January 2024 - Dreams & Beginnings
I admit, when I grew up, I was a geek before we knew the word. I was into things like musicals. Perhaps it was the influence of having “Lawrence Welk” on our living room TV every Saturday night and having “easy listening” radio playing in the kitchen. Although I also had the influence of “Hee Haw” and “Laugh-in” and my brother’s cassette tapes of Iron Butterfly and Woodstock. So, although I did not see the musical until 2017, one of my favorite songs is The Impossible Dream from “Man of La Mancha”.
To dream the impossible dream; To fight the unbeatable foe; To bear with unbearable sorrow; To run where the brave dare not go. To right the unrightable wrong; To love pure and chaste from afar; To try when your arms are too weary; To reach the unreachable star. This is my quest To follow that star. No matter how hopeless. No matter how far. To fight for the right; Without question or pause. To be willing to march into Hell for a heavenly cause. And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest that my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest. And the world will be better for this that one man, scorned and covered with scars still strove with his last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable star.
It is an especially fitting song as we begin a new year. It reminds us of the need for Dreams in our lives. It reminds us that regardless of the odds, we should be willing to do all that we can to achieve our dreams. I’ve always thought of New Years, like a birthday, to be a new beginning. What is done, is done… but now is the time to start fresh, to start anew. It is a common practice for many people to have new year’s resolutions. Often the resolutions are big, audacious ideas like stop smoking, losing weight, and exercising more… you know, all those things your doctor tells you at every physical.
We should have goals and dreams that are bigger than we are. Such goals are good for us in our spiritual lives as well as our physical health goals. How can we spend more time with God?... through scripture… through prayer… through worship… through fellowship… through service…
January 14th I will start a 4-week worship series entitled “Back to the Basics”. Basics is a noun that means the essential facts or principles of a subject. We will take a look at prayer, scripture, confession, and service as the basics of what it means to be a follower of Christ.
As I write this letter, we are preparing for Christmas Eve. We celebrate that God loves us so much that God became flesh to dwell among us. Jesus came to save us! Jesus came to show us God and to show us the way to God! Come and journey with us as we embrace the Love of God and learn to share it with the world.
Blessings!
Alan
