’m still moseying thru the psalms. These verses got my attention lately: The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? The Lord is with me; he is my helper. I look in t

Craft Fair Salutations, Saints! I’ve been chewing on Psalm 115 for a couple days. Two things stand out (I’ll give ‘em to you out of order). After describing the reality of an idol (made by human hands, can’t walk, talk, see or hear), the psalmist says this: “Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” (Ps 115:8). We become what we worship! What (or Who) do you worship? We're drawn towards and become like the things we worship. Be aware! That als

Fall Greetings, People! I trust you’re enjoying our ramp-up to winter (did I just go and spoil it?). Get out there and enjoy fall as much as you can… it’s going by quickly. The bright red maple leaves that were full on in our back yard are now mostly on the ground. Our garden hoses are drained and stored, the sprinkling system is off & blown. Enough wood is in the basement for our wood stove. Gotta put the Christmas lights up before it gets too cold. I still haven’t grabbed a

Hey there, Saints. I feel like we’re on a fall train (or roller coaster?), slowly starting up a gentle grade through changing leaves, football games, caramel apples, pumpkin donuts, cooler temps and the craft fair. When we hit the week before Thanksgiving, we start to go down that hill, careening thru turkey & dressing, basketball, Black Friday, Christmas music, gift frenzy, kids programs, services and New Years. Then the train evens out and we go chugging along in ‘normal’ l

October greetings People! Man oh man, how’d we get to October already? I know, one day at a time, but yikes, here we are. I don’t think I was ready for September to end. I was ready for fire season to end, but once we got rain… let’s just enjoy September a bit. Already I’ve walked the dog a few times wearing my winter coat. Winter is on the way. At least we have some hopefully-not-idolatrous distractions in football, basketball (coming soon) and Green Bluff pumpkin donuts.

Happy Fall (officially) Saints. Break out your favorite pumpkin spice whatever (mine are donuts). The weather is starting to match the calendar. I’m glad to live in the Inland Northwest. Where else can you have 35 or 40 degree temperature swings in one day? We need heat in the morning and AC in the afternoon... Chase A and I just returned from a Preaching Intensive over on the west side. What is it? A seminary-level seminar on the art of preaching well. I wish I’d had this cl

Greetings Chattaroy Community Church Family, I pray that this message finds you well and enjoying the seasonal transition into Fall. As my family has begun a class on the history of Christianity for homeschool, I have been reminded by the author of the book (Justo Gonzalez) that, “The notion that we read the New Testament exactly as the early Christians did, without any weight of tradition coloring our interpretation, is an illusion.” There is great importance to knowing the

Hey Saints, It’s quite the time for remembrances. Yesterday was the one year anniversary of the assassination of Charlie Kirk. He was killed for telling the truth in a bold but compassionate way. May his tribe increase. Today is the 25th anniversary of the 9-11 attacks. Do people have short memories? It seems the same ideology that perpetrated the 9-11 attacks is seeking to take root in our country using political means. These remembrances are reminders of why we need to pray

Greetings, Saints. Thank God it’s rained! I trust the fire season is over, looking at the forecast. Don’t you always breathe a sigh of relief at the first soaker? It sure has been dry in the woods outside our house. It looks to me as if a number of the plants are distressed due to no moisture (not that I’m a plant expert). I’ve noticed the long lines to get water at the station outside the Whitworth Water building. I’m praying we can fill up the reserves we need. You all know

Hey there, Saints. I went to yet another meeting this week about the Spokane Area Church’s response to our recent fires… and it was worth it. I got an update on the progress they’ve made in just a couple weeks of being on the ground: a website up and running (uicgs.org), a local board overseeing efforts, a disaster assistance center set up, a list secured of all the homes that burned to be checked against IDs of people coming for help, people assigned a person to shepherd the

Hey there, Saints. Last week I told you about United in Crisis, a group that has existed for 17 years and is active all over the globe, helping the church of Jesus work together to meet physical, emotional and spiritual needs in crisis. They had a training last night with about 80 in attendance. Local church people are being trained up to help with the initial needs in a crisis (place to stay, clothing, food), short term needs (cleaning up, dealing with insurance) and long te

Hey Saints… I attended a meeting this past Wednesday about disaster relief in Spokane. A group called United in Crisis helps gather the church in a locale to respond to crises. Too often we’ve abdicated to the government to help. These folks have 17 years experience responding to emergencies and training the church to respond well—not just with initial food and clothing, but in the long term. It sounds like a great idea. I went to the meeting because some of you have come to

August Salutations, Saints. Man, it’s been a tough week, eh? We were just finishing up a funeral here at the church last Saturday when someone pointed out the billowing smoke in the sky. We all know people who were evacuated or who lost a home. Where is God when it hurts? I know one praying believer who lost his home, and the text he put out was asking for God to use this in the lives of people in the county. May we be reminded of eternity! The pastors I gather with prayed fo

Almost August Greetings! Can you believe July is fading fast? I think this every summer. It seems like the three months stretches out before me like an endless sandy beach to explore and enjoy. Then, before I can unfurl my beach towel, someone calls on the phone or some need comes up, and when I turn back to the towel, it's time to fold it up and get in the car. We're already talking about the fall classes and programs here at church. I trust you can grab some leisure before

VBS Greetings, People! It’s been a great week. 92 kids attended the first day, a record. Those here were entertained with a 'minute to win it’ set of contests between Alisa C and Rick J, daily guessing games and many prizes (thanks to y’all). Yes, there were snacks and games and crafts, but most importantly, the Bible. Specifically, Psalm 23. That was the theme all week. Plus, the kids were asked to bring in items for the North County Food Pantry… and boy, did they. Over a th

Salutations, Saints! We had our normal Thursday morning prayer time yesterday. It was rich. Seven attended. Our focus is on praise/worship at the start, and some days that’s mostly what we do. It is so much more than a list of requests. We get to hang out with God! There’s really a sense of being in his presence. Some pray verbally, some inwardly. In waiting on God, there’s an opportunity to discover what’s on his mind and heart, and to try to dial in to that as we praise and

Howdy, Saints. I’m not sure about your neighborhood, but on my street, it rained some this past Tuesday morning. Rained. It wasn’t much, but the street was wet when I got up. It wasn’t in the forecast. But I’d prayed for rain several times on Monday. I consider it a gracious gift from God. I know others who are praying for rain. Again, please join me! I’d love to make it to fall without a fire catastrophe. I know that sometimes fire is used to get rid of superfluous growth… b

Happy Independence Day, Saints! The more I read about the founding of our country, the more I think they were very close to evangelical believers. The 1st Great Awakening (starting in the 1740s) set the stage for the revolution. God, his word and his ways were highly respected, even by so-called Deist Thomas Jefferson and skeptic Benjamin Franklin (wait until you hear the quote from Franklin on Sunday. He sounds like a preacher! He was good friends with evangelist George Whit

Hoopfest Greetings, Saints! Have you ever been downtown during Hoopfest? It’s crazy. Thousands of teams (last I knew, 7000!) with 3 on each team, so 21,000… and that’s not including family members, friends, vendors and media. Think about the logistics to block off most downtown streets, get courts set up, provide monitors for each game and work the massive bracket. Wow. It really is kind of festive, if you can handle the crowds with grace. This year it may be better and worse