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Our daughter, Rishana, was helping out at the Journey to Bethlehem reenactment in Spokane, WA a couple weeks ago and she told us about something special that happened that night.

As one little girl walked through the streets of Bethlehem that night, she was overwhelmed by what she was seeing. She was filled with wonder by all the sights and sounds around her. She petted the sheep and goats, listened to the music, and listened attentively to the story the actors told at each stop.

Finally, they reached the stable and this little girl gazed in awe at the baby asleep in the manger. She heard the shepherds as they circulated through the crowd, spreading the good news, “The Messiah has come!”

So totally was this little girl caught up in the story, that she couldn’t hold back any longer. Running from the stable, she went out into Bethlehem’s streets, telling everyone she met, “The Messiah has come! The Messiah has come!”

People laughed at this little girl’s enthusiasm, but when I heard this story it made me think. What would happen if we all got as caught up in this story as this little girl? What if we believed like she did? I think we’d be joining her, telling everyone we met the good news – “The Messiah has come!”

This Christmas I pray you will rediscover the little child in you. This morning, as you read about the babe in the manger and the shepherds and wisemen, let the wonder of this story fill you till you can’t hold it any longer. Then, like the shepherds and this little girl, go and tell everyone you meet the good news, “The Messiah has come! The Messiah has come!”

God bless and have a very Merry Christmas!

It’s Christmas Eve and for many it’s a time for shopping for stocking stuffers or that last minute gift. Others are baking cookies, sipping eggnog, or preparing for Christmas dinner. Millions of others are traveling home to spend the holidays with family. It’s a busy, sometimes frantic, day, but one we look forward to all year round.

The scene on the first Christmas Eve, over 2000 years ago, was far different. Forced by Rome to leave their home in Nazareth and travel over dusty roads to Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph arrived tired, dirty and sore, alone in a strange place where they didn’t know a soul. Knowing time was short, they frantically looked for a room, only to be turned away time-after-time.

Mary has already suffered so much. Pregnant out of wedlock, she’d been scorned by family and friends, nearly rejected by her fiance, forced to travel long distances while 9 months pregnant. After dealing with all that, she must have wept when Joseph told her they’d have to sleep in the stable. After all, a girl can only take so much. Then, as if things couldn’t get any worse, the contractions started.

Some romanticize this story, as if Mary’s delivery was painless and easy, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Being her first pregnancy Mary probably suffered for hours, as wave after wave of contractions hit. There was screaming, sweating, blood, excruciating pain, then blessed relief with that final push.

Exhausted, Mary just lay back in the hay and listened for a moment to her baby’s first cries, joy and wonder filling her heart. Then she gently lifted Jesus to her breast for the very first time, giving the Life-Giver the gift of life.

Ahead lay many sleepless nights, diaper changes, and midnight feedings. There’d be first steps, toilet training, scratched knees, and hurt feelings. When Jesus grew up, there’d be worry and pride, inexpressible heartache and grief at His crucifixion, followed by joy unspeakable at His resurrection.

All this lay ahead, but none of that was important right then. All that mattered to Mary on that first Christmas day, was the babe in her arms, Emmanuel, God with us.

Nothing has changed in over 2000 years. It’s not the gifts under the tree or the stockings “hung by the chimney with care” that are important. It’s not the bright lights, the shopping or the carols at night that should consume our thoughts. The only thing that really matters this Christmas and all through the year is Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us. He truly is the “reason for the season.”

May His love surround you throughout this Christmas and may His peace fill your heart throughout the coming year is my prayer.

Merry Christmas!

In a few hours Ana and I will be hitting the road, joining millions of other travelers heading out to be with loved ones and friends for Thanksgiving. Usually our kids come to us during the holidays, but this time we’re going to them. It’s a long drive, but it will be worth it just to be with them for a while.

Thanksgiving is such a special time. It’s a time to be with friends and family, to eat good food (usually too much of it), play games, and, of course, watch some football. Most importantly it’s a time for giving thanks for all the blessings God has poured out on us through the last year.

We’ll thank God for family and friends, for our jobs, for our homes. We’ll thank Him for good health and His protection on the roads. We’ll praise Him for our successes, for that promotion at work, or for that new car in the drive.

All these things are great and it’s easy to be thankful for them, but I wonder, is it enough? What about the other things, the shattered dreams, the setbacks, the things we don’t even like to think about? Is it even possible to be thankful when we lose our jobs, our health deteriorates, or when we lose someone we love?

