Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Just a couple of nights ago, we here in the Northeast experienced a line of storms that had first brought tornados to the south and then heavy wind, rain, and thunderstorms (and even some tornados) to our region.   That night, as Kim and I lay in bed, there were times when it felt like the whole house was shaking.   Although there was no tornado, we could hear the wind roar as it blew through the trees and against the house.   It felt as if it could intensify at any moment and blow out a window. Thankfully it did not.   But the roar of the wind was surely quite intense—and enough to keep us awake at least part of the night.   The roar of the wind that night makes me think of what it must have been like for the believers on the Day of Pentecost as described in Acts 2.   There we are told that, as those 120 followers of Jesus were praying, “ Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:2 – NIV)   An

I’m writing today one last blog about our dog, Mabel.   After rupturing a disk in her lower back last Friday and quickly becoming paralyzed in her lower extremities, on Monday we had to have her put to rest.   Her quality of life was gone and we didn’t want her to suffer any more than she had.   Of course, it was a sad day for us.   We got Mabel about ten years ago from the animal shelter in Bergen County.   I remember coming home from work one day and telling Kim I had found our dog! I had gone on petfinder.com, put in the specs we were looking for in a dog, and up popped Mabel.   Within a week, Mabel came home. She was not only shy but as well, a bit afraid.   During those early days, and on into the years to come, whenever she was nervous or afraid, she would come to me and lean her back up against me to find comfort and shelter. After all, I was the “alpha dog” in the house—or, I like to say, the “top dog!” (Kim was the nurturer, thus she went to Kim when she wanted to eat. An