Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

We all have our daily routines.   For me, the alarm clock goes off, I wait a couple of extra minutes and then get out of bed to head to the bathroom to shower and shave.   I then get dressed and head downstairs to put on the coffee, eat some breakfast and then drive over to the office.   There’s the time for daily devotions and prayer, the daily office routines, hopefully getting in some daily time at the gym (at least a few days a week), dinner in the evening, and the daily routines to get ready for bed.   And, the next day it begins again.   That’s not to say there’s no variety, change ups, or surprises that take place day to day.   It’s just that there are pieces of my day—and, I know yours—that are part of a daily routine.   But, did you know that God has a daily routine as well? Psalm 68:19 says, “Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.” (NIV) Some translations say, “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits….” (KJV). Either way, th

This Saturday, May 20th, our daughter Joanna will graduate from Lafayette College in Easton, PA.   Joanna will receive two bachelor's degrees, one in psychology and one in music, with a minor in Spanish.   Since she is our youngest, this will be our final college graduation as a family.   Thus, with Joanna's graduation, Kim and I are officially done with the college years!   Of course, this is a bittersweet occasion for us.   No doubt, we are very proud of our daughter. And with her graduation, we are glad to be moving past the years of trying to choose the right school, filling out applications and the annual financial aid forms, the endless moving in and out of dorms, and the mountain of complications that are just a natural part of attending college these days (not to mention the financial matters!).   Since 2009, Kim and I have had a child in college—that eight years worth of college!   In fact, for five of those years we had two attending at the same time!   So, yes w

Yesterday I went to visit my mom who has been struggling with dementia since 2014.   Mom is only 79 years old and yet she can hardly speak due to really bad aphasia, is wheelchair-bound, and is unable to feed herself or take care of her own daily needs.   Thankfully, she still recognizes our faces (although she can’t come up with our names) and seems to get excited when she sees one of my siblings or me, or even our spouses or children. What strikes me the most, however, is that my mom has very little concept of either the past or future.   She is pretty much just living in the moment.   A great moment with my mom and dad in 1960! With Mother’s Day coming this Sunday, I stopped at a nearby supermarket on my way to see her and picked up a Mother’s Day card and flowering plant.   Since mom can’t read, I needed to make sure the card would be visually attractive to her, so I got her a card with lots of little kittens on the cover (she always loved cats!).   The plant had large dai

Last night Kim and I had the privilege to attend the 50 th anniversary banquet for the Walter Hoving Home, a Christian rehabilitation program.   Modeled after Teen Challenge, the Walter Hoving home has seen hundreds of women set free from drug and alcohol addiction and set on a new course of life as they experience a nurturing environment, learn new life-skills, and most of all receive spiritual care.   I remember as a child and teen how every year on Thanksgiving Eve, the women of the Walter Hoving Home would come to our home church in Spring Valley, NY. The women would sing and share their testimonies under the direction of Elsie Benton, followed with a message by John Benton. (The Bentons were the founders of the ministry.)   After the service, the women would join us for a time of refreshments and then be sent off with bags of groceries for their Thanksgiving meal.   Last night I suddenly found myself face to face with the Bentons.   They are, of course, much older and a