Posted on

Are You Too Busy To Read This Blog?

Life is busy isn’t it?  We all have so many different responsibilities and different things that are vying for our attention.  We find ourselves often running from one thing to the next.  But while life is busy, ultimately we really all have time for things that we consider to be important.

For instance, if we place a high value on physical fitness, then we are going to find the time to exercise.  It may mean that something else has to go, but we will find the time to run, or bike, or swim or whatever else we do. Each of us make choices every day about what to spend our time doing.

This blog is even an example.  For some reason you chose to take the time to read this blog.  You didn’t need to do it.  Maybe right now you are wishing you didn’t.  Anyway, it was a choice, and at least to some extent you put reading this blog as a priority over other things you could have done with this time.

In the same way, I make the choice to put a priority on writing this blog.  Unfortunately the blog has not made it to the top of the priority list the last couple of weeks.  Things have been a little extra busy around here.  But regardless of how busy I feel, basically it means that I put a higher priority on the other things I had to do over the last couple of weeks, and this blog was a casualty of those choices.

Anyway, that leads me to my point.  We all have the time for the things we choose to put a priority on.  And the question is, are we making the right choices?  Are we putting the right priorities on the right things?  This Sunday, I will be talking about putting a priority on our relationship with God.  Of course, in order to hear the sermon, you are going to have to put a priority on coming to The River, 9:30 Sunday morning at 2510 Chaska Blvd.  Hope to see you there!

Posted on

Why?

Tonight I will be doing a funeral for an 18 year old girl who died tragically last week.  Her name was Bridgette and she worked at the local Dunn Bros. coffee shop.  Since we don’t have an office, I spend most of my afternoons over at Dunn Bros. working from one of the comfortable chairs near the roaster.  And it was there that I got to know Bridgette.  She often would come and talk with me in between customers.  She had been through many struggles, but was really putting her life back together.  She was getting ready to leave the following morning for college.  Her car was already packed with all of her belongings.  She had goals, dreams, and plans that she was about to pursue.

My reaction to her death has been all over the place.  From shock, to sadness, to a refusal to accept it, with maybe even a little bit of anger thrown in for good measure.  I will miss Bridgette.  And it doesn’t seem fair.  Why her?  Why now?

Actually, it is only natural for a tragedy like this to bring up all sorts of questions.  At a time like this, many people question the meaning of life, or what happens to us when we die, or what in the world God is doing?  And that is understandable.  Right now many people are hurting, or confused, or angry, or frustrated, or depressed over what happened to Bridgette.

And it is at times like this that I am reminded how nice it is that I believe in a God who is bigger than all my questions.  I believe in a God who can handle my anger and frustration, and who understands my confusion and depression.  He is a God of Hope.  A God of Truth.  A God of Love.  He is faithful, even when I am struggling with making sense of what is going on.

For those of you who may also be struggling with questions, I encourage you to find your answer in God.  Check out some of the other blogs in this website to find out more about this God that I am talking about.  I particularly recommend the blog, called “A Glimmer of Hope.”  It talks about a man who was able to have hope in the midst of a terrible time.

I also want to invite you to share your questions and thoughts with me.  You can typically find me on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday afternoons over at Dunn Bros. (corner of 2nd street and HWY 41, downtown Chaska) sitting in one of the big comfy chairs by the window and the roaster.  Feel free to come over and join me.  I would love to talk with you more about hope.  You can also feel free to send an email or give me a call, or even consider stopping by some Sunday for church.  The River is a great place to come if you have some questions about who God is.

Posted on

The Investor

My Uncle Bob passed away about a week ago.  I wasn’t able to make it to the funeral, but I will miss him dearly.  He had a major impact on my life and I thought it would be worthwile for me to share why. 

For much of my life we lived within 45 minutes of Uncle Bob and his family.  So we were pretty close with him and Aunt Jan and their daughters: Karen, Erica, and Judy.  Through his life, Uncle Bob has been a missionary, a pastor, a journalist, editor, writer, and professor.  He has been the special assistant to the President of The Christian and Missionary Alliance, has written several books, and has even ghost written articles for Dr. Billy Graham, and President Ronald Reagan.  But I will always remember him as an investor.

Now when I say “investor,” I don’t mean that in the traditional sense of the word, but my Uncle Bob did invest in me in many ways over the years.  We had a lot in common.  He had a background in communication and design and enjoyed photography and art as well as writing.  Throughout my years growing up he was always supportive of me and nurtured my creative side.  He gave me some of his old cameras when I showed an interest in photography.  He always wanted to see my artwork and encouraged me in my pursuits as a graphic designer and then in web design.

