Alone No More

Have you ever had a slightly (or maybe not so slight) irrational fear of something?  I think we all have something that frightens us and we really can’t quite figure out why, but it is still there.  My fear was of being alone.  It did start when I was a child, but as a child I can’t think of one time that I did not have either my mom or my dad in the house with me at night.  Even in college I had a roommate asleep in the other room at night.  When I was a live-in nanny, I had the family I worked for with me.  So it wasn’t until I got married that I had my first experience of being totally alone.

My husband, Rich, was in the Air Force and he had times that he would need to travel and I would be left in our apartment alone.  This was in Forest Hill, Maryland, and I knew no one.  My parents were 3,000 miles away (literally) and I had not had time to get acquainted with our neighbors.  I laid awake all night tossing, turning, and crying.  It was so bad that Rich finally called my mom and dad, unbeknownst to me, and arranged to have my dog flown out to live with us.  That was really sweet and I will love him forever for his kindness, but Gidget weighed all of 15 lbs and was not what you would call a watch dog. 

Even after Rich was discharged from active duty and took a job at an advertising agency in Philadelphia, he still traveled.  My fear kept me awake most of the nights he was gone.  This continued for about 30 years of our marriage.  I could not seem to shake it.  It was so bad that even installing an alarm system did not help me sleep. 

I kept telling myself it was not rational and I needed to get over this.  But all the self-talk in the world was not making a difference.  I loved my life, I knew I had many loving friends, I knew that I was loved by God, but being alone haunted me.

One night I was crying out to God to take away my fear and I opened up my Bible to Psalm 91.  The entire Psalm spoke right to my heart, but the words that jumped out to me were “You will not fear the terror of night…If you make the Most High your dwelling – even the Lord, who is my refuge – then no harm will befall you….For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.”  I felt a peace come over me.  That night I slept so soundly and awoke refreshed and renewed. 

From that point forward, if I ever felt anxious, I recalled God’s angels standing guard.  I thanked Him that He was with me.  It became real to me at that time, that I am never alone.  You are never alone either.  God’s loves you.  He designed you specifically to live in relationship with Him and He will never leave you.  That is not my promise to you.  That is His.

Pastor Linda Skinner

Grip it

We are currently in the middle of a new series, “Getting a Grip” on finding God in your family.  When I hear our sermon series title golf comes to mind, because in golf they have a saying ‘grip it and rip it.’  Growing up, my dad taught all of my brothers and me to play golf when we were very young.  It was not optional.  He continued the tradition, teaching his grandkids too. However, growing up we used to hate it.   We played when it was windy and we played in the snow.  One time we went to play when the green was frozen solid and the staff would let us out on to the course. Despite all that time practicing and playing I still had room for improvement. For example, one afternoon I hit my brother with an errant golf ball as he was playing on another green.  Rubbing his soon to be bruised skin he yelled, “Tim, you always do that!”  I responded truthfully, “I couldn’t do that even if I tried.”  After all those unpleasant, grumpy, uncoordinated experiences, as we become men we’ve learned to love golf.

One time out on the green, I was with my three brothers and dad playing golf at Apple Tree in Yakima.  Storm clouds were closing in on the horizon, so we had the course to ourselves. So here we were playing one of the most beautiful courses in the state all together.  We were young and our dreams were fresh.  Suddenly it started to down pour rain.  We weren’t going to let it stop us from enjoying this rare opportunity.

As we approached the signature green shaped like an apple in the middle of a beautiful pond.  One of my brothers complained, “it’s raining to hard out here.”  My dad always the one to make his boys into men responded, “Aw, there is no rain. It is a beautiful day somewhere.  ‘This is the day the Lord hath made and I will be glad and rejoice in it.’  Let’s just tough it out.”  We all ended up having beautiful drives and our next shots were iron shots approaching the par four.

When it was my dad’s turn to shoot first, he swung into the heavy rain with all of his might.  He swung so hard that the ball bounced two feet in front of him. Despite this disappointment his swing took a surprising turn when his nine iron flew perfectly toward the hole.  We all thought it was going to be a hole in one with his club.  It was a high arching flight, flipping in the air just barely missing the hole.  My dad just turned and said, “I think I will play my club instead of the ball.” We all laughed so hard we almost fell down.  That is why they say, ‘grip it and rip it.’ You can’t play golf unless you grip the club.  And you can’t find God in the family unless you are very intentional about it.

