Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Early this morning it happened again. The sky was once again flashing and booming. What sounded like the firing of cannons along with the shaking of the house woke me from my sleep.   I could hear our dog scurrying about trying to find cover (she’s terribly afraid of the thunder).   As buckets of water were being dumped upon the earth, the sound of the rain pelting against the windows only added to the drama.   Well, it’s summer.   And, part of summer is a thunderstorm here and there.   But thankfully, as big and scary as some of them might be, the storms don’t usually last too long.   Most of the time, like this morning’s storm, they pass by in a matter of minutes.   Of course, when the sky is flashing with lightening and roaring with thunder, it can feel as if time is standing still and the storm is going to hang over us forever. But soon, usually before we know it, the storm has passed, the sky is clearing, and life gets back to no...

This week was a week of big steps within our family.   On Monday our youngest child, Joanna, took her road test, passed, and got her driver’s license. I couldn’t imagine ever seeing the day when everyone within the family would be driving.   But, it has happened—even our “baby” can now get behind the wheel of a car without Kim or me being there!   The next thing I knew, Joanna was offering to go the supermarket and pick up some items for the house.   I wasn’t quite sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing!   But, off she went, driving to the supermarket without anyone else in the car.   Then last night (Thursday) our son Nathaniel walked to the podium, got his diploma, and graduated from high school!   For him, that means all the things that have part of his high school career have now officially come to an end—e.g. the tennis team, marching band, the classmates that he has been with for so many years, the teachers that he has k...

The other day, my wife Kim and I were talking about how difficult it is to walk at a decent pace when we are with our dog, Mabel.    Without her, we can walk at the kind of pace that gets your heart pumping and causes you to work up a sweat.   But, when we are with Mabel, it is more of a slow stroll, if that.   The problem is that Mabel is so easily distracted.   Even if we get her to an exercise pace for a bit, the movement of a squirrel, the bark of another dog, or the opening of a garage door causes her to stop, sniff, and bark.   Just a scent in the wind or the rustle of the trees can cause her to stop and point.   She is truly an easily distracted dog.   In his parable about the Seed, the Sower, and the Soil (the parable on which I preached last Sunday), Jesus warns us about having distracted hearts—or, what we might call a distracted faith. Jesus talks about people whose hearts are like the soil that receives the seed in ...

This week has been a week of rainbows.   Because of the weather patterns we have had—rainfall quickly followed by a break in the clouds and a burst of sunshine—we have seen more rainbows this week than at any other time that I can remember.   It began last Sunday, as we were driving up the Harlem River Drive with some friends in the car. A huge rainbow stretched across the sky to the east.   It seemed to be dipping down somewhere into the middle of the Bronx.   In fact, I said to my friend, “Look at that! Now we know what’s on the other side of the rainbow: it’s the Bronx!” (Ha! Ha!) A few evenings later, my wife Kim called me with great excitement that in the sky there was a double rainbow.   And, over the next few days pictures were going up on Facebook of rainbows from people who had snapped shots from all around the NYC metro area – e.g. Long Island, Queens, New Jersey.   Aside from the obvious beauty of a rainbow, what amazes me ...

For the first time this season, my son Jonathan and I took a ride over to Rita’s, our favorite spot (and the only place we know of nearby) for Italian water ice and custard.  For a couple of weeks, Jonathan has been suggesting that we take the ride to Rita’s which is a little bit of a drive for us over to Route 46 in Lodi, NJ.  The weather was beautiful and we happened to be home together with no real plans for the evening, so we decided to go.  Of course once we made our decision, dreams of water ice and custard swirled together (they call it a “gelati”), were swirling through our heads.  On the way there, I could practically taste the mango water ice with vanilla custard! As we approached the store, however, we could see that there was no line.  I thought, Wow, we won’t have to wait on a long line!  But, as we drove into the parking lot the reality of the situation became visible. The windows were all closed, the blinds were down, and last year’s ...