Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

In past blogs, I’ve written about the squirrels eating the seed I put out for the birds and the deer that destroy our flowers. Now I’ve got a new problem. There’s a huge, wild turkey that has decided it likes our neighborhood and especially enjoys eating the grass seed we’ve put down.  And as many times as I chase it away, it returns back to exactly the spot I chased it from. You might say, it’s a very persistent turkey.  Of course, this is the price we pay for living in the suburbs—and right next to a wooded area as I do. In spite of the houses, roads, and all the other things we have built, we are surrounded by wildlife, much of which we have displaced. All kinds of birds, rabbits, deer, hawks, racoons, tons of squirrels, and now a turkey are just some of the creatures that live around us.  And in fact, our lawns and flower beds—and at times our garbage cans—supply more than enough food for them all. It’s no wonder they keep showing up!  On the one hand, we might consider some of the

For about five weeks, Kim’s car was at the local Hyundai dealership for repairs as they were awaiting the arrival of one small part. Thankfully, however, they were able to give her one of their loaner cars to use. Her car is a 2015 Hyundai Sonata. The car they gave her was a 2022 Hyundai Ionic hybrid. It was a really nice car with all of the latest features, including a sun roof and a large computerized screen.  Best of all, it got about 48 mpg on the highway—which was really nice considering the cost of gas these days.  Well, the other day I called Kim to tell her I had some good news and some bad news. The good news was, the part for her car had come in and the repairs had been completed. The bad news was, she had to return the Ionic. It was nice while it lasted. Not that Kim doesn’t like her Sonata, but it was nice for her to be driving a brand new car, putting her commuting miles on their car rather than ours, and getting the milage she was able to get with it.  But that’s pretty m

We’ve all seen by now the pictures coming out of Ukraine of the mass of people, especially women and children, who are currently fleeing the war there.  It’s the latest refugee crisis to hit Europe and our world—a crisis that will affect many people for years to come.  It’s heart-breaking to see the images of people packed into trains, standing for days to get across a border, wondering where they will get their next meal…wondering where they will spend the rest of their life. Thankfully, there are many people from all over the world who have responded to the need by providing meals, shelter, medicine, etc.  Of course, this is not the first refugee crisis we have seen in recent years. The faces may be different, but the story is the same. A war breaks out, an oppressive government takes control, or a famine hits the land and people sadly and reluctantly move from the place they have called home, probably for all of their life, looking for a place of safety, peace, and provision. No one

Did you ever play “Keep Away” as a kid? That’s when a ball or some other item is tossed back and forth between two people to keep it away from a third person in the middle. We also called it, “Monkey In the Middle.”  No one ever liked being that kid in the middle.  You’d much rather be one of the kids tossing the ball. Eventually, however, just about everyone ends up spending some time caught in the middle.  As I think about what is taking place in Ukraine and the war that Russia has waged upon it, my heart breaks for those who have been caught in the middle, especially the children. Like with any war, these children awoke one day ready to go to school or out to play with their friends when suddenly they found themselves in the midst of bombs and missiles, fleeing to shelters, or even fleeing their country. Of course all of this is hard on people of all ages, but how much harder for the children who can barely understand what is taking place around them. They are truly caught in the mi