I loved Doug and Jeanie Sutten’s story they shared this weekend with church of God at work in their family.  He is so present in their family because they place him there; on their vacations they have devotions by different family members every day.  They intentionally keep their kids involved in church.  They sit together in worship.  They share rejoice when their grandson accepts Christ.  They share stories of God’s presence in their lives, in their blessings. And they were very intentional about this important task. Sharing stories about God has deep Christian and Jewish roots.  We tell the stories of our families in faith just as Passover is celebrated.  We are a family of God and instead of filling sorry for ourselves we reach out and adopt others into our family and drive down deep roots of friendships and faith.

I hold fast to your statues, O Lord; do not let me be put to shame.  Psalm 119:31

Grip it and hold on – when it comes to faith in your family.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqXxBRRQm1I

Photo Credit

Learning To Love (and Like) Crazy Uncle Eddie

Central to Jesus’ teachings is the message that we are to love others. In fact, he says in John 15 that his very commandment is to love each other the way that he has loved us. Love. At first glance, we might think, “No problem. I love people!” But his word for love has a much deeper meaning than what our society often understands, embraces, and practices. The word for love here is “Agape”. It simply means that we will fully love others in ways that show sacrifice and humility. Remember when Jesus washed his disciples feet? That was agape love. If we believe Jesus died on the cross for us, then we essentially have accepted his agape love. Even when we did nothing to deserve this kind of love. When it comes to family, most parents understand and practice agape love to their kids all the time. They understand the sacrifice of putting the needs of their children before their own. That explains why we, parents of young children, often look tired and haggard walking into church! But what about our crazy Uncle Eddie? You know...the people in our family who not only are difficult to love, but to LIKE?!? What about these people? How do we show agape to them when we’d rather not be in the same room with them? Frankly, there is never an easy answer this..

Rather than try and provide solutions, I thought I’d offer a couple insights that are worth remembering when we are having a hard time loving (or even liking) difficult family members:

1. It’s worth remembering that Jesus showed agape to others when they had done nothing to earn it, or even deserve it. Are we making anyone in our family feel that they have to earn our love and acceptance?

2. When Jesus displayed agape to others it was also a way of showing his respect to them. Despite some family being hard to love, are you respecting them? Do you shame them behind their back? Do you disrespect them in front of other family members?

3. Remember, that to someone, somewhere we are probably difficult to love, too. It’s never just about others and not about us. We need grace just as much as crazy Uncle Eddie!

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Rex

Photo Credit

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrP8l-Qi29M

Revival in Colossians

"Knowing oneself is the beginning of all wisdom." -  Aristotle Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  Colossians 3:15

Throughout the post Easter series, “Raised to Life,” we have been focusing and studying Colossians 3:1-17.  Many people have memorized or re-memorized this passage, including my daughter Becca.  Listening to my daughter recite the passage that she learned as a child was inspiring. She told me later that memorizing Colossians 3:1-17 was the breakthrough for her in her education, which allowed her to graduate with such high honors at Seattle Pacific University and get a scholarship from Princeton, Duke and other fine schools.  She had previous to memorizing the passage had to work extra hard to get her grades, but through the process of memorizing she discovered she was an auditory learner.  What an extraordinary opportunity that she not only was able to learn and hold God’s word close to her heart but to also learn about herself.

The Colossians passage is challenging us to know ourselves.  “You died,” it says – so frankly and shockingly.  “You were raised to life with Christ.”   It then goes onto say so “live like a miracle has taken place in your life.”  The dichotomy drawn in this passage is that you can forget that the peace of Christ is going to rule no matter what we do it is your choice if you are going to let it completely into your heart.  The rich, the evil, the liar, the con artist are all going to die and learn that they were only manipulating themselves. Honestly, bearing with one another faults and kindness is going to win in the end.

