Claimed, gathered and sent

I love the mountains. They speak to me. Often when I've thought of their beauty, I imagined I would have to live in them to appreciate them. My internship site is in the valley, the Monongahela Valley to be precise. It's also referred to as the gorge. But do you know what surrounds this valley? Mountains! Whether I'm driving or visiting someone at the hospital or nursing home, I see the mountains. This morning, Pr. Larry, my supervisor, and I visited several people in the hospital. At the end of one of the corridors was a door to the outside. On each side of the door were narrow rectangular windows, giving us a wonderful view of those mountains. I never tire of looking at them. They renew and refresh me, making me stop and reflect upon God's goodness. Perhaps that's why the psalmist prayed,"I lift up my eyes to the hills — from where will my help come?" (Psalm 121:1).The mountains surround this little town just as God's love surrounds each of us...

It is hard to believe we've been here nearly 3 weeks. We are feeling very much at home in this small community. Being all unpacked and having the parsonage settled has helped a lot. We've even learned our way around enough to feel quite comfortable going to the next town to get things unavailable here. Tuesday night at a meeting, I had the opportunity to hear more of this church's history. Over the years the people have grown in so many ways. Today I started teaching adult Bible study and preached my first sermon for Grace. Grace is such an appropriate name for this community of faith. Here is the sermon I preached this morning: How often have we heard or used the phrase “Timing is everything?”  We might think of this in the middle of hearing funny stories or jokes. Two people can tell the same story using the same words, but one is a good story teller and the other may not tell it as well, with the right pauses and cadence. Then there are some people that have in...