Do you believe in Love?

The Bible says that love bears all things, believes all things, and endures all things.  Personally, I believe love carries an incredible amount of power… but there are times I can ignore its strength. This month we are beginning a new sermon series based on 1 John.  This book emphasizes that there is no greater representation of God than in the love we show our neighbors!  Think about that!  This past week I saw people from Community Lutheran church visiting the sick, praying for the needy, caring for the lonely, and welcoming the stranger.  This love inspires me, and it reminds me of the ways that God is with us. 

This week I hope we can all be intentional about sharing the love of Christ.  However, love is not just something we have to offer.  It is also a gift we have to learn to receive.  I have come to believe that accepting love is just as important as sharing it.  I know over the past few weeks, when I was so busy with work and a sick baby, it became easy to ignore or even deny the love that was being shown to me.  The Bible tells us that love is all around us… in the strangers and friends we meet every day.  However, if we don’t take time to intentionally appreciate or acknowledge this love, we can find ourselves in a pretty dark spot. 

Today I hope we can remember Love is with us.  May we share it with joy and accept it with grace!

Peace,

Brian

Resurrection Hope!

Easter has come and gone...  Do you feel any different?  We have received the greatest news in the world, but sometimes it’s easy to slip back into old habits, anxieties, and frustrations.  

The past few weeks have been kind of a blur for me, but I am so thankful my family made time to celebrate the good news.  Looking back, I was pretty exhausted, but I will always remember the joy of my two year old child running around talking about Easter eggs or shouting, “Look mommy, JESUS!” in the middle of the 9:30 Easter service.  (Maybe he doesn’t have all the theology down… but he has found joy and grace in the people around him!) 

Life can be exhausting…  However, I’ve grown so much while looking at the world through the eyes of a two year old.  I hope and pray you can all see the joy of the resurrection wherever you go!

Blessings!

PB

Leaning on the Everlasting Arms...

I pray you would see the joy of the
Resurrection today...

As I look back on my blog over the past couple of years, I realize I write about my son a lot, and that pretty much reflects my life.  Many of my joys, fears, celebrations, and anxieties revolve around this two year old child.  The past couple of weeks have been no exception.  First, our son was sick, so we took him to the doctor and they prescribed some antibiotics.  Just when it seemed like he was getting better, he had a reaction to his medication.  He broke out in hives, swelled up, and he appeared to be in constant pain.  This led to a late night visit to the ER and a very miserable night.  Today, our child seems to be recovering.  He is happy, healthy, and filled with life… However, I don’t know how much more of this I can handle as a first time parent…! :)

In our scripture lesson for the week, Jesus shares the good news that He is the resurrection and the life of the world.  It is my prayer that instead of relying on ourselves, we would put our faith in Christ.  He is ready to carry our burdens remind us of true joy…

Blessings,

PB    

Waiting...

If you had to guess, how much time do you think you spend waiting each week?  How about in a year?  Apparently, some researchers have looked into this, and the average American spends about 38 hours each year waiting in traffic.  We spend thirteen hours annually waiting on hold for customer service, and seven years of our lives are spent lying awake in the bed at night, waiting to fall asleep.  Those are all averages, but they were pretty disturbing to me.  I hate waiting… I frequently find myself wishing I could move things along faster.  I want to be somewhere else.

Last week, I spent a considerable amount of time waiting in the doctor’s office with a sick child.  This was not where I wanted to be, and it was easy to become frustrated thinking about all the other things I needed to do.  However, when another family came in, I started talking with them.  We didn’t have much to say, but we laughed a little and shared a few stories.  It wasn’t much, but I felt like it was infinitely better than just stewing over all the time I was wasting.  I also realize it was a blessing to simply spend a little time with my child who really did need me in that moment.  Today, I hope we can enjoy whatever moment we are in.  We are going to spend a lot of time waiting.  That’s life.  However, we get to choose the attitude we take with us. 

In this week’s scripture passage, Jesus tells a woman her life is not a waste.  Life is an opportunity to be cherished and loved.  I hope and pray we can all cherish the days we have, because each day is a gift… Even the days full of waiting!

Peace!

Brian

Surrounded by Grace

We enjoyed some amazing moments this week,
because of the support of some wonderful people!

So this has been a busy week.  In addition to my usual duties, I have three funeral services, two Lenten services, children’s chapel, hospital visits, and Saturday night worship.  If that wasn’t enough, my son turned two years old this week, and my wife and I decided to invite a bunch of families to our house to celebrate. That was a wonderful experience… except a day later our little boy came down with a terrible cold! That meant extra visits to the doctor, filling prescriptions, and dealing with a miserable child all night. 

There are times when I think I can handle things pretty well on my own.  However, this was not one of those weeks… I am so thankful for all the people in my life who have offered their support and love.  I am thankful for the people who have shown me that I don’t need to face these difficulties alone.  My wife and I are blessed to have each other.  We are blessed to have a wonderful family and a Grandma and Grandpa who came in from Colorado to help us out.  Finally, we are blessed by a wonderful church community every day.

I believe we need each other.  Life is not about proving we are somehow better than others.  If we can humble ourselves, I think we will find that people are ready to help us.  Not only that, but other people can present us with opportunities that we never knew existed.  That is also true of God’s Grace.  We can be overwhelmed by the world, but God is always there ready to walk with us every step of the way!

Blessings!

PB

Inclusive Love

Coming together to show love

Last Tuesday I read a news story about one of the Jewish cemeteries that had been vandalized.  As terrible as these events are, I have come to respect people on all sides of the issue who came together to support their Jewish neighbors. I even read about a Muslim activist named Tarek El-Messidi, who called on people of the Islamic faith to help out.  El-Messidi’s community raised over $138,000, which more than covered the cost of repairs to one of the cemeteries.  This stood out to me, because there are so many examples of faith communities fighting against one another.  Faith has been used to divide instead of love.  This story inspired me.  I hope we as a church can show a radical grace and love that reaches around the world. 

This week we are entering into the Lenten Season.  This is a season of reflection, but it is also a season of hope.  As I look out at the world around me, I know there are problems, but I believe in hope.  I believe if we come together for the sake of love, we will discover the power of the church.  Today, I hope and pray that you would be able to find God’s Love wherever you are!

Blessings!

Brian

If you would like to read more about the story I referenced, I am sharing the link below:

http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/28/us/jewish-cemetery-muslim-help-trnd/index.html

Our Choices...

Earlier this week, I had an opportunity to go hiking with a group of kids from the church.  I love getting outside, and I love sharing these experiences with others.  However, planning these events can be stressful.  I’m always worried someone will try to jump off a cliff or fall into a pool of stagnant water.  Besides all that, I was bringing my own child, and that can mean dirty diapers, loud screaming, and an all-around wildman strapped to my back… I guess I was concerned the hike would turn into a sufferfest.  However, it turned out to be an amazing trip!  The kids showed up with enthusiasm and positive attitudes.  My little boy was also fun to watch.  As soon as he saw the mountain, he started jumping up and down with excitement.  He couldn’t wait for us to put him in the backpack.  He spent the rest of his trip singing and talking about the dirt and the rocks he saw…  It was perfect!

Every day we get to choose how we are going to respond to life’s trials.  There will always be difficulties, but we can choose to share compassion and love instead of doubt and fear.  Beyond this, I also think we need each other.  I have seen so many people overcome the trials they’ve faced because of the love they’ve felt from others. 

Today, I hope you can believe in Love.  I know you all have your own burdens, but if we open our hearts, I believe great things will happen! 

Blessings,

PB