Hospitality and Hope

What does hospitality look like to you?

Can you think a moment when you felt welcomed?

What does it mean to be accepted, loved, and even cherished?

When I was in college, I worked at a Lutheran camp in Colorado for a couple summers.  I did not know anyone else at this camp very well.  I just headed west and hoped my gifts could be utilized.  Trying something new can be a risk, and up and to that point in my life, I had never imagined myself as a leader in ministry… I was just a chemistry major who wanted to go to the mountains and serve. J

I love being welcomed by this guy!!

When I arrived at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp, I was embraced by an incredible staff.  There was an environment on site that valued everyone’s gifts and encouraged us to be all that God called us to be.  I met many wonderful people who changed my life forever, and I also learned the power of hospitality.  I was embraced by the warmth of others, and I was part of a staff that offered hospitality week after week to a new group of campers. 

The Bible will often speak of the power of hospitality.  There is something sacred about welcoming another.  Throughout the scriptures we learn welcoming others welcomes God.  In our scripture text this week, two women find their own unique ways to welcome Christ.  I have to admit that going home and being welcomed enthusiastically by a dancing 4 year old and a screaming 11 month old is almost always the best part of my day!  Grace and hospitality are gifts we can all share.  I hope we can take a little time and share these sacred gifts with our world!

Blessings!

Brian

Choose to Love

Where do you feel called?

Is there a time when you feel God present and working within you?

These are incredibly important questions for people of faith, and I believe God is constantly calling us to grow in our walk with Christ.  Nevertheless, I personally admit that I rarely give these questions the space they deserve.  I just get wrapped up in the day to day experience of life, and I regularly need something to open my eyes to the Spirit’s work! 

A couple weeks ago, I was on a trip with the youth group in Los Angeles.  Now, I believe you do not have to travel to serve God, but there is something sacred about setting aside a bit of time to join other people to serve, pray, and love.

Called to serve in LA!

I grew a lot that week just by watching the kids love their neighbor and love each other.  Grace abounds on this trip, and the kids inspired me to intentionally leave space to look at my neighbor with love.  (As youth mission trips go, the kids also took time to share plenty of drama and a few weird smells too, but that is all part of the journey.J)

Wherever you are, I hope you believe you have a special calling right now.  Jesus tells us in our scripture this week that we always have opportunities to love.  There are times I feel like my life is mundane… Sometimes the most exciting thing is discovering what strange new rash the kids have, or how many times did their bowels move? (Seriously, I call my wife for updates!)  But we are all in a different place, and my family is certainly part of my calling!  Today, I hope you can be present… right here and right now.  I hope I can believe in power of this moment, instead of dismissing it.  God’s Holy Spirit is before us today!  Let’s choose to embrace the gifts that are given!

Blessings,

PB

Searching for the Spirit

What questions do you have?

I live with a preschooler, so I experience a number of questions every day.  This morning I was listening to a news announcer describe the 75^th anniversary of D-day, and my four year old was immediately filled with questions.  What was World War II?  Why did people fight?  Did people die?  Some of his questions were not easy to answer, but I could see him desperately searching for meaning as we talked about the troops who died in the battle of Normandy.  After thinking as deeply as he could, he finally said, “We need to pray for them, right?”

A little while later he brought up his grandmother.  She has been battling cancer and a few other issues.  He mentioned that we need to pray for her too…  Sometimes, I am not sure how much he really understands.  (Certainly when I try to get him to brush his teeth he does not seem to comprehend anything.)  However, I also believe that he is really trying to find God and search for Love in the midst of a chaotic world.

This week the church is celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit in a festival called Pentecost.  God’s Spirit came to all people.  God’s Spirit arrived in spite of our imperfections and broken world.  Sometimes it can be hard to trust that God is working in some of our more troubling moments.  It is sometimes very difficult to believe that God’s Spirit is working in the midst of division, anger, war, cancer, and fear… but that is what God wants us to see. 

I think it is important to ask questions… I think it is important to struggle… However, God wants us to believe that the Spirit is moving inside of us.  When we are broken and when we make mistakes, God is there.  God is Love, and God will never give up on you!

Blessings!

Brian Ward

Who are you becoming?

What do you think of when you reflect on your life?  Where were you at one year ago?  How about ten years ago?  Thirty years ago?  How have you grown?

As human being we are constantly changing.  We are not the same people that we once were.  We learn.  We make mistakes, but we always have to go forward.

When I reflect on my life, I can think of a number of decisions that were terrible.  I have made poor choices and suffered some pretty bad failures.  However, all of these experiences changed me.  The defeats did not turn out to be the end of the world.  Instead, they were opportunities to grow… if I chose to learn from them.