It seems crazy, but this is exactly what God wants us to do. He tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

All circumstances? Isn’t that asking a little much? How can I possibly give thanks when life turns sour, when hopes and dreams are dashed, when illness strikes, when a loved one dies? Isn’t God being kind of unreasonable here?

Not if we believe the promise in Romans 8:28, “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

When we are God’s children, He turns everything in our world upside down. Even the bad things work out for our good. Setbacks become successes. Loss becomes gain. Even death loses its power, because someday soon, God “will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.” (Isaiah 25:8).

You see, we serve a God who loves us with “an everlasting love”. (Jeremiah 31:3). He loves us so much “he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). And this same God, “who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).

This Thanksgiving, I challenge you to give “thanks to God the Father for everything.” (Ephesians 5:20). That includes the good and the bad, because our God will turn even the bad things into something good, if we will only trust Him today and all through the coming year. Put Him to the test and “give thanks in all circumstances”. You’re going to be amazed at what He does!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I had the most amazing experience last Sabbath! I held a deer in my arms!

I had accidently left the gate open to our garden and when I looked out my window I saw a doe and her two fawns happily munching down on tomatoes, basil and squash.

When I entered the garden to shoo them out, they freaked! Frantically they ran back and forth, trying to escape. Finally, the mother and one fawn found the gate and ran out, but the other fawn chose to throw himself repeatedly against the fence, ending up stuck in the wire about 5 feet off the ground.

He struggled for a minute, then gave up, hanging there pathetically and bleating for help. I cautiously approached him and took him in my arms. Lifting him up, I carefully pulled his legs and head free and set him down on the ground. He immediately ran out the gate, without even saying, “Thank you.” Ungrateful creature!

It was so cool holding that fawn in my arms! I’ll never forget the feeling! Later, however, I got thinking about how much like him I am. Far too often I go wandering into places or situations where I don’t belong, seeking pleasure or just a distraction, but instead find myself trapped by my own wants and desires, unable to break free.

Then Jesus comes to help me and show me the way out, but I run away, afraid to give control, trying to free myself on my own. Instead, I end up even more helplessly ensnared than before.

Finally realizing I can’t free myself, I stop struggling and bleat for help. Without hesitation, Jesus takes me in His arms and gently lifts me out of the mess I’ve put myself in. Unfortunately, like the fawn, once I’m free, I too often run away again, without even a “Thank you” for what He’s done.

Thankfully, I’m learning slowly, learning if I stay close to Jesus, like the other fawn stayed close to its mother, I don’t have to get entangled by my mistakes in the first place.

All of us, at one time or another, have found ourselves in similar situations, trapped by our “sin that so easily entangles.” (Hebrews 12:1) The next time this happens to you I hope you’ll take a lesson from the fawn. Stop struggling and call out to Jesus for help. Don’t be afraid. He loves you and He promises, “whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37 NIV).

No matter what the sin that has you trapped today, God can provide a way out. If you let Him, He will take you in his arms and set you free. And “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36).

I haven’t written for the last 3 weeks, but this time I have a good excuse. We are moving, moving, moving!

Ana and I made the decision about two months ago to move to Walla Walla, WA. Our 2 boys, their wives and our granddaughter live there and we’ve grown tired of only getting to see them 3-4 times a year. We’re also sick of the 3-½ hour drive each way. Doing this will also put us an hour closer to our daughter.We’ve been talking about moving for years, but finally decided the time was right.

Since we made the decision our life has been rather chaotic, especially in the last 3 weeks. I got a job in Walla Walla, we’ve made a couple trips there and back, we’ve got the house on the market, and we’re packing like crazy.

Making a move like this brings with it a lot of stress. Getting the house ready to sell, trying to find a new place to live, deciding what to keep and what to give to Goodwill, and, most of all, having to say good-bye to our church family and other friends. In addition we’re leaving a home and jobs we love and stepping out into the unknown. Add all this together and you have the perfect formula for many sleepless nights and stressful days.

Thankfully, we don’t have to let the stress get to us, because we are not in this alone. Joshua 1:9 promises, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

No matter what our future holds in Walla Walla, God is in charge. We know He is leading and will never leave us or forsake us. Because of this we can move forward in confidence knowing “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

This week you’re going to face challenges and stress. It might not be something big like moving, but no matter what it is, remember “the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” So keep moving forward in faith. The best is yet to come!

