The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

God has decided to refine my character. His favorite tool to facilitate that goal is a stretcher (as in pulling, bending & extending) & my list of responsibilities has steadily grown over the past several years. There are times I feel like I’m going to end up on a hospital stretcher but inevitably I’ve had the strength, time, knowledge, & help needed to finish each task.

I hate to admit this but I still forget to cast my cares on the Lord. I’ll worry over something for quite a while before I remember to pray about it! Instead, I’ll pray about a bunch of other things while another part of my brain is trying to figure out what to do about the worrisome item on my to-do list. Eventually I remember to take my problem to the Lord, & my blood pressure returns to normal, peace settles over my soul, & everything works out just fine.

I’m sure you’ve been there too. Let’s not waste all this good stress: let it drive us to Jesus & shape our character exactly the way He wants it to be. That’s called sanctification & it makes diamonds out of dust.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

For as long as I can remember I’ve hated vacuuming floors. As I approached the chore the other day the thought struck me: how come you like mowing the grass but you hate vacuuming the carpet? It was a good question. I was faced with two options in order to stay consistent: 1) start hating to mow or 2) start liking to vacuum. What I like about mowing is that it’s mindless labor: my body accomplishes a task while my mind can take a vacation. I’ve decided to try this tactic when working on the floors. A shift in attitude can make a big difference in the level of enjoyment we get out of life.

This morning we’re going to be talking about shifting our attitude toward one another from one that gets offended to one that loves in spite of offenses. Like learning to enjoy sweeping it will take some practice but as with any journey it all begins by taking that first step: decide which way you want to go.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

It’s been said that people won’t do what you expect but what you inspect. In other words, if you want to be sure someone does their job right give them some feedback to let them know you are taking notice to what they are doing.

Encouraging words when they’re doing well just as corrective words when you find their effort subpar can help propel them to new heights. Did you know it’s possible to follow up on yourself? Set some goals, write them down, give them dates, chart your progress & reward your growth. It works with devotions, losing weight, exercise, continuing education & many other life improving initiatives. Many new apps & computer programs are now available to help make tracking your progress easy.

What is there about you that you would most like to change? Don’t just grumble about it; take action. Write down what it is you want to improve then find out what the next step might be & keep going! With God’s help you can do it!

 – Pastor Joel Everhart

The sun isn’t up this time of year when I take my dog out for her morning walk & she’s started to be more apprehensive about the dark. She’s all wiggles & excitement as I get her leash out & put her halter on because walking is one of her favorite pastimes. However, once we hit the street she moves so slowly that I find myself pulling her along behind me. The one thing she seems to respond well to is the sound of my voice. If I speak reassuringly to her, urging her onward she will trot up beside me for a while. If, however, I get absorbed in my thoughts & don’t say anything for a while I can, once again, feel the drag on my line.

That reminds me of when Jesus said that His sheep know His voice. Sometimes we wrongly think that Jesus only speaks to give us marching orders. Not so! Most of what He has to say is to reassure us to not be afraid & to move forward in the confidence that He’s got us covered. Be sure you are abiding in Him before you go anywhere: it’s a cold, dark, dangerous world otherwise! “What a friend we have in Jesus…”

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’m out on my morning run when a little creature, sized somewhere between a mouse & a chipmunk, scurries out from behind a light pole & does a curl pattern right at my feet. I danced up on my tiptoes doing my best to avoid the little thing but as luck would have it I heard & felt a crunch beneath my shoe. That’s when I realized it was a leaf. I went from freaked to saddened to amused in less than one second. Most leaves don’t draw that much emotion out of a person.

What if we could get more out of our life than we previously thought possible? What if we can draw more out of God than we have in the past? What if He is wishing that we will? What if He asked us to ask Him for an abundance of His presence, peace, joy & love? Would you do it?

– Pastor Joel Everhart

If you are a sports fan you know there are several kinds of games you enjoy watching — probably in the following order: (1) your favorite team win, (2) your team’s rival(s) lose, (3) teams with players from your fantasy team, (4) a team (that you normally dislike, but you’re cheering for) whose win will help your team make the playoffs.

However, on a rare occasion you get stuck with only one game to watch & you hate both teams equally. You surf the channels to find twelve cooking shows, six Hallmark type movies, & two documentaries: one on the science behind how grass grows & the other on how the Baroque art style has influenced the development of decorated tissue boxes today. Inevitably you end up back at the game.

