The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

Last week, I talked about our need for regulations of many different kinds lest we take advantage of one another, ruin the planet, & justify our avoidance of any responsibility that might cost us something. I also stated that the Bible is the best place to find a solid foundation upon which to build said regulations. But what do we do when regulating agencies begin to mandate ridiculous or harmful rules? OSHA, in my opinion, has done just that by issuing a mandatory policy that allows any employee to use whatever restroom they choose without any interference lest they become offended at another person’s response to their choice of gender identity.

It states in part, “Restricting employees to using only restrooms that are not consistent with their gender identity, or segregating them from other workers by requiring them to use gender-neutral or other specific restrooms, singles those employees out and may make them fear for their physical safety.” In other words a man can walk into a ladies restroom & the fear is that he will be offended if anyone tells him he doesn’t belong there. The uneasiness of the ladies using that facility when the man walks in is viewed by that governmental agency as prejudice! Their feelings or at least any expression of those feelings is illegal. Offending the average female is not a concern of this government but offending a man visiting a ladies restroom is seen as egregious.

Which do you feel would cause a person’s gender identity crisis to stand out more: that person using a gender neutral restroom or a man walking into a ladies room? Why is the government getting so messed up? They took the Bible out of the equation. All other ground is sinking sand.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’m a “no regulations” kind of a guy. I tend to think of organizations like the EPA, DER, OSHA, etc. as uninvited governmental intrusions on the lives of hard-working people. However, the other day I started to think about the many underhanded things people have done that has affected myself or others I know: contractors that cut corners but charged full price, companies that leveraged away benefits from their workers, workers that have cheated their employers, people willing to sell dubious or even harmful products just to make a buck … I’d hate to find out that my house is built on top of an old toxic waste dump.

The truth is that laws, regulations, enforcement, & penalties are necessary because of the wickedness of the human heart. Someone had to start a campaign before most people stopped throwing their trash out their car window. Someone had to get the government to look at how filthy our air & water was becoming because polluters were not going to make changes for the good of the environment on their own. Large industrialists were not concerned about the safety of their workers until they were held accountable. Now I’m not suggesting we need more regulations or even that the ones we have are balanced, logical, or fair. What I’m driving at today is that we tend to think of ourselves as good, honest folks who usually (if not always) choose to do the right thing. History proves that theory wrong. History proves the need for armies, police, courts, jails, fines … We are sick, we are wicked, we need forgiveness, we need instruction, guidance, & counsel.

Our nation needs a good, solid, firm foundation on which to build safeguards for everyone. Here’s one: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, & training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17. All other ground is sinking sand.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I was out trimming my hedges the other day & mused over the fact that it didn’t seem very long ago that I was shoveling snow off those same bushes. For weeks now we’ve been mowing our lawns. They didn’t need mowed for five months but suddenly they demand our attention. We were busy enough before they woke up yet somehow we have found the time to do the landscaping.

My wife and I live in a 55+ neighborhood where the houses are meant to be low maintenance. I’ve noticed that most, if not all, of the residents have put in elaborate gardens. It’s not unusual to see a senior citizen outside trimming, weeding, planting, pulling, watering, etc. I’ve said to more than one as I’ve strolled past, “Isn’t it fascinating how we all buy low maintenance homes so we don’t have to do so much work on them, then we go outside & plant gardens we have to spend all summer tending?” Invariably they stop and think about what I’ve said for a moment then laugh & say something like, “Yeah, we’re a funny lot; aren’t we?”

Most of these people have retired because they were tired of working only to discover that what they like most to do for leisure is to work. So whether its shoveling snow, trimming hedges, mowing the lawn, driving a truck, pouring cement or filing a brief, maybe we should just be thankful for the strength to do whatever it is that needs done at the moment.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’m fresh back from vacation & trying to get my brain to function like it did before I gave it a week off. Of course, the time flew by, yet, it’s funny how unfamiliar my routine has become to me after so short a respite. Little things like sleeping in & staying up later than usual, eating every hour on the hour, having a diet that consisted mostly of pastries, doing only what I felt like doing … Oh how my flesh grew in just a few days!

