The View From My Window Pastor's Weekly Blog

As I write this, I have our new puppy, Tucker, along with me to the office. Right now he’s sleeping under my desk. A half an hour ago he needed a potty break so we took a walk around the church property until he found the right spot, then we walked a little more. My hope was to tire him out so he would take another nap and I could do a bit more work. So far, so good. Tucker is very content at the moment. When he’s hungry, needs to attend to digestive issues or is just plain bored, my life and schedule get interrupted.

Contentment is somewhat contagious but being discontent is thoroughly disruptive. “When momma ain’t happy, ain’t no one happy.” It only takes one person (not just momma) in a room to start venting frustration in order to foul everyone’s mood. Paul is going to share with us the secret to being content. Not only will developing this skill bless us, it will make the people we live with and work beside happy too.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

You may have heard the saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” It refers to the results one gets when they feed their mind with lustful, violent or worthless trash. Rather than replenishing your brain cells with healthy, life-giving material, it’s junk food of the worst order. It’s like smoking for your brain; sooner or later it’s going to take a deadly toll.

However, with a little work, you can feed your brain a healthy diet of life-giving information and possibilities that will inspire you to both enjoy life and live productively. You’ll need to guard your thoughts, weed out the bad ones and plant some positive ideas. Be kind to yourself by reciting many of the promises of God. Your brain and your heart will thank you for it.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Ever have one of those days? The morning I tried to take the dog out at 1 a.m. only to discover there was a racoon on our deck. Usually, taking the puppy with me to work gave my wife some time to rest. On this particular day it was more necessary than ever I take the puppy since she had gotten almost no sleep the night before. Usually, the pup was a delight to have along, moments of frustration in a sea of companionship. Today it was a few moments of companionship in a sea of frustration. He decided to take off around the church the other way while I was walking him, and for about five minutes, I thought I’d lost him for good. After having walked him for over a mile, and had him outside 4 times, he decided to pee in my office for the 1^st time since we got him. He discovered a mud puddle and decided he liked it. I hadn’t planned on giving him a bath… You get the idea.

THEN I review this sermon on being joyful in all circumstances, patient, kind, etc. God has such a great sense of humor but I don’t always appreciate it.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Happy 4^th of July! Isn’t the summer racing along? Might as well make sure that snow blower is ready for action. Ah, but there’s still time for a little summer-type fun, if you get serious about it. Catch a lightning bug, enjoy some watermelon, run through the sprinklers… Have you checked out the CDC website for their latest recommendations concerning the virus? Yeah, me neither. Nor would I recommend doing so. It is, after all, summertime and it’s not here long enough to waste it worrying about what’s already been worried about enough. Cease the day!

-Pastor Joel Everhart

Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ll be 65. I’ve signed up for Medicare. I should probably start looking around for any deals on funeral arrangements, headstones and cemetery plots. If you see any coupons for such things, let me know. I read recently about a family whose loved one passed away. They decided he needed a new suit to be buried in. They went to Penny’s (a few years ago) and picked out a suit they liked. The salesman said, “You’re in luck. This week there’s a sale on: you get an extra pair of pants for free!”

The truth is, none of us knows how much time we have. Just the other day a pickup crested the hill I was driving toward and kept drifting further and further into my lane until he was ¾ of the way across the yellow line. I laid on the horn and hit the brakes. He swerved back into his own lane. I was surprised at how hard my heart was beating. Maybe I’m not as ready to go as I thought! Or maybe it’s like Andy Stanley says, “I don’t mind being dead; it’s getting dead that concerns me.”

-Pastor Joel Everhart

This morning I’d like to shine the spotlight on the men who have fathered children who were/are not their biological offspring. Adoption, foster care, came into the family through marriage, or perhaps no formal relationship, just “taking them under your wing”. Teachers, neighbors, even coworkers often do a lot of “fathering” or “mothering” of younger people around them. Don’t be afraid to extend yourself on behalf of those who need a little extra protection or security. Slow down so they can catch up. Be there for them or include them in your family’s adventures. Make them feel special, loved, welcome. Do for them what Jesus has done for you.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

My mother was very generous and giving toward us kids. One thing she was generous with was discipline. She was bent on raising good citizens of both the United States and the Kingdom of God. We were created by God and for His pleasure; so was everyone else in the world and the world itself. For the longest time we believers have been tiptoeing around like we’re an intrusion to the party. Actually, we are the party, we belong here, it’s our Father’s world. It’s time for the riffraff to start acting right or go find their own planet. A long time ago perverted people started crying “freedom of expression”, “1^st Amendment Rights!” when their immorality was censored. Moral watchdogs backed off in order to “share the stage” and the enemy’s true colors were unfurled. They had no intention of sharing anything. Now we’re being censored right off the map! Conservative voices are being banned from college campuses, twitter & many other social media and public forums. It’s time for us to claim, “freedom of expression” & “1^st Amendment Rights”. If they can curse, we must be insured the right to bless. If they can lie, we must take the initiative to speak the truth. “People get ready Jesus is coming to take from the world His own.”

-Pastor Joel Everhart

We have a friend who got a Yorkie puppy about 7 or 8 months ago. It’s really cute and she’s very attached. Unfortunately, the dog has severe health problems that began to show up soon after she brought the dog home. Fortunately, they purchased pet insurance when they bought the puppy. Unfortunately, the dog has had to spend several nights in the veterinary clinic and undergo some nasty procedures, medicines, etc. Fortunately, it’s a smart little pup that has learned a few tricks already. Unfortunately, its owner has severe health issues of her own. Fortunately, having the puppy helps her cope with her issues. Unfortunately, the puppy’s issues add to the stress of the owner’s problems…

Any realistic person has to be somewhat pessimistic. After all, bad stuff does happen to each of us. However, a person of faith is called to be optimistic because of all the great and precious promises we have been given from the Lord. Joyful people choose to focus on the future results of having endured those bad episodes rather than the present pain they cause. We don’t need to deny that the pain exists in order to be joyful. We know that the pain will end and there will be a treasure at the end of that rainbow.

-Pastor Joel Everhart

From time to time you’ll notice that someone had come ahead of you into whatever building you enter with muddy shoes. They leave a trail of clumped up dirt behind. Our hope is that they don’t know their feet are dirty or they’d quickly take care of the problem. None-the-less, they’ve muddied up the joint. Those coming behind will grind the dirt deeper and get it on their own shoes if they’re not careful, in other words, it’s infectious.

Sometimes people drag attitudes or actions into church that mar our shine. Instead of others receiving a great blessing from the fellowship and services they go home offended or hurt. Our hope is they don’t know what they’re doing or they’d quickly take care of the problem. May the Holy Spirit make us aware of anything we’re doing that causes others to miss out on the love and ministry of the Lord in this place.

Paul helps us to be aware of such things with a Plea, an Example, and a Work in today’s message. See if you can pick out each of them from the sermon.

The Plea:

The Example:

The Work:

-Pastor Joel Everhart