A
Message from Pastor Larry – June 2007
Dear Saints:
Mother’s Day has just passed, and Father’s Day will soon be here. School is out for the summer and many parents will be spending more time with their children over the next two-to-three months. Our oldest daughter has just returned from a special trip to China with her mother and grandparents where, among other things, she may have located the place where—by God’s design—she was left and found so she, and us, would eventually find each other. So, right now as I write this article, I have children on my mind, and the wonderful blessing they are—and the great responsibility we have, also, to raise our children to love and follow Jesus, to discern right from wrong, and to love all people as God loves us.
During the summer our congregation has three specific events that focus on our youth. First, we have Vacation Bible School, which this year will run every evening from June 17-22. As in the past we'll have a musical group from Youth Encounter, New Vision, to enhance our program and, I hear, pony rides in the parking lot!
Later in the summer we hold a Yard Sale to raise funds for our Youth program. This year it will be on Saturday, July the 14th. If you would like to contribute or volunteer to help, please notify Michelle in the Church Office.
Then, in the third week of July (this year the 22nd to the 29th), our Confirmation class and other young people are invited to attend Camp Lutherock in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. We’re taking a record number of 15 youth and 4 adults this year!
Yes, children are a gift from God. We consider our children here at St. Matthew to be a gift and a blessing, too! But they will be children for only so long, and our opportunity to impact their lives for good will be gone before we know it. May we never take the time we have with them for granted! I recently came across the following poem. It seemed appropriate to this article, so I thought I’d share it with you in closing.
Hand Prints on the Wall
One day as I was picking the toys up off the floor,
I noticed a small hand print on the wall beside the door.I knew that it was something that I’d seen most every day,
but this time when I saw it there, I wanted it to stay.Then tears welled up inside my eyes, I knew it wouldn't last,
for every mother knows her children grow up way too fast.Just then I put my chores aside and held my children tight.
I sang to them sweet lullabies and rocked into the night.Sometimes we take for granted, all those things that seem so small.
Like one of God’s great treasures... A small hand print on the wall.
— Author unknown
May God bless you and your family this summer!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Larry
Do you have comments about this message? Please click here to e-mail me.
