Everett

This week the world lost a great man.  He was my pastor, my mentor, my greatest supporter. Everett was my friend.

Everett was known in the Presbyterian world as a faithful, strong and compassionate pastor. He was a pastor who preached the Word of God, a pastor who was present and available to his congregants, and a pastor who would make a point of meeting colleagues for coffee.

Everett taught me what it means to be a pastor.

As a new minister, Everett came alongside to encourage and support me. He shared some raw and difficult times of ministry with me, teaching me the importance of leading from a posture of prayer. He also shared with me the joy and successes of ministry, and with his stories he would point to the faithfulness of God.

Everett taught me what it means to be a mentor.

Sometimes in life we are fortunate enough to have a person come alongside who is steady, faithful and true. A person who is not afraid to lovingly set you straight when you are veering off the path, and just as quickly ready to praise you when you’ve done well.

Everett taught me what it means to be a friend.   

Everett and I spoke on the phone regularly.  He would call to check in and I would do the same.  In the last few years, I would end our conversation by saying, “I love you, Ev.”  I am glad I did, because I know that he knew.

He would respond, “Love you too”.

Today as I mourn the loss of my friend, my mentor, my father figure, because he said it, I know it. It is healing. And I am blessed.

Last Sunday we talked about the words we speak, and the importance of saying something good if you think it. That message has become even more poignant for me today. Proverbs 16:24 says: Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Words are important. Don’t just think, ‘I love you’. Say it. Be a blessing.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.  Psalms 19:14

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Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

As a person thinks, so they become.

Are you a Star Wars fan?  Have you seen the movie Rouge One?  It is a fairly old movie now but if you are fan you don’t mind watching it again, which Brian and I did on Sunday night.

In the movie the heroine, Jyn, meets up with an unusual ally in a blind warrior name Chirrup Imwe.  Though he is not a Jedi, he believes strongly in the “force” and is guided by it. Several times in the movie we find him repeating out loud, "I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me. I am one with the Force, and the Force is with me."

In one particular scene, Chirrup Imwe walks into what would appear to be certain death.  Warriors were everywhere, shooting at him and all around him. Yet he walks courageously, repeating his mantra as he goes, and with his faith intact, Chirrup Imwe accomplishes his mission and saves the day.  Well, maybe not the day. You need to see the movie.  What we do see is that he was one with the force and the force was with him!

As a person thinks in their heart, so they become.  Proverbs 23:7

Last Sunday morning we talked about the importance of our thoughts. Our thoughts, even though we may consider it to be a little thing, are actually very important because it is our thoughts that determine who we become.

Solomon said in Proverbs 23:7, “As a person thinks in their heart, so they become”.  Isn’t it true that our lives have a tendency to move in the direction of our strongest thoughts.  For instance, if we believe we can, chances are we will.  Likewise, if we believe we can’t, we likely won’t.

On Sunday, I asked you to seek God for one thought.  Like Chirrup Imwe, it is a thought that you will repeat over and over and over again until your mind is renewed.  The thought becomes truth in your heart, and it will change the words you speak and the way you live.

One thought.

Here’s the thing: that one little thought could result in a bigger change than you could ever imagine!

If you want to change the way you live, change the way you think.

May the force be with you!

The little things

This past summer, my step mother was decluttering her home and found an old typewriter that belonged to her mother. I was so excited to take it off her hands. A real typewriter! You know, the ones with the ribbon and the return carriage?  So fun!  I hadn’t seen one in years!

Back in the day before typing with your thumbs on a handheld device was the norm, I was forced to take a high school typing class.  Can you imagine? And, if memory serves, we didn’t even have letters on the keys on those teaching devices. We were expected to type without looking at the keys. But it is amazing how little things make a big difference.

I remember sitting at the typewriter for what seemed like an eternity doing this silly little thing, first with our right hand. We would type AQ, AW, AE, AR, AT. Then, SQ, SW, SE, SR, ST. Then, DQ, DW, DE, DR, DT. Then, FQ, FW, FE, FR, FT. We would switch hands and do a similar exercise with the right hand. We did this little thing, this silly exercise for weeks, NO, it went on for months.

And then one day the teacher said, “Today, you are going to type sentences.” I thought she was out of her mind.  All I could type with any great certainty was FT or at least that is what I thought.

Then, I am not sure how it happened, but I started pecking on that typewriter and words began to form! I started typing quicker and sentences appeared. Then paragraphs. I was typing!
Those, silly little exercises, were not as silly or as little as I originally thought.  They actually taught me discipline. They taught me the skill of touch typing.  No hunt and peck for me.

So here’s the thing. God gives us little things to do everyday.

Little things like leading us to give an extra ten dollars to a missions offering. Little things like helping out a needy neighbour.  Little things like giving someone an encouraging word.

We may not see them as significant, but please hear me when I tell you that God uses those little things of everyday life to impact people and further His Kingdom.

God can take that ten dollars and multiply it beyond your wildest imagination bringing hundreds to a saving knowledge of Christ. God can use your helping hands to draw people to our loving Saviour. God can use that encouraging word you made to change a person's entire life.
Never underestimate the big things God can do through you when you are faithful with the little things.