When I was a graphic designer for the National Office of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, he worked there as a special assistant to the President and as the Director of Communications.  He had input on much of my work and helped me grow and mature both as a designer and as a person. 

I don’t know if he ever realized it or not, but I considered him one of my mentors.  But not only was he supportive of my artistic pursuits, he was also one of my biggest supporters when I felt God’s call on my life to enter the ministry.  He even committed to providing me with a subscription to Christianity Today every year that I have been a pastor. 

But one of the biggest investments he made in my life is one that he didn’t even make specfically for me personally.  This investment came through a book that he wrote 25 years ago.  That book is called, “All for Jesus.”  It is about the history of the Alliance, and was mandatory reading for my ordination when I became a pastor.  But to me that book is not just a historical book.  It helped shape my philosophy of ministry.  I have more notes in that book than any book I have ever read.  I have highlighted passages, notes in the margin, sticky tabs and paperclips marking pages, and other notes that I have written out and inserted.  I have quoted from the book repeatedly and I would put it among the top 5 most influential books in my life.  It is one more way that Uncle Bob has invested in my life.

That is why I think of Uncle Bob as an investor.  I hope that God is using me as an investor in the lives of others, because I have seen the benefit that I have received from those who have invested in me.  And I write this as a challenge to all of us, that we should remember to thank those who have invested in us and look for ways to be used by God as investors in the lives of those around us.

In case you are interested I am including Uncle Bob’s obituary below…

Rev. Robert L. Niklaus, Jr., age 77, of Deland Florida, died March 13, 2011. He was the husband of Janet M. (McIllwaine) Niklaus for the past 52 years.

Born and raised in Williamsport, PA, he was a son of the late Robert L. Niklaus, Sr. and Harriet (Sims) Niklaus. He lived in Nyack, NY for many years- before and after spending 12 years doing missionary work in Belgian, Congo- he then lived in Colorado Springs from 1989-2003 moving to Lakeville, Ma until 2009 and retiring to Florida. He was a graduate of Nyack Missionary Institute-now Nyack College, Class of 1955. He received his masters in journalism Syracuse University, 1968. While residing in Nyack, he was an adjunct professor at King’s College (Briarcliff Manor NY) and Nyack College.

In 1972 he became Assoc. Editor of the Christian Missionary Alliance’s (C&MA) monthly magazine and also worked for National Religious Broadcasting writing numerous articles for religious magazines, including being a ghost writer for Dr. Billy Graham when he featured as the cover of TV Guide Magazine and President Ronald Reagan for a convention. He had the gift of words and was a model wordsmith. From 1987-1996, he was Asst to the President and later Director of Communications. He authored several books penning the history of Alliance worldwide and traveled with a video team recording missionaries at work to show churches how their support was being manifested. Retired from the C&MA in 2000, he became Pastor of Mullein Baptist Church in Lakeville, MA serving with his wife from 2003 – 2009. Surviving In addition to his wife: 3 daughters: Karen Corinha of Marshfield, MA, Erica Butler of Overland Park, KA and Judy Poferl of Bartlett, IL; sister Mary L. Mapstone of Colorado Springs, CO; 6 nieces, 8 nephews and the “jewels of his crown”. He was “button poppin’ proud” of his 9 grandchildren! He also leaves his adopted children: David Trinn of Vietnam, Lan and Sophy Kong of Cambodia and he was the brother of the late William Niklaus.

Posted on

The Carmelo Contractual Blues

If you are not a sports fan, then the headline for this post probably made no sense to you.  Actually, even if you are sports fan it might not have made any sense.  So let me explain.  Carmelo Anthony is a professional basketball player who was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks this morning.  And that got me singing the “Carmelo Contractual Blues…”

da-na-na-na-na

Carmelo don’t like us…

da-na-na-na-na

Says he likes the Knick’s more

da-na-na-na-na

And now he is gone…

da-na-na-na-na

And I feel abandoned, betrayed, and unwanted right down to my core!

I got those “Carmelo Contractual Blues”

da-na-na-na-na

Well, I guess that I am not the best blues ballad writer either, but you are probably wondering why I am writing about this NBA deal at all?  Well, at least to some extent it’s probably because it’s cathartic for me.  You see, I am a Nuggets fan and I was extremely excited when Denver selected Carmelo with the 3rd pick of the 2003 NBA Draft.  The Nuggets had languished in relative obscurity for several years before Carmelo’s arrival, and he brought them back to relevance.  But Carmelo didn’t want to play in Denver anymore.  He and his wife wanted the bright lights of New York City.  So I am sad to see him leave.  And I guess writing about it helps me process it.

