Pastor's Devotions by Tim Harris

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day. Today it is snowing. Last night the last of our kids came home for the holiday—including Jonathan’s fiancée, Dani.   So, here we are with a full house, watching it snow, awaiting the start of our Thanksgiving celebrations.   Today, there will be some baking, maybe some board games played, and most likely some snow removed.   Earlier this morning I put on some extra coffee.   For lunch I think I made about a dozen quesadillas.   Tonight’s dinner will include a bit more pasta than Kim and I would normally make for just the two of us.   Oh, did I mention that tomorrow’s Thanksgiving Day? In the midst of all the busyness and excitement of our home and the holiday—and the snow—I want to be careful not to lose sight of the purpose of the day we are about to celebrate.   So, let me list a few things that come to mind as I reflect upon this past year.   1.     I am grateful for my wife Kim and my three chil...

As I was writing this devotion last week as I was on my way to Nicaragua to take care of some of our church's missions work there, including visiting the children we support, their families, our staff, and church family.   I left NYC out of LaGuardia early Tuesday morning. Within a few hours I once again found myself waiting for my next flight in the Miami airport.   In fact, that's the problem with flying; not only does one have to calculate the air time to get from one place to another, but as well the many hours spent waiting to board the airplane; waiting between flights; waiting on the runway.   Yes, flying is the fastest way to travel long distances. But, just think how much faster it could be without all the waiting. (And, that's considering that your flights are on time!)   Of course, waiting is a huge part of our lives. Whether we are doing our grocery shopping, commuting to work, or going to a baseball game, we find ourselves waiting on some sort of li...

Today being Halloween, children will be going from door to door, dressed in their costumes doing something they would never do any other night of the year: going to the homes of strangers asking for candy.   And, their request will come in the form of a very strange phrase, “Trick or Treat!”   Of course, our children today (and their parents) don’t really know the roots of that phrase or what it really signifies. For them it is innocent enough.   But, by using that phrase the children are actually doing two things: (1) begging for the candy they wish to receive; (2) threatening some kind of mischief if they don’t get what they are asking for—although today the threat is an idle one.   In a sense, it’s a shame that the children can’t just ring the front door bell and politely ask, “May we have some candy, please.”   I’m sure that most people would just as willingly fill their bags with candy.   But, I’m reminded today of the fact that, as one of God...

So here’s our latest family news: Last weekend our oldest son Jonathan got engaged!   His fiancée Danielle Baily (or “Dani”) and he have been dating for about three years, since Jonathan’s junior year of college.   They will be married next summer. I’m very happy for him and Dani—Kim and I both are. At the same time, I am still trying to process the fact that my own son is taking such a huge step in his life and will soon be setting up his own household independent from ours.     For Jonathan and Dani, all kinds of changes will be taking place in their lives and relationship during this year, and over the next few years.   But, there will also be all kinds of changes for us as parents.   Even now, we have had to begin to accept the fact that our roles are changing. Whereas once we gave instruction and expected to be obeyed, now we give counsel and advice, hoping that our experience and “wisdom” will be taken into consideration. Whereas Jonathan’s ...

For the past few weeks I have been working preparing for a huge conference that will be taking place in a couple of weeks at our church in Flushing, NY. One of my tasks is assigning hotel rooms to over 900 guests from all around the world. In doing so, I have had to read, type, and figure out all kinds of names that are quite foreign to me.   Of course, most of the names of those who are coming from the US, Canada, or Western Europe are not that difficult for me. But some of the names from places like India, Mongolia, Africa and parts of Asia can seem very long and totally unfamiliar.   Those who are coming from Latin America can have multiple names—e.g. a first name, second name, surname, and mother’s maiden name.   And, when it comes to figuring out spouses, many countries around the world do not use our system of sharing one last name.   In the end, I have found the process of reading and processing the many different kinds of names both fascinating and challengi...