Due to the smoke and air quality, we're moving INDOORS at Harborview Felowship for our service this Sunday (Sept 13). 2:30 special worship service, followed by a celebration fellowship for Mark and Nancy's 40 years of ministry and "redeployment." (Livestream will also be available. No Junior Church or childcare.)
The Beautiful Days of Fall
The hydranges in our yard are morphing into their beautiful fall colors.
All four seasons bring me expectation and happiness and our lovely turn toward fall is faithfully bringing joy to my soul. All the years of my childhood my love for learning made the start of school in the fall a delightful time. Likewise when I taught math to junior high students—wonderful! Even the shortening of days, lengthening of cool nights and the changing of the color of foilage I find fascinating.
This fall a big change happens for Mark and me. After 40 years of serving as pastor of Discovery Baptist Church Mark will be retiring. These have been blessed years for us and our hearts are full of thanksgiving to God for the privilege of serving Him and for the wonderful people He has sent our way through the years. We have always said that we could never leave our church to pastor another church because our hearts have been so completely entwined with the hearts of the people of Discovery. This coming Sunday afternoon at 2:30 a service celebrating Mark’s retirement will take place. You are invited to join us. If you do, bring along a lawn chair as we will be meeting outside at Harborview Fellowship (since our own building is being remodeled) 4819 Hunt Street, Gig Harbor.
Thankfully we look forward to many more years serving the Lord at Discovery in whatever way we are needed. I’ll be continuing to teach the ladies Bible study on Thursday mornings—starting on October 1. Before we took our summer break we had completed 4 weeks of a study on “worry.” The course will continue for 6 more weeks now. Let me know if you need a study book. We will be meeting at Harborview Fellowship (indoors) and there will also be childcare.
Is Your Soul Thriving, or Neglected?
Our great granddaughter Pippa with her father Jorge watching over her soul as he reads the Bible to her.
Years ago when one of our kids studied about a poor and primitive tribe of people living in South America, the article concluded with a great question—”What is the greatest need of these people?” What would you say? What would the average American say? Clean water? Good food sources? Better housing? Indoor toilets? Internet? Education? Better transportation? Cell phones? All of those answers fall far short of the truly greatest need. The rescue of the soul from its own selfish focus and disregard for the Creator God soars above every other need anyone in the whole world can possibly know.
Perhaps this sounds out of bounds to you. However, our Creator has given us everything we need for “life and godliness” 2 Peter 1:3; in other words He has given us everything we need to flourish to the max in our daily lives. If we ignore Him and what He says for something we consider more important, then we personally choose to diminish the beauty of our lives. This is true for every single person in the world, whether living in the jungle of South America, or the opulent life of wealthy America.
My heart aches when I see anyone making choices that ignore God and His beautiful instructions for life and eternity. To neglect the soul is to bring an element of death into your life while you are still living. To thrive in your soul is to live life with an exuberance that God settles in your soul.
Read God’s Word and embrace it. “Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16