Pastor Don's Ponderings

I have learned a few things from the land, not everything, but a few things, enough that just looking at this picture taken during a moment's reprieve from Fall tillage while overlooking the pasture and creek just to the South at sunset, causes me to mull over a couple of those things: If you are so busy making a living you don't have time to occasionally enjoy a beautiful sunrise or sunset, you need to stop what you are doing and start making a life which savors such gifts. No one knows when the sunset we observe becomes the sunset of which we are a part. Watch how beautifully and majestically creation does it, then try to do the same each day on your journey. The most beautiful of sunrises and sunsets often includes a variety of clouds which reflect both light and color, so why are we surprised when clouds come into our lives? Perhaps they are the necessary precursors of memorable new beginnings just waiting to happen. From where I am in life, crossing the creek in ...

Every once in a while I have to take the time to walk in the pastures of our family farm. This old cottonwood tree is in our East pasture and has stood the test of time longer than I have been alive. I know it has been struck by lightning numerous times, has had multiple honeybee swarms make their home in its branches and trunk, been rubbed against by hundreds of cows satisfying an itch against its bark, and has had the land around it shaped and reshaped numerous times over the decades as our family has striven to manage the large amount of water which flows in that area of the farm. This tree is a survivor . . . and the cows still love it and the shade it provides on a warm Summer day. Coming back to blogging is a bit like walking the pasture towards this tree: It is nice to return to the places and things which are solid and standing the test of time. So much of our technological age is transitory, including the social media sites which tantalizingly draw our attention for a mom...