Be Still and Know.

 May 17, 2022

 

Hello, beloved church family, and friends near and far!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Fallon, and being in ministry with all of you? There’s nothing like spring to remind a person of all of the beauty of God’s creation in this place…green things growing everywhere, people planning their gardens, so many kinds of birds, newborns among the wild horses and cattle, sunsets that will bring you to tears. I have lived in northern Nevada all my life, and there is nothing like this special desert beauty.

In my time in prayer early this morning, I decided to open the Bible randomly to a passage and pray with it. Sometimes when I do that I land in some very interesting part of Kings or Chronicles about battles and whatnot, and I have to read awhile before I find something that draws my spirit’s attention. But this time, I wound up at Isaiah 40…kind of in the middle, so I decided to read the whole thing. It begins, “Comfort, O comfort my people”…and later “A voice cries out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight in the desert a highway for our God’”…and so many other familiar parts. But the part that caught me, and has been whispering to me all day, is this one:

 

Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
    his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint
    and strengthens the powerless.
Even youths will faint and be weary,
    and the young will fall exhausted,
but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

 

I’ve been spending some time in the gym lately, trying to rebuild my own strength and endurance because I have been finding myself “falling exhausted” entirely too often. And though I am finding a whole lot more aches and pains in my various parts than I once did, here is something I think God is speaking to me lately:

Our bodies are a miracle. Getting older hurts, and is frustrating, and is beautiful, all at the same time. Youth is not better than age. Age is not better than youth. God’s creating of us did not stop when we were born, but continues every moment, as God adds texture and meaning to his artwork. The Psalm calls us to “wait upon the Lord”, but beloved we NEVER need to wait for God to show up. God is always present, showing up for us in every moment. So really, rather than longing for the future or the past and bemoaning the present, we find renewed hope, energy, and joy when we open our eyes and see that God is already here. Even when we are bone tired and fainting. Even when we can’t do the things we once did. Even when our hearts and bodies are broken, or healing, or healed over and scarred. God is already here. And miracles are everywhere.

Endless love and boundless blessings,

Pastor Dawn

Worship Any and Everywhere!

FREAKING OUT, Part 5: Be Still and Know 

Sometimes we are caught in the midst of a storm of epic proportions, and we are terrified. And rightly so. But oh friends. How often it is that we cause our own storms and catastrophes.

We get in our own way, cause our own stresses, make our own mistakes, burn bridges, reject help. This season we have been talking about the ways in which we make mountains out of molehills, worry unnecessarily, and need God’s help to bring us back to center. But sometimes the storms are real, and we need God’s help even more…especially when they are of our own making. This week, we will meet Jesus on the beach, after he has been resurrected, meeting Peter in the midst of his own personal storm. As you prepare your heart for worship, you might like to read and pray with John 21:15-18, and Psalm 46.

 

If you’re worshiping with us on Facebook or on the radio, we are so glad! If we can be in prayer for you in any way, please call the church at 775-423-4714, or call Pastor Dawn directly at 775-671-5553.