Lazy Days of Summer/Pastor Ben

Yesterday actually felt like summer. It was fabulous! The sun was out, and as you can see we enjoyed being outside in different ways. We still have some book work to finish up for the year, but the extras are not there. The kiddos have to be tested this summer. It’s required for every 3rd, 5th, 8th, and 10th grader, and we don’t want to have problems with a truancy officer.

Today I’ve accomplished everything on my to do list accept for the bathrooms, and it’s not even noon. I’ll finish that up and then spend time on our elementary overnight talk for next week. It’s great to be able to cross things off a list the same day I write them down.

This morning I went to the new exercise time at church. It was great! We stretched, walked for a half an hour, and then did some light exercise and stretching. During our walking time we traded walking partners and prayed for our church. It was a really nice time. I knew more than half of the people there, but was able to meet three new people from our church. I want to encourage gals to come. There is childcare for people up to 5th grade. You do need to call and let Marianne know if you are bringing kiddos with you. It is free, and is going to be a great way of meeting my goal of getting in shape by my big 4-0! If people want to join me send me an email and I’ll get you hooked up.

The other thing that I wanted to mention is that Pastor Ben’s Q & A’s are all posted here on line. Jeff made sure that they are under the pod casts for people to listen to. IT IS SO IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE TAKE THE TIME TO HEAR HIS HEART. He is so ready to serve our church and to serve our community. He is a leader, with a heart to develop more leaders.

We need to come together as a church under the authority of our elders, who through the recommendations of the search committee, placed Pastor Ben before us as the candidate for our next senior pastor. This was a decision not taken lightly by any of them. Men AND women chosen by our elders spent countless hours on this. They prayerfully considered this. They didn’t talk about the candidate at any time accept for when they met. They spent the time in between meetings praying for the Lord’s guidance. WE MUST NOT LIVE IN FEAR OF HAVING A NEW PASTOR. WE MUST EMBRACE HAVING A NEW PASTOR, AND A PASTOR WHO DESIRES TO SHEPHERD US. Isn’t that what we’ve hoped for since Pastor Kim stepped down?

Again I am reminded of Psalm 37, and that we need to continue to pray this Psalm for ourselves and for our church.

Psalm 37
Of David.
1 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;

2 for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and He will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in Him and He will do this:

6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

9 For evil men will be cut off,
but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

Do not fret but trust the Lord for what is going to happen. Take your eyes off of men and what the world tells you. I say these things to myself too!