Currently, the church staff and about 25 leaders of the church are studying the DNA of the church.  We are discussing and praying about how we can remain true to our identity and yet become a better church.  Even if you are not part of these two groups the re-engineering project will continue through the summer as we have discussion groups, prayer vigils, and retreats aimed at taking that yearly stride, described in my book Astoundingly Joyful – Amazingly Simple, when we embrace change as long as it is led by Jesus Christ.  Reformation will continue in the life of the church.

It is going to be a great summer because we expect the same renewal to take place in our marriages, our Tiny Little Churches (small groups), our non-profit foundations, our all nations congregations, our worship celebrations, and our families.  When revival strikes nothing is left untouched, we are all changed.  So whatever we do, in word or deed, let us do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp5cHK7rHTw

God's Wardrobe

By Fiona Monaghan

^12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.   Colossians 3: 12-14 The Message

I was never one to get caught up on “what is in” fashion-wise; I have always preferred comfort over fashion (even better if on sale). As I read Colossians 3:12-14 it struck me, could being dressed in God’s wardrobe be comfort over fashion as well?

The world has its fashion; its own way to live and we only have to look at our social media to see it. “Don’t be a pushover, get back at someone who has wronged you, don’t be a doormat. etc...” To actively want to be clothed with God’s wardrobe might then be viewed as a challenge because you could be viewed as a wimp or a pushover.

I have lived long enough to know that I am much happier and at peace with trying to live dressed in God’s wardrobe of compassion, kindness, and being teachable with a quiet strength. I have observed people I admire live with these traits. I have seen kindness begat kindness, gentle words turn an argument around so that a resolve can be reached. Parents telling a child they are sorry for an inappropriate response, and the child learns that an adult can be real and approachable. It takes a willingness to don these clothes and live in this reality.

The best part though, is we have a God who gives us the power to do so. Our part is in wanting it and being willing to live in it. Over time and with lots of opportunity to practice, we will find out that this wardrobe is actually very comfy and easy to wear, and much ‘easier on the eye’ for those we live with.

Father, as I go through each day with its different challenges, help me to remember to put on the garments that please you and those around me, so that I show in my behavior, the allegiance I have to You and what you are doing in my life.

Photo Credit

Living Your Unique, Creative, Beautiful and Jesus Centered Identity

Last week the music world was shocked to hear about the sudden death of the astoundingly creative musician, Prince. Prince was a pop music icon who in the 1980’s and 90’s sold millions of albums and influenced music forever. It didn’t take long for many other music stars to begin honoring Prince in their concerts by covering one of his songs. Usually, his most famous song, Purple Rain...

Watching these talented people pay tribute to one of their heroes is really cool, but it makes me miss a talent like Prince even more as I realize his music and creative ability just can’t be replaced. He was that good!

Prince had a unique identity and look about him as well. Creative. Unabashed. Colorful. Enigmatic. His identity, like his talent, cannot be replaced or even copied. One of the reasons people will miss him so much is because he made the very most of his talent and creativeness. He made the most of his unique identity.

The Bible teaches us that everyone who receives Christ becomes a new creation. In essence, Jesus gives us a new identity wrapped in the beauty and grace of all that he is. The challenge, of course is to live in this world and not be captivated by it in such a way that we fail to remember our new identity in Jesus is made to be lived to the fullest. We are called to authentically and vigorously live our unique, creative, beautiful and Jesus centered lives in such a way that when we one day leave this earth, others will say of us...there can be no other (fill in your name)!

What kind of impact is your Christ-born identity making today in your world as a mom, a dad, a coach, an employer, a co-worker, a neighbor, or a friend? What legacy are we leaving this world? Know today that God has great purpose for you and your identity as a follower of Jesus is to show this world the kind of loving, good, gracious and powerful God He really is. Now, go and live your identity with vigor!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

Photo Credit

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBgjbVHm0NE

What are you wearing?

What do Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars and Miley Cyrus all have in common?  I learned after attending a seminar that just mentioning one of their names in a blog will increase the attention you get on the web.  I didn’t, however, learn who they are because I belong to the secret society of the ‘uncool’, which prevents all members from knowing anything about what is cool.  It is kind of a “bizzaro world” to find I am the opposite of today’s cool young pastors.   But happily I am part of the church, which is the family of God where we are all loved and accepted.

Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are Jew or Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free.  Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Colossians 3:10-11

Have you intentionally put on your new nature today?  I remember when I was a football player we had a cowboy on our team who used to put his pants on two legs at a time. I asked him once why he did such an odd thing and he responded, “Well, right now the other teams coach is telling his players not to worry about us, we put our pants on one leg at a time. I am proving to them that they need to worry about me.”

Putting clothes on is an intentional act.  Have you ever tried to dress a two year old? They squirm – they run away. In fact, I think they would rather be naked like some vestige left from the Adam and Eve linage from the Garden of Eden.

Putting on our “new Christ like nature” clothing is also purposeful.  We clothe ourselves with tenderheartedness, mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  We make allowance for each other’s faults.  And above all else we clothe ourselves with Christ’s love.  Just like we decide what we are going to wear for the day every morning, we need to make the choice to put on a Christ like nature.

For some of us it is slipping on a cross necklace everyday.  For others it is kneeling at the foot of our bed to dedicate the day to Jesus before we tackle the challenges ahead of us. There are so many ways to make that choice ranging from daily devotions to verse memorization to quiet time in prayer to many other practices. What purposeful steps are you taking to dedicate each and everyday to filling your life with Christ?

There are so many different ways, find the one that centers your heart on Christ. Be willing to change up your routine if your heart isn’t following your actions. And remember you are not alone in pursuing a deeper relationship with Christ, your church family (the same one that accepts my uncoolness) is there to encourage and support you.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypBccI8YBH8

Stone or Jewel

By Fiona Monaghan If I were an oyster what I was growing would have been quite valuable, but since humans aren’t supposed to grow stones it was just a problem.

It started with pain under my right rib which I knew wasn’t a good thing and some accompanying discomfort, cold sweats and nausea. I took myself to the ER Sunday morning and it was there that I experienced the reality of the verse: Know him in all your paths, and he will keep your ways straight. Proverbs 3:6 (Common English Bible)

Ultrasound and CT scan then discovered a 10mm stone just outside of my right kidney (too big to be allowed to pass through on its own) at about 10am. After speaking to the on call doctor for Urology, it was decided that the procedure room was available right then to laser blast the stone his team was assembled, having just done a similar procedure, so I was transported quickly to Evergreen and in surgery by 2pm. Not long after that I was back in my room. Overall, it was a very smooth path.

On the way to Evergreen the ambulance attendant asked me if I was nervous or anxious and I could tell her honestly that I wasn’t worried. It was a great feeling to know that I have entrusted my life to the one who goes before me and promises to make my path straight. In this situation, I found that even when unexpected things happen in life, the reality is that I can trust my Father to have gone before me and prepared the way because He said He would. What an exciting truth to experience firsthand!

So even though there was no ‘precious pearl’ in this adventure, I did come away with a jewel in the form of a better understanding of the peace that passes understanding when going through a difficulty; and another layer of trust-building that what God says in His Word can be relied upon.

Image Credit

God Isn’t Your Meal Ticket

I remember well being a teenager and constantly coming to one of my parents to ask for something. Did I ask for things like hugs and affection? Ummm, no, I was way too cool for that! Did I ask for advice? Sometimes...but remember, I was a teen and teens know everything! Now, my 40 year old self wishes I had asked for more. Did I ask for the car keys, gas money, new school clothes, new baseball gear and food? Oh, you bet I did! More times than I can even remember... Too often, I would forget my parents loved me unconditionally and desired to have a genuine relationship with me and instead, I saw them as my meal ticket. What’s a meal ticket, you ask? According the Webster’s, it means “a person or thing that is depended upon for money, success, etc...”.

Notice there is no hint of any kind of relationship in that definition. In fact, it sort of puts a bad taste in my mouth when I think of looking at someone in that light.

In the Bible there are two pinnacle moments where people fail to see the loving, relational, father-God and instead see Him as their meal ticket God. The first takes place in Exodus 16 where the Israelites are in the desert and they are hungry. God sends manna (bread) down from Heaven to feed them and they fail to see that this is more than just food. It is God extending himself down to them in a relational way.