But I do have a point that I want to make as well.  Thinking about the Carmelo trade has me thinking about contracts.  A contract is basically a decision between 2 parties with each side having specific things that they are to do or not do.  Denver made a contract offer to Carmelo when they drafted him and he chose to accept that contract and for the last 7 and a half seasons he has been a Denver Nugget.  He has lived up to his end of the contract.  He did everything he said he would do and then some.  He has averaged 20 points or more per game each year.  He was a 4-time all star.  He led them to the playoffs every season since joining the team and led them to 2 division titles and one western conference final.  So nobody can say that he didn’t fulfill his end of the contract. 

The problem is that after fulfilling that contract, he is now deciding to play for someone else.  You see, today’s trade came about because Carmelo’s contract was going to run out at the end of the season.  Which means that this summer he would have become a free agent.  And that means that he could have signed a new contract with whoever he wanted to sign with.  Cleveland Cavaliers fans went through that last summer with Lebron James taking his talents to South Beach.  Carmelo at least gave the Denver Nuggets a heads up to let them know that he did not want to play for them anymore.  So they became proactive and started the process of trying to trade him before he left. 

I guess that I should be happy that the Nuggets at least got something for Carmelo.  I am sure that Cavaliers fans would have preferred to have Lebron leave in that way.  But I still would have preferred to have Carmelo stay in Denver.  Speaking as a fan it is easy to feel betrayed, abandoned, and unwanted.  After all, Carmelo decided that he would rather play for someone else instead of us.  That’s what has me singing the “Carmelo Contractual Blues.”

But that also got me thinking about contracts in general and specifically the contract or covenant that my Heavenly Father has with me.  He has chosen to make me a part of His team.  He has given me an amazing deal.  He has forgiven me of all of my sins, cleansed me from all of my unrighteousness, and made a place for me to be with Him for all eternity in Heaven.  And the amazing thing is that it is not because of anything that I bring to the table.  It is not because I am perfect or awesome.  Actually, it is in spite of who I am and what I have done.  He makes this convenant with me based on the sacrifice of His Son and has me accept the deal through faith. 

But the thing that has me so thankful today is that I know He will never change His mind.  He will never choose to pass me over for someone else.  He will never decide that there is a better option out there for Him.  This covenant is everlasting and fully guaranteed.  I am His and He is mine!  Forever.  So the feelings of abandonment and betrayal that I have because Carmelo has chosen to go somewhere else, I will never have with my Lord who has chosen me forever.  Praise the Lord.  And “Go Nuggets!”

Posted on

Learning from a Headache

I woke up with a headache this morning.   Don’t you hate it when that happens.  I decided not to take anything and just headed out the door to start my morning.  After working on my sermon and catching up on emails my headache became worse, to the point where I actually was developing an upset stomach to go along with it.  I took some Tylenol and drank a little caffeine with my lunch and within about a half hour I was feeling much better.

Now I know that Tylenol is supposed to work that way, but it has been my experience that it does not always do the job.  Especially, when I have let a headache get as bad as that one.  So I was pleasantly surprised when my headache went away.  And I took a moment and thanked God for helping me to feel better.

As I was praying, I began to think about answered prayer and after thinking about it, I couldn’t remember if I had even asked God to take away my headache.  Not because I didn’t want Him involved, but simply because I just hadn’t thought to ask Him.  And that got me thinking about the fact that God doesn’t just answer the prayers I pray.  He also answers the prayers that I don’t pray. 

God doesn’t wait for me to ask for everything.  He is always watching over me, caring for me, blessing me, giving me good things, protecting me, and providing for me.  Remember in the movie Aladdin, when Aladdin has been thrown into the water and sinks to the bottom?  He inadvertently rubs the lamp and the genie pops out.  The genie wants to save Aladdin, but he can’t do it without Aladdin’s request.  I am very thankful that God is not like that.  He’s not a genie in a lamp.  He doesn’t need my request to come before He can act.  And I am thankful that He answers not only the prayers that I make, but also the one’s that I don’t. 

I am glad my headache is gone, but it also did serve as a good reminder to me about how thankful I am for who God is.  He provides for me in so many ways.  Sometimes I realize His provision after it has happened and I stop and give thanks.  But I am sure that there are many other times where God is answering prayers that I never prayed and I don’t even realize that He has taken care of me.  This headache reminded me to say thank you to God for all the prayers that He has answered that I never even prayed.  Thank you God!