This last weekend we were down in Walla Walla, visiting our kids and our granddaughter. It was great spending time with them again. We talked, caught up on each other’s lives, ate MOD pizza, and just had a great time together.

The best part for me, though, was spending time with our granddaughter, Bexlie. She’s growing so fast! She’s not just a baby anymore. She’s becoming a beautiful little girl who likes bright, shiny objects, throws a ball for their dogs, and gets into everything she can reach!

My favorite part of the day was getting to hold Bexlie and read to her while she drank her bottle before bedtime. I read her three books, which was difficult because she kept “helping” me turn the pages.

I could have kept reading all evening, but she needed to sleep. So, I sang her “Jesus Loves Me”, said a quick prayer, and put her in her crib. After kissing her good night, I turned out the light and reluctantly left her to her dreams.

I love being with Bexlie. I get so much joy out of just holding her, listening to her baby talk, and watching her play with her toys. It’s an amazing feeling I can hardly explain.

That’s how God feels about you. The depth of His love for you is beyond comprehension. He just loves being with you. In fact, Zephaniah 3:17, says He takes “great delight in you” and that He “will rejoice over you with singing.”

I love that thought. I can just see God suddenly bursting into song when one of His children chooses to spend some time with Him, when they stop their senseless pursuit of the next shining object to just be with Him for a while.

Wouldn’t you like to make your Heavenly Father break out in song today? You can, you know. Just give Him your heart. Stop running, slow down and listen. Who knows? You just might hear the sound of singing, the sound of the God of the universe enjoying being with the one He loves – You!

Yesterday I climbed a mountain.

Okay, it was really just a tall hill across the road from our house, but it was still a steep climb and I was huffing and puffing a little by the time I reached the top. The view was worth the effort, however. Hills and mountains all around; the sun on the valley flower below; the blue sky, with scattered clouds drifting by. God seems nearer when you’re on a mountaintop.

The valley I live in is beautiful, but sometimes it can be a little dark. The sun doesn’t rise over the eastern hills till later in the morning and sinks behind the western peaks earlier than I’d like sometimes. In the winter it can get a little depressing. That’s why it’s good for me to climb a mountain once in a while, to get a view from the top. It changes my whole perspective.

This world can also be a pretty dark place. Some days it feels like the sun will never shine again. We seemed doomed to wander through dark valleys, plagued by troubles, weighed down by our mistakes, and unable to see beyond the problems that rise up all around us.

Life can be hard in the valley, which is why it is so important for us to regularly “go up to the mountain of the Lord…” When we do “He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” (Micah 4:2). We must daily get a view from the top, so we don’t grow weary as we walk through the valleys.

The people of Israel had a literal mountain to “go up to”, with a temple on top where God dwelt. Obviously we don’t have that now. Instead we have something better. We have God’s Word.

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us, “All Scripture is God-breathed.” As we open our Bibles each day, we are lifted higher than the mountains, into the very presence of our Maker and our God. Through daily prayer and Bible study, we can gain His eternal perspective and the strength and direction we need to walk safely through the valleys of life.

God promises in Jeremiah 33:3, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Every morning, before you start your day, take time to “go up to the mountain of the Lord.” Spend time in His Word. God longs to “teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” (Micah 4:2).

This week don’t just wallow in the valley. “Go up to the mountain” and let God show you His view from the top. I promise you’ll be glad you did!

I had the most delicious sandwich yesterday! Rye bread with tomatoes and onions from the garden, plant-based chicken and ham deli slices, lettuce, mayo, home-made dill relish and ranch dressing. The garden-fresh veggies just exploded with flavor in my mouth! It was amazing!

As you can probably tell, I like to eat, especially this time of year. Fresh cucumbers, vine-ripened tomatoes, crisp watermelon, savory squash – my mouth is watering just thinking about them! I love sampling different varieties of produce, savoring their amazing flavors.

My wife says she loves to watch me eat, the way I savor each bite. Of course, the fact that she is such an amazing cook helps. It’s no wonder I gained 20 pounds in our first 2 years of marriage!

One of the things I’m most grateful for, after my recent bout with COVID, is that I never lost my sense of taste. I think that would have been the worst part for me, because enjoying different flavors is one of life’s little pleasures.

