Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

This morning, my oldest son Jonathan, left to return to Nicaragua for another semester.   That meant getting to the airport by 4:00 a.m. for his 6:00 a.m. flight. And, that meant getting up at 3:00 a.m. in order to leave the house by 3:30 a.m. In spite of the fact that I have done that routine numerous times now, I can assure you I do not naturally awaken and get out of bed at 3:00 a.m.   I need to set an alarm (or two).   And when that alarm goes off, I need to get out of bed immediately or else I will find myself waking up well past the time of the flight!   So my day, like many of yours, began with the sound of the alarm clock (on my iPhone) going off—a terrible, yet wonderful sound! I know that there are lots of times we hate our alarm clocks. For most of us, it is the worst sound of the day. When we find ourselves in a deep, peaceful sleep, the last thing we want to hear is the sound of the alarm clock telling us it is time to get up. Some of us shut it up ...

A week ago I woke up in one place, Leon, Nicaragua, and went to bed in another, Tenafly, NJ. That morning I awoke to a sunny 70 degrees, with the temperature going up to around 93.   By that evening, I was back home here in the Northeast, back to the cold and the snow.   In Leon, I was eating rice and beans and eggs just about every morning for breakfast. Here in New Jersey, it is cereal or a bagel. (Thankfully, both places have coffee!)   Yes, life is so different between the two places.   In Nicaragua there are no multi-lane highways, making long-distance travel a bit slow at times; here we drive on highways that have six to eight lanes (although the ton of traffic slows us down much of the time). In Leon, many people ride about on motorcycles, carrying the whole family on one bike; here that would never happen. In Leon, most people shop in marketplaces that to us are loud, disorganized, and crazy; here we all shop in our local supermarket—well lit and nice an...

Much of my day today is being spent preparing for my trip with our team to Nicaragua.   Eight people, including myself and my son Nathaniel, will be heading to Leon on a 6:00 am flight tomorrow morning.   Our purpose will be to prepare the school that we work with for the upcoming school year (which begins in February) by painting and cleaning classrooms. We will also distribute backpacks, school supplies and Christmas gifts to the children of Promise Kids Foundation.   I know it’s going to be an action-packed week!   So today, I will spend much of the day preparing for the trip by packing, getting documents in order, making sure I have everything I need for the meetings I will be part of, and finish preparing for ministry in the churches and to the kids.   I will have to do a run to the bank and possibly to a store or two.   Any of you who have traveled at all, know it’s all part of preparing for a trip.   As we have begun this new year, it i...

It’s the start of a new year.   2014 has arrived. For many people, that means a time to make a New Year’s resolution.   So for the next few weeks, the gyms will be filled to capacity, desserts will be put aside, and many more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains will be consumed. Some will attempt to get a handle on their household budget. Others will try to get rid of a bad habit. And, the list of New Year’s resolutions can go on and on; resolutions that people will most likely keep for a week or two. After that everything will go back to the way it was beforehand. I’m not really one for making New Year’s resolutions, at least not in a formal way.   But it is only natural that, at the turn of the year, I would have certain hopes and aspirations that would come to mind. Yes, I want to exercise more, eat better, spend my money more wisely, get rid of bad habits. In this coming year, I want to be a better husband and father, pastor and leader. I want to pray more, stud...