The second is found in John 6 where Jesus is teaching a hungry crowd of followers and miraculously provides bread for the multitudes. Again...the people fail to see what is happening. They saw Jesus as their meal ticket and not as the one sent by God to satisfy their spiritual hunger.

It’s surprisingly easy to do...approaching God as some cosmic meal ticket who’s mere existence is to bring us success, or just provide for us the things we really want. The truth is, God does care about our success and desires. When the people of Israel were hungry in the desert, God cared. When Jesus fed the 5,000, it was done with great compassion and care. But to limit Jesus to just being there when we need something, or to bless our endeavors, is to completely miss the life and relationship he pursues us to experience.

You see, God is annoyingly relational! He will never stop pursuing you. He loves you and calls you by name. He is a good father who offers us a greater, fuller and richer life than we could ever have on our own.

The question is...will you embrace this life that God offers? Or will you simply exist by keeping Him at a distance? Remember Jesus’ words: “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never be hungry...”

Grace and Peace. Pastor Rex

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The profound beauty of God’s world

Interview and post by Pastor Linda Skinner with artist Kathleen Henderson “Creation and creatures applaud you, God; your holy people bless you. They talk about the glories of your rule, they exclaim over your splendor, letting the world know of your power for good, the lavish splendor of your kingdom.” Psalm 145:10-12 (The Message)

Recently I had the privilege of interviewing a very special lady in our church, Kathleen Henderson. Kathleen is a painter and right now her art is being displayed in our very own Inscape Gallery located in the Spirit Falls building. (Inscape Gallery is a part of Washington Seminary one of the 5 non-profit organizations affiliated with Washington Cathedral.)

Kathleen has been a part of the Washington Cathedral family for many years and she has been painting under the instruction and mentoring of Kay Barnes for the last 5 years.

She feels that God planted a seed in her life when at the age of seven she received a Christmas gift of watercolor paints and paper. Later in college she dabbled in painting with Acrylic.

A few years ago, and after experiencing loss, she saw some paintings that a friend had done. She liked the style of painting, she called it a “realistic style”, and she wanted to give it a try herself. She wanted to try creating something beautiful.

She got in touch with her friend about an art instructor, Kay Barnes, and she signed up for weekly classes. Kay has been a wonderful mentor and friend to Kathleen as she has helped her discover the gift she had buried deep inside.

Kathleen told me that she found painting very challenging and hard. So I asked her “Why do it?” She passionately answered that it brought her satisfaction and she liked learning and seeing the progress she was making.

When I asked her what she did if she finished a painting and looked at it and just didn’t like it, she immediately replied, “I throw it away.” “How many have you thrown away?” I asked. Her reply was “Very few.” Then she added, “But when I’m painting I pray to God.” I responded back, “Maybe that is why you don’t throw many away.” She looked and me nodded her head and smiled. Kathleen brings God into her paintings and it shows.

Kathleen paints the two things she loves most – flowers and dogs. She loves using exciting colors, and painting from a very up-close perspective. Her hope is that her paintings will urge viewers to stop and look closely. When they do, her prayer is that they will see the profound beauty of God’s world.

While I looked around her house, I saw many picture hangers with no pictures hanging on them. Curiously I asked, “Is that where all your paintings normally hang?” And with a little sadness in her eyes, she nodded her head. So I inquired of her if she missed her paintings while they are display. And she responded “Very much, they are my friends.” She said “People ask me why I don’t sell them. I can’t sell my friends.” But if someone commissions me, I love to paint their dog or flowers that mean something to them.”

I hope Kathleen doesn’t mind me sharing this, but she started painting in her 60’s. She’s had a number of very serious health challenges and I think God has used her painting to help her through. At the same time, He blesses us through her.

If you would like to see Kathleen’s beautiful art. Come by Spirit Falls building on a Saturday night or Sunday morning and you will experience some beautiful paintings. On March 11 at 7:00 pm there will be a “Closing Conversation” in Spirit Falls Sanctuary and you can meet Kathleen and let her know how much you appreciate her using the gift God has given her and for sharing “her friends” with us.