Posted on

Reflecting on 2010

So are you ready for the new year?  Today is December 29, 2010.  Which means that 2011 is almost here.  Time to usher out the old year and bring in the new.  Thinking back over this past year it is hard to forget the 3 biggest news stories of the year.  The year started out on a sad note as January brought us the terrible Haiti earthquake that saw over 200,000 deaths and millions without shelter, food, and water.  In July the explosion of an oil rig in the Gulf and the subsequent oil spill left many powerful images for us to ponder.  And then in October we all became transfixed by the intense story of the Chilean miners.  It has been a year of tragedy and triumph, of pain and pleasure, and burdens as well as blessings. 

The end of the year is a good time for us to reflect on the year that was.  And not just from a detached, big-picture view, but personally it is a good time for us to take a look at our lives and what the past year has meant for us.  So what has your life been like this past year?  What have been the ups and downs?  What have been your blessings and burdens, your pains and pleasures?  How has this year been for you?

This is a good time to reflect.  But ultimately I think the best test of whether or not it has been a good year is simply the answer to this question, “Have I grown?”  Good things and bad things are going to come our way, but ultimately it is what we do with those things that determine the overall effect on our lives.  My hope for all of us for 2011 is not that we have the perfect year, but rather that no matter what comes, we grow.  May you grow this year.

World Cup

Chilean miners, October

Simon Cowell left American idol

Haiti earthquake, 230,000 died in January

oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico in July

Posted on

Twas’ the Night…

Here is my take on an old Christmas classic…

Twas’ the night before Christmas, and down at the store,

All the people were hurrying to get through the door.

And there I was with them joining the fray,

Just a few short hours before Christmas day.

“This is crazy” I said with my eyes turned toward Heaven.

My list is too long and it’s almost eleven.

It’s good that the store is open this late,

For those people like me who just wait, wait, wait, wait!

You see, I was shopping late into the night,

And I’m sure that I really was an interesting sight.

My arms full of packages, my feet moving fast,

Because I had saved Christmas shopping for last.

So there I was, impatiently scanning the shelves.

Wishing there really were such things as elves.

I had quite a list that I still needed to find,

And it was nearly driving me out of my mind.

A new dolly for Jenny and a puzzle for Bill,

A book for Freddy, and a necklace for Jill.

Those are the things that I had to buy,

Oh, why did I wait so long, why, why, why, why?

The shelves were picked over, and yet still full of stuff,

But the other shoppers were being quite rough.

I had been bumped, bruised, jostled and jarred,

And I still needed to find a new shirt for Bernard

Kelly wanted a sweater for winter of course,

Bobby was hoping for a plastic play horse.

Sally, my secretary wanted a raise,

But instead I was hoping to buy her a vase.

The company Christmas party had gone really late,

And I was feeling kind of sick from the food that I ate.

My back was still sore from putting up our big tree,

And the lights on my house numbered 4 thousand and three.

And now here I was in this ridiculous store,

Full of Santas and snowflakes and reindeers galore.

Christmas music was playing from the ceiling above,

Saying something about peace, joy, and love.

But I had no time, to listen to carols,

I was on my way to find some apparel.

My wife wanted a skirt, something in red.

And my son really wanted a fast racing sled.

The list just kept going, I was beginning to tire,

But it was my fault that things were getting down to the wire.

Why are the holidays always like this?

What happened to having a merry Christmas?

Could there be more to this time of year?

Something with joy or real Christmas cheer?

“What if I’m missing something?” I thought to myself?

As I reached for a toy from off of the shelf.

My hand stopped in mid air as I continued to reason,

And I remembered something else regarding this season.

A story from church back when I was a child

Something about a virgin, who was tender and mild?

Then I saw something that made my heart skip a beat,

It was in my same aisle, just down a few feet.

A nativity scene was sitting next to a toy railroad track,

And then the whole story came flooding on back.

I remembered the virgin, whose name was Mary,

And the trip to Bethlehem that must have been scary.

No room in the inn so they stayed in a stable,

Like out of a nursery rhyme or a long ago fable.

When the baby was born, he did not have a bed,

So they placed him in a manger, where animals were fed.

As I stared at that nativity scene I remembered some more,

Some shepherds in fields with a sheepherding chore.

And an angel appeared in the middle of the night,

It must have been a frightening sight.

But the message was good and he spoke of joy,

And not the kind that comes from getting a toy.

He spoke of true joy and peace and of love,

Coming down to us from the heavens above.

A Savior was born in Bethlehem,

That is what the angel told unto them.

And I remembered also that some wise men arrived,

Could this story be true, or was it contrived?

And at that moment in the middle of the store,

I bent down and knelt right there on the floor.