There are times we can learn from others, but more often that not, we learn by experience.  Life has to be lived, and that can be messy.  It simply would not work for me to go back in time and tell my younger self to make different choices.  I needed to learn these lessons by experiencing them firsthand. 

 

Today, we are standing at the beginning of the season of Lent.  This forty day season remembers the journey of Christ to the cross.  It is also a season of introspection.  It is my prayer that we would use this season to pay attention to the lessons that life is teaching us.  I hope we can be intentional about growing and taking time to notice who we are becoming. 

In the end, Christ promises that there will be trials in this life, but Christ also promises that He will be with us.  There is love for you.  There is grace.  I hope we can take a few moments each day to let this good news wash over us!

Blessings!

Brian

Seasons!

What season of life are you in?

I love watching the seasons change… When I lived in Minnesota, I would crave the arrival of spring.  Flowers would bloom, the grass would turn green, and I couldn’t wait to hear the birds and observe the arrival of the first robin…

As summer approached, I embraced the first 80 degree day with passion.  Everyone would run outside to feel the warmth of the sun.  As it got even warmer, I would craved the first day I could jump in the lake to go skiing.

When Fall arrived, I cherished each moment with the colors.  As a kid, I remember running through the leaves in the cool crisp air.

Winter brought the cold.  However, I remember being so excited when I saw the world blanketed with a fresh white coat of snow.  I was driven outside with all my friends to build forts, go sledding, and experience a brand new landscape.

As I look back, I noticed that in every season, I felt driven to experience the moment.  I had to go outside and seize the day!  In Las Vegas seasons are a little harder to come by.  (We have super-hot and not so hot…) However, I believe we experience life in seasons.  As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Sometimes, I think we wish we could spend our lives in one season or another.  We never want to grieve, lose, or fall apart.  However, seasons are meant to be experienced.  Perhaps there are times it is important to feel sad, angry, or defeated… and that’s okay!

Today, I hope you can experience God wherever you are at.  I hope you can feel that Love is with you today, and I pray you would allow yourself to cherish every drop of this life!

Blessings!

Brian

Snow and A Fresh Perspective!

It’s snowing in Vegas! 

Just barely a dusting of snow, but we got
pretty excited... :)

This has been a pretty exciting week.  It’s not every day that I get to have a snowball fight in my backyard or see palm trees covered in snow. (Or at least lightly dusted with snow…J) Growing up in Minnesota, I have certainly seen a lot more snow in my life, but this week has still been fun.  I was talking with the kids at our first communion class on Wednesday, and everyone was buzzing with excitement over the idea of a snow day.  On Thursday morning, I got into the spirit as well.  We went outside to watch the snow come down with the neighbors.  I built a snowman with my family, and on my way to visit another family in Anthem, I was in awe over the fresh coat of snow blanketing the area!

In Minnesota, by this time of year, I was usually pretty sick of the snow.  I was sick of shoveling, driving through slippery streets, and walking through that dirty, sloppy slush.  However, there was something wonderful about seeing everything with fresh eyes.  Even if school wasn’t canceled, it was fun to see the kids enjoy the day!

Today, I hope you can take the time to see God’s blessings.  I hope you can see the world in a fresh way.  I pray the beauty of this world never becomes mundane or boring.  I hope you can take a moment to seize every drop, because this day is a gift!

Blessings!

PB

A new heart

Every week I wind up going on several walks with my three year old son.  We never go too far, but it always takes quite a bit longer than I expect.  He has to stop to explore everything…  “Look at this bug!”  “Look at that house!”  “Why is there a picture of cat on that poster?”  “What is that person doing?”

Taking time to enjoy the moment...

Everything is new to this child, and I constantly have to remind myself of that.  Sometimes I just want to say, “No more questions… we have to get home!”  However, he is taking it all in.  He wants to talk to the bugs, splash in the puddles, and give high fives to the neighbors. I am always focused on where we going and when we will be back.  I think it really is a blessing to see the world in a different way. 

Today our scripture passage comes from the book of Ezekiel chapter 36:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

I love opening myself to a heart that loves stomping in the mud.  However, there are times my heart of stone gets in the way of forgiveness, grace, or love for others.  This is really what our scripture passage is speaking about.  As humans, we can become locked in cycles of anger, revenge, or hopelessness.  This scripture tells us to open ourselves to the bigger picture.  God is at work in the world, and God is at work in you.  However, we have to let God break our hearts of stone.  We have to take the time to discover what love is doing.  We have to take the time to really embrace all the blessings that exist around us.

Peace!

Brian