Pastor Craig - August 2019

 We are surrounded by signs. Every time you go into a store there is a spot where a number of signs are displayed that you stop look at and read. Some you laugh at and some you roll your eyes. The saying in the title was on my cardboard wrap on my paper coffee cup. It really hit a chord with my currant thought process. I had received this cup of coffee at the Minot Airport coming back from my High School Class Reunion. I had spent the weekend back in High School and like some of you, I could not believe how long ago it had been.

 Time is one of those things that we cannot control. We can’t make it stop. We can’t even slow it down. I have turned into my grandparents. I find myself saying things like “I remember when. . .” and I just laugh at myself. I am sure that you do the same thing.

 With the start of each school year, I think back on the excitement and the uncertainty that I had as a kid. About 3 weeks before school started, they would post on the window of the school the list of the classroom teachers and who was in each class. So you would know who was in your classroom for the year. By noon of the day of the posting, most of the kids had heard and had raced their bikes to see where and who they were going to have in their class.

 As an adult, I have to admit that when the school year started in 1988 I did not know what to do. Between Elementary, Jr High, High School, College, and Seminary, this was the first time in 20 years that I did not get to go shopping for school supplies. Thank heavens my girls got old enough to go to school so I could again go shopping for supplies.

 This year we are again supporting Valencia Middle School. If you are like me, it gives us the chance to go “school shopping” again. It is a time to relive those memories and perhaps experience for the first time picking out your own supplies. Knowing that some kid is going to benefit gives us that feeling that we are doing something.

 In your world today, there are always opportunities to make a difference. God places in our path people and events that allow us to cause someone to smile. All we need to do today is “stay awake for it”.

 Have a cup of coffee and see what God has in store for you.

   In Christ,

    Pastor Craig