Suddenly it’s time to get up, shave, eat bran-heavy cereal, & go to work. You’ll be happy to know I was able to find my office okay. After my computer updated itself I was thankful to discover I can still type. Later I may even try my hand at writing something useful but I’m sure you’ll understand that I don’t want to overdo it my first day back.

I made a quick trip through Wal-Mart this morning on my way in — they have a display of Hawaiian shirts for just nine dollars a piece! Why are men my age so drawn to such displays? I would have bought one but vacation is over, after all. So, if a year after I retire you happen to see a very large bald guy with a long beard wearing a loud tropical shirt — that will probably be me.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’m still glowing over the teamwork I saw displayed here on Easter Sunday … Curvin, Jamie, Sam, Donna, John, Lacy, & many others set up a beautiful display, cooked up a delicious breakfast, then served up a wonderful time of fellowship. Dwayne & Missy lead a team for a powerful human video. Bridget delivered a timely word on how we approach God in prayer. I thought the worship team starting out with The Old Rugged Cross & ending with Victor’s Crown (a song that was new to us but perfect for Easter) was simply inspired.

How much did the pastor have to do with any of that? Absolutely nothing; I got calls or texts from our friends volunteering to do the breakfast, human video & testimony. Some of it I even forgot I had approved (sorry Bridget). The week before a guy walked in with a ram’s horn (Old Testament type trumpet) & we had the best Palm Sunday ever. I had no idea he was coming.

You might think it would bother a pastor to have so little control over what goes on in a church service. Not this guy — I say, A Holy Spirit led congregation filled with people willing to obey His voice is as good as it gets! Kind of makes you wonder what He’s going to do next; doesn’t it? Lead on, oh King eternal.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’ve mentioned it before: I like to cook. That can be problematic when there are only two people in your household. Leftovers are inevitable. There have been weeks when we’ve dedicated several days to cleaning up leftovers. But I have this bad habit of taking what’s left over and adding things to it until we have more left over after that meal than when I pulled whatever we’re trying to finish up from the refrigerator!

Right now there’s a ground turkey – rice – vegetable – cheese casserole sitting in our fridge that started out as a meat loaf a couple weeks ago. It’s a very simple concept: take what’s in the ice box, nuke it in the microwave for a minute or two & eat it. That’s what I intend to do but somewhere between the fridge & the microwave I get struck with a thought like: That beef would make a wonderful beef-vegetable soup. That would really taste good on a chilly day like today… Before you know it I’ve got enough soup to feed a family of five.

Eventually much of what I’ve made ends up in the freezer in one form or another. So, if you’re ever having company from out of town & you’re low on groceries or you’re up for a different taste combination than you’ve ever had before (something that’s not readily identifiable just by looking at it) … give me a call.

– Pastor Joel Everhart

I’m busy but I’m not busy like people with their kids still living at home or those taking care of their parents (or both kids and parents). People are like time sponges: the more of them that live in your home the less peace & quiet you will experience. There may also be more laughter, activity, entertainment, purpose &/or help, but there will definitely be less privacy.

It’s really a balancing act, isn’t it? An empty house can be lonely, depressing, or too quiet, yet a full house can be too hectic. Babies don’t come with a money back guarantee good for thirty days after you bring them home from the hospital. Parents can’t be traded in for a more cooperative set. Children & teens don’t have a knob you can turn to control their energy level or volume (someone really ought to invent one of those).

Other people in your home get in the way of many of your plans: what you’re going to cook for dinner, where you are going to spend your “free time,” what you’re going to watch on television, if & when you will get to sleep, sports car or minivan …. Yet no matter who or how many make your house their home there always seems to be room for them. And when they’re gone you’ve got more time, space, money, rest … & a hole in your heart. As it turns out the whole time they were sponging up your time, they were stealing your heart!

– Pastor Joel Everhart