You probably remember that since our big friend Henley passed away, Monday nights have been "Allan nights" here at the Wilson home.

It's pretty simple stuff.

Bunny cooks normally and we open another place at the table for our friend. He's an interesting guest. To give you an idea about his visits, I'd have to start at about 4PM at church when he shows up to confirm that dinner is on. We leave there about 5:30 and head here. Allan sits in the front seat of the Honda and loves to use the garage door opener. I think doing that alone would be enough for Allan. Bunny and I have our patience tested by that device pretty often, but when Allan tries it always seems to work.

And he explodes in laughter. It's like a kid at Christmas.

We go into the house and Allan is greeted by the Airedales. He reminds them that he loves them. This of course does not slow down their welcoming antics, but then again, maybe it does. Allan then goes and sees Sean (and Chelsea if she's here) and either helps with the last few supper prep tasks or sits and watches ESPN. When we are all called to eat, Allan reminds us where we sit, and helps me say the blessing on our meal.

It's at that point he usually praises Bunny's cooking. Everything seems either to be "my favorite" or "this is the best I have ever had." We'll have some challenging conversation as we eat, given Allan's hearing issues and frequent changes of subject. Then pretty suddenly he'll be through. If we all are, he'll help clear the table. Bunny will ask if he wants some to take home, which he always does. He thanks us again and we head to the garage where the door opener awaits.

Now he gets to open AND close the garage. Just as we came in laughing, we leave the same way.

Not a bad way to start off the week. :)

Let us know if you'd ever like to experience the joys of our Monday nights. Our home is always open to our friends and neighbors. Who knows - play your cards right, and I might even let YOU open the garage door.

Grace and peace,

David

It's cold!

January came in like a lion almost everywhere in the eastern United States, and has everyone - including Floridians scrambling to keep warm. Sometimes we forget that there actually is a thing called winter down here. We get spoiled. Even today, with the temps peaking in the mid 40s, I've seen several die hard Floridians in shorts and flip flops. It almost seems as if they refuse to believe it's cold.

But just to repeat once again - it's cold!

At this time of year, with the shorter periods of daylight, and now the cold also acting to discourage much unnecessary outdoor movement, some people struggle with the blues. After all the bright lights and shiny things of Christmas, after you return home or the family leaves, or after you just wake up and realize another year is past, the blues can sneak into your heart.

So how to banish them?

Well, let's hear from a man who at the time he wrote this was imprisoned in a dungeon.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7 (NLT)

There's a challenge in those words and a promise. First, we need to be proactive in pushing back against the chill of the blues. Just telling yourself "I won't worry" is about as effective as telling yourself "I won't eat that chocolate cake over there." Don't ask me about how I know that. :)


Substitute prayer for that useless worrying. Have a conversation with God in which you remember Who He is and what He has done for you, and where you tell Him what you need.

Then breathe in the mercy, grace and goodness that is God. Make sure He is first in your life in everything. And then you'll experience His peace and His presence - His promise is - He'll guard your heart.


So stop and focus on just what we have received in Jesus. Pardon for our sins. Provision for today. Hope for tomorrow. Strength to meet the challenges regardless of what they are.

Turn the heat up - on your relationship with God.

Grace and peace,

David
Visit with me at my blog:
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/

Visit with Bunny at her blog:
http://henleythegreatdane.blogspot.com/

Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/

Our friend Allan Hill had a birthday last week. He's the youngest 27 year old I know. Allan lives just down the road from the church, and very frequently drops by or calls both there and at the house. There are probably very few people who have lived in Valparaiso very long that have not seen Allan out walking, and a large number of those people also know him personally.

Allan's hard not to know.

He's never really met a stranger, and when he does, he's generally within hailing distance of someone he does know, so he does what comes natural to him. "Do you know David? David is my pastor" is what I have heard on several occasions when I ran into Allan while out in the community.

So today when we were at one of his favorite places, Dollar General, when we picked out a gift for him, Bunny asked the clerk if Allan had one of them already. "No, but he will like that.," she said, so our purchase was made. She knew him that well.

I sit here and wonder sometimes, what if the whole community - not just the church - but everyone, was as open and connecting as Allan? What if we knew each other so well that pretty much anyone among us could tell someone else whether something as silly as a birthday gift would make us smile?

Think about it.

And here is what Allan will be getting.



It plays "On the road again" and sways while its ears flap up and down.

I expect to hear it a lot until Allan runs the batteries down. But it will make him happy, and that will be a gift to all of us as well.

Grace and peace,

David

New Jeans

Well, we've settled into summer here now with our usual heat and humidity. For those of you reading this outside the deep South and who have never been here during summer, it is very hard to describe the combination's effects. I can remember a trip I took for work to Chicago in July one year and when I got off the plane, I was shocked at how pleasant it was. It was still 80+ degrees, but the humidity was almost nonexistent.

Humidity is like that ten pounds you lost one time. You couldn't believe how good you felt without it. Well, down here, it feels like we just gained 20 pounds back.

So with the coming of summer, we adjust our clothing somewhat to fit. Granted, FL clothes are more casual anyway, but we do loosen up some more.

And I just got new blue jeans.

Hot does not begin to describe how I feel in these. I'm sitting here in my office and am strategically placed under the A/C vent. There's actually a breeze in here. But these jeans seem to radiate heat.

They replaced a well worn pair of several years that were not so afflicted. In fact I didn't wear shorts that much because the jeans were almost as cool. But a change had to come. The old ones were ripped at the knee and holes were beginning to appear elsewhere. There's no way I could wear those to church. (Yes, down here the pastor sometimes wears blue jeans to work. Not often, but sometimes.)

Now I could spend much time and energy on those old jeans.

I could wear them and refuse to admit there was a problem.
I could start trying to fix them and patch everywhere they had failed.

...or I could be thankful for what they gave me and move on.

So many people cannot seem to do that, and yet it is critical to living a healthy life, rightly related to God and to mankind. Just let it go. Think about what's coming.

8 Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious— the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Phil 4:8-9 (MSG)
Friends, take a minute right now and thank God for what He has provided you.

Far too often we are prone to only remember the times we struggled, and truth be told, our struggles for the most part would come off as incredible luxury elsewhere.

Look to God.

Praise Him in your home, at your workplace, when you get up and when you lay down to rest.

God is good, all the time.

Grace and peace,

David

--
Visit with me at my blogs:
http://davethepastor.vox.com/
http://itslikeherdingcats.blogspot.com/
Or visit New Hope!
http://www.newhopevalp.org/
http://www.churchcloud.com/new-hope-valp/