Sometimes the pressures and worries of this life can leave us with a bad taste in our mouths, but there is a solution. Psalm 34:8 encourages us to, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh the joys of those who take refuge in him!”

Being a child of God is like sitting down at an overflowing table at Thanksgiving, with more delicious food than you can possibly eat. As Lamentations 3:22 says, “The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.” God is always coming up with new blessings for us to taste and enjoy.

This week as you go about your busy activities, pause once in a while to enjoy God’s bountiful blessings that are all around you. Savor the first gleams of morning light. Taste the crisp morning air. Drink deeply of the living water flowing from God’s throne and gorge yourself on the Bread of Life. Enjoy the sweetness of God’s love for you and His mercy that never ends.

Today and everyday “taste and see that the Lord is good.” Then go share what you’ve found with someone you know, so they too can “taste and see.”

When we decided to make the move from upstate New York to Washington State in 2001, we didn’t know a soul out here. We didn’t have a place to go to or a house to live in. All I had was a new job on the other side of the country. It was a little unsettling, to say the least.

I went ahead of the family to find us a place to live. It was difficult being away from my wife and kids, but I needed to find them a home before I dragged them all the way across the country.

I can’t say I did a great job on that first purchase. The house was pretty dumpy. There were snails in the bathtub, broken cupboard doors, and I ended up having to rebuild the whole bathroom due to water damage. It was not ideal, but it was all I could find that fit our budget.

When we moved to Chehalis a couple years later and then to Wenatchee in 2007, I did the same thing, going out ahead of the family to prepare the way. The choices I made weren’t always the best and some of the places we’ve lived have left a lot to be desired. My family had to endure some pretty difficult situations, because of my mistakes. Thankfully, they’re a pretty forgiving bunch, which is one reason I love them each so much.

Like He did with us, God may sometimes ask you to strike out into the unknown. When this happens He doesn’t want you to not worry about the destination. Instead He asks you to follow the example of Abraham, who “when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8 NIV).

It can be disconcerting, starting out like that, but just as I went ahead of the family to find a place to live, so God promises to “send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.” (Exodus 23:20 KJV).

The good news is, unlike me, God won’t make any mistakes. The place He chooses for you, whether on this earth or in heaven, will be the best place for you. In fact, it will be better than you can imagine! 1 Corinthians 2:9 promises, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

I don’t know what journey God is asking you to take right now, but don’t be afraid to take that first step. Just go forward, confident that God’s Angel goes before you. He will guard you every step of the way and bring you safely to the place God’s prepared for you. Just “Pay attention to him and listen to what he says.” (vs. 21). He will never lead you astray.

“Six days off!”

Heading home last Wednesday night, after a long day at the Walk-in Clinic, this one thought cheered my weary mind – “Six days off!” Six days to do what I wanted. Six days to finish the projects I had started. I went to sleep with my mind filled with plans for all I would accomplish.

Then morning came and with it a mild sore throat and a headache. At first I shrugged it off as allergies, but as the morning progressed I began to ache and feel hot and the headache got worse. I thought about the patients I’d seen this week and groaned. One painful swab up the nose and 15 minutes later, a faint line on the test strip confirmed what I feared. COVID had finally caught up with me.

I’d been feeling pretty cocky, being the only provider at work who hadn’t gotten COVID yet, but, as Solomon warned, “Pride goes…before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18). Now I know for myself what everyone has been saying about this disease – COVID hurts!

For the last two days my head has been pounding and every muscle and joint hurts. It hurts to swallow and I have no energy at all. I wake up for a few minutes, but fall asleep a short time later. Of course I can’t stay asleep, because I’m so congested I can’t breathe through my nose.

But you know what the hardest part is? Being away from Ana. She hasn’t gotten it yet, so I’m staying away as much as possible, in the hope that she won’t get sick. I’m sleeping at the other end of the house and trying not to be in the same room with her for very long, but it’s hard. I miss her!

I think this is how God must feel. The terrible disease of sin has separated Him from the children He loves for over 6000 years. He would do anything to have us back together with Him. In fact, He already did everything in giving His Son Jesus, that “whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16).

Jesus died so that we might live. His blood spilled at the cross is the only cure for sin. And God did this because He loves you and me, because He can’t stand being apart from us, because He misses us.

How about you? Do you miss Him? Then don’t wait a moment longer. Give Him your heart today. Don’t let sin separate you any longer. Come home to the Father today. He misses you so much!