Childlike Trust

         A few weeks ago I was talking to my 6 year old daughter about taking the school bus.  I was telling her to make sure somebody was there to pick her up so she wouldn't be alone. She said to me "But daddy we are never alone God is with us"
     I was stunned! This little child had so much trust in God that she was not even scared to be alone.
     As I thought about what she said I realized this is what Jesus meant when he said "Assuredly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it." (Mark 10:15)
     Kids are so trusting by nature. Kids depend on their parents for everything food, shelter,safety and as parents we watch over our children to make sure they are safe and taken care of. Kids have a way of trusting that their parents will do what is best for them.

     We should make our trust in the Lord this simple. A child doesn't understand why they need to hold hands when they cross the street or why we wouldn't want to leave them alone at the bus stop and sometimes we don't understand why God is or isn't doing something in our lives but we need to trust and know that God is looking out for our best interest's and know that we are never alone God is with us.

                                                                       Chris Sherman

The Creeper

I spent the latter half of last week in Philadelphia, attending a national travel training seminar. One of the classes I registered for was entitled "Getting Connected: A Primer on Social Media Networking", where we learned more about promoting our businesses through FaceBook, Twitter, MySpace, blogs, etc.

The class reminded me of Pastor Ken's sermon of a couple of weeks ago, which introduced our current topic, "Following". That message, in referring to Social Media, taught me a new term - creeper - which was roughly defined as one who observes others' statuses while rarely posting anything himself.

Hmm, I thought . . . I guess I'm guilty of being a "creeper" myself. I enjoy keeping up with the highs and lows of my friends' and family's lives, but don't necessarily find the need to comment or post as often as they do.

While I was debating whether or not to feel guilty about something ELSE in my life, another thought crossed my mind - wait a minute! Could one then consider GOD a creeper? After all, doesn't He constantly keep track of all of OUR statuses, and only every once in awhile does He send us a "post"?

Actually, to be honest, even though I realize that my life is being monitored daily by my Heavenly Father, I would rather think of Him smiling as He takes note, without Him finding the need to "post" me!

Yup, the more I think about it, the more comfort I feel from the fact that I'm being watched not by a "creeper", but by a "keeper"!

"For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His." 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NASB)

                                                      
by
Maria McKiernan

The Keel Life Defined

by Pastor Ken Platt

There is something beautiful and graceful about watching a sailboat.  The idea that a giant sail catches the wind and pushes forward is pretty awesome.  As a 13-year-old kid watching my grandfather go back and forth across Blue Mountain Lake in the heart of the Adirondacks I too wanted to harness the power of the wind. 

My grandfather was always excited to teach others about the things he loves.  Just this past summer I got a thorough lesson on our family lineage.  I found out that my ancestors have been involved in some pretty historic stuff like colonizing America.  But when I asked him to teach me to sail he was pleased to help me learn.

One thing about me is that I am tragically impatient.  I cannot wait for anything.  Even now I sit here thinking about our second child-only two months away from being with us-and I want her here now.  This has also been a hindrance to me while learning new things.  Sailing was no exception.

I donned my life-vest and climbed aboard the small Sunfish.  My grandpa began to give me instructions.  I was hearing a lot of different things, and to this day I cannot tell you the finer points of the instruction.  I do know I had to hold the rope for the sail and drop the keel down the little slot in the middle.  When he was done I started my maiden voyage.  The boat began to inch forward then gather a little speed.  Within seconds though I was in the water along with the boat.  My big mistake-I did not drop the keel.  I repeated this same mistake numerous times and finally got tired of climbing out of the water and inevitably quit.

This brings us to the purpose of this blog.  When we look at bigger boats the keel is build in.  It does not have to be dropped, it is very pronounced in the water.  One definition I found says this regarding the keel it has two functions: it prevents the boat from being blown sideways by the wind, and it holds the ballast that keeps the boat right-side up. 

Many of us wander through our lives totally satisfied with where we are in our faith walk.  Our challenges are minimal and we are very complacent about who we are.  When tragedy or difficulty hits our lives it is no wonder that many people fall apart at the seams.  They turn to self-medication via relationships, substances, food, media outlets-whatever.  This is because they are okay with just living on the deck of the ship.  The storm comes and sweeps them into the water and they grab anything they can get their hands on.

The keel of a ship runs through the center of the ship and all the main connecting parts of the ship’s frame are attached to the keel.  The ship gains balance and stability from the keel.  Because life is not all smooth sailing, you will want a relationship with God that stabilizes you through the storms of life.  God will take you deeper if you seek him. 

This is the Keel life.

Grandma and Grandpa Hutchins

 at Blue Mountain Lake