No matter how many channels we have there will be times we simply aren’t entertained. Such is life. No matter how well you prepare to enjoy your life you will experience feelings of loss, bored moments, & blue seasons. Even there find your peace, hope & joy in the Lord. Unlike your cable system, there is always more worth experiencing in God.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

In order to help challenged children develop life skills, leaders from Dover High School bring their class with them here to New Life every other week. They do a really fine job of cleaning & other helpful tasks Pastor LeRoy can find for them to do.

As I sat in my office I heard one of the teens enter the kitchen below singing “Hark the Harold Angels Sing.” He sang with full vibrato. His pitch was way off but I don’t believe I’ve ever heard it sung more beautifully. Here’s a young man with more challenges than most cleaning up after us yet fully caught up in the Christmas spirit. I think I heard what Jesus must hear whenever we worship with all of our hearts.

No matter what our circumstances may be there is always reason to worship Him. Don’t focus on your disabilities this year; don’t even focus on your abilities. Focus on Jesus who said that we can do all things through Him because He strengthens us.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

Bananas drive me bananas. I like my bananas ripe but not too ripe. When I buy a bunch of bananas I like to get them a little green but that means I won’t be eating them for a couple of days. They all ripen at once but I’m pretty much a one banana a day kind of a guy.

When the kids lived at home they liked their fruit a little less ripe than I like mine & often the bananas didn’t live long enough for me to get one. Now that the wife & I are a little older we tend to be a little more banana moody: some days we feel like a banana & some days we don’t. How sad when my bananas ripen on the day I’m not in the mood! Our freezer can only hold so many loaves of banana bread made out of those that got too ripe. I suppose I could buy one banana every day & line them up on the counter eating them as they ripen.

With so many banana type things to worry about in this life isn’t it good to know that God is rock solid? He is faithful, ready, able & loving; because He lives I can face tomorrow.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

As soon as you hear that company is coming for the holidays you step up your game. A deeper clean & shinier polish is applied throughout the house. Whatever Christmas decorations you have are at least increased, if not replaced. Your menu grows. Plans are made to occupy the visiting kids & entertain their parents.

You get dressed up. Perhaps you apply an extra squirt of perfume or splash of cologne. Back when you were dating your spouse you used to do that kind of stuff for them while you ignored everyone else. Now it’s pretty much the reverse: your spouse gets the real you while the company is treated to the made over you appearing in your made over home. Some wives have even been known to review a list of dos & don’ts with their husbands before the visitors arrive just to make sure his real self is properly disguised.

Jesus came so that we could be exposed to the real God. As John says, “We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of grace & truth.” If anything God toned it down a little in order for us to get close enough to experience His warmth, His love, & His divine nature. Did I say a little? He was born as a helpless baby & placed in a dirty manger; lowly shepherds were among His first visitors…

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I was walking the dog on a brisk fall day a couple of weeks ago after about 75% of the leaves had already fallen from the trees. Many of those leaves were now dry, brown, & curled, & they bounced & rolled down the street as they were driven by the wind.

They made quite a bit of racket as they scattered by us. So many passed us that it felt like the supply would soon be exhausted but then I realized that this fall windstorm could well be carrying leaves from as far away as western PA or even Ohio & beyond! Imagine that: leaves from across the country just passing through — but to where? The sea? Can anyone estimate just how many leaves fall each year?

The number of trees is vast; the number of people is vast; the oceans are vast … life has a vast number of vast things! Here’s something you can wrap your mind around: God created it all & He gave us the Bible to help guide us through our years. As soon as you accept those two facts everything else gets easier.

 – Pastor Joel Everhart

I was pulling out of York Hospital early on Monday when I saw two older ladies running up the hill. The incline they were tracking was both steep & long yet they were really going at it. Both were dressed in sweat clothes & neither was carrying anything so I knew they hadn’t just knocked off the drug store at the bottom of the street.

My first thought was, “Ladies, there are easier places to run!” The fact that they were already more than half way up the hill & that neither looked to be in distress gave me a strange sense of conviction. It made me feel like a slacker. I had actually been considering cutting back on my own running routine but here were Mother Theresa & her older sister training for a triathlon.

People have an effect on us; sometimes the effect is quite profound. As we seek heaven for revival there are a few things we need to keep in mind so that the effect we have on others is actually constructive. That’s what we’ll be talking about in this morning’s sermon.

– Pastor Joel Everhart