Sports are such a big part of our culture in this country at all levels from youth leagues to professional. I have to admit I am a huge sports fan and own gear from my favorite college and professional sports teams that I proudly wear. Recently I went to an NHL game at the Sprint Center to watch my Minnesota Wild hockey team beat the St. Louis Blues. I love live sports and it was so much fun to…
Posted by hlewis |
I made apple crisp today, and it hardly made a dent in the bag of apples my kids picked at a local orchard this weekend. The cider donuts and slushies are long gone, but what to do with all of the apples? As a kid I remember climbing what seemed to be very tall trees, and sitting up there chomping away on sweet, juicy apples — I’m sure we brought mountains of them home, and mom probably canned…
Last Friday, September 22, the season of fall officially began at approximately 3:10 PM. Just as fall began last week, so did Sunday School for children, teens, and adults. Our Wednesday night program, Oasis, also began last week. Choir has started back up, and our Pantry Pack program seems to be busier than ever. In addition, our facility planning has picked up and, with the direction of…
Sunday School started up this week and I was a part of the adult education discussion. We started the year off talking about Community: An Unexpected Family. And if you’ve read any of my letters before, community tends to be a topic I refer to a lot. And the discussion we had on Sunday was a great one about how we as individuals are as a part of community.
We referred to the verse…
For over ten years both Sheila Rehder and Ellen Sandelin, with the support of many leaders, have provided an amazing children’s ministry program for our little ones. As they moved on from their roles in children's ministry to pursue new opportunities at Salem, many leaders have stepped up to help our program grow and evolve.
Over the past six months an amazing group of children’s ministry…
Posted by hlewis |
Those who know me (even just a little) can probably guess that I am not a fan of conflict. I like to look on the bright side of things, see the good in people and situations, and help others do the same. I’m actually surprised to find myself writing about it, as conflict is something I intentionally avoid whenever possible.
And yet conflict is a part of life. We have the ability to escalate…
This past Sunday, we read Matthew 16:13-20. Jesus had been traveling around teaching about the Kingdom of God and performing miraculous deeds, like feeding the 5,000 and healing people. The religious leadership were unsure of him and did not believe he was from God. In the midst of all this, he took a moment to ask his disciples who they thought he was. When he asked this question, Peter…
A friend of mine wrote this, and with the eclipse this week, I find it quite relevant. “We’re kind of like the moon. When we put ourselves before God, all we do is get in the way of His light. We can never totally snuff it out, though. God is much too brilliant. Instead, it is a spectacular reminder of how dark we are without Him. Even when we’re in the worst place, His light still pierces…
Matthew 15: 10-28 (MSG)
10-11 He then called the crowd together and said, “Listen, and take this to heart. It’s not what you swallow that pollutes your life, but what you vomit up.” 12 Later his disciples came and told him, “Did you know how upset the Pharisees were when they heard what you said?” 13-14 Jesus shrugged it off. “Every tree that wasn’t planted…
Posted by hlewis |
I was always a really confident kid. I look back at pictures of my childhood and ask my mom why she dressed me that way and pulled my hair into a fountain on top of my head, but at the time it didn’t bother me in the slightest. I fell in love with music early on, and decided when I was in 3rd grade that I would study music in college and be a music teacher. I followed my dream,…