I realized that the nativity scene at the end of my aisle,

Was not a coincidence, not by a mile.

God put it there so that I would recall,

That Christmas is not something you find in a mall.

He reminded me what Christmas is really about,

And now I just wanted to stand up and shout,

At the top of my lungs, with all of my might,

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”

Posted on

Christmas Carols – Minnesota Style!

Just for fun I thought I would put together a top 10 list of Minnesota versions of popular Christmas Carols.  You will probably recognize most of these songs, and if you live in Minnesota you will hopefully enjoy the little Minnesota twist.  Christmas is a time of joy, so I hope you enjoy this…

10) It’s Beginning to Lutefisk Like Christmas

9) Zygi Bells

8) We Wish You a Mauer Christmas

7) Brett Favre Got Run Over By a Reindeer

6) Deck the Halls with Bowls of Hotdish

5) O Come All Ye Lutherans

4) Rudolph the Red Nosed Viking

3) O Holey Metrodome

2) It’s the Most Uff Da Time of the Year

1) You Betcha! The Herald Angels Sing

Posted on

A Funny Thing Happened While Shoveling My Driveway

So we just had a beautiful Minnesota blizzard this past weekend.  For those of you who did not experience it firshand, the snow started on Friday night and kept falling all day Saturday.  Here in Chaska we got somewhere around 16 inches according to the accounts I have heard.  But what made it so bad was the wind.  I went out Saturday afternoon to begin shoveling out my driveway and when I opened my overhead garage door, I found a wall of snow in it’s place.  The drift was almost 3′ tall.  It was the width of my 3-car garage.  And it was about 5′ long before slowly tapering off to about a foot and a half.  I just stood there staring at this winter wonderland wondering where in the world to start. 

Finally I got into action and began clearing a path by scooping the snow and throwing it as far as I could.  Then gradually after I cleared a path I started picking up a shovel full and carrying it over to the side of the driveway and dumping it there.  After working for about an hour I had cleared away about an 8’X8′ section of driveway and the wind was already filling that part back in behind me. 

Thankfully about that time my next door neighbor came by and offered me the use of his snowblower.  I gratefully accepted and after another hour of manhandling that blower through my huge drifts I finally had a semi-cleared driveway.  I still needed to go back the next day and clear out some more areas by hand, but the bulk of the work was done. 

It was a lot of work, and by the time I got inside I literally had icicles formed on my eyebrows.  In times like those you have to ask yourself, “now why again did I move to Minnesota?”  But you know, a funny thing happened to me while shoveling my driveway.  I found myself becoming more and more thankful.  It began with just a short thought, but snowballed into more of a movement within me to give thanks to God for so many blessings that I was reminded of from this storm. 

For instance, being out there for 2-3 hours in that cold wind and snow I was more thankful than ever for the shelter that God has provided for me and my family.  Sometimes we wish our house was different.  We complain about this or that and we talk about what we would like to do differently with our home, but it is in times like that snowstorm that I am simply reminded of how good it is to just have a home where we are safe and warm and dry.

I also found myself being thankful for the work that God allowed me to do just over the last couple of months to clear out our garage so that there was plenty of room to maneuver and get the cars inside and have stuff not be in the way.  I found myself thanking God for the big driveway, even though a bigger driveway means more to shovel.  I thanked Him for the neighbor who let me borrow his snowblower.  I thanked Him for even just letting me be done and that I was warm again.  I just kept finding myself thanking God for one thing after another.

So while I didn’t enjoy the shoveling, I think our little snowstorm helped me to be thankful.  It is sad, but sometimes it take a moment like that to remind us of all the wonderful blessings we often take for granted.  I don’t want to wish on you a snowstorm to help you be thankful, but I encourage you to be thankful. 

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Thessalonica told them to, “give thanks in all circumstances.” (I Thessalonians 5:18a)  I think tough times sometimes cause us to be frustrated, impatient, angry, bitter, or discouraged and we find it tough to be thankful.  But God wants us to give thanks, no matter what the circumstances of life are.  And sometimes it takes those tough times just to remind us to give thanks.

Posted on

I Make the Pies in Our Family!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  I like getting together with family and friends, being thankful, watching football and eating too much.  Those are 4 of my favorite things to do all wrapped up into one holiday.  It is also nice that Thanksgiving is a 2-day holiday instead of being relegated to the 1-day holiday status like Labor Day and other national holidays.   Actually, here in Minnesota they have even thrown in Wednesday as well, so the kids got 3 days off from school.  I, didn’t get Wednesday off, but I did go home early.  Basically because I needed to make some pies. 

That’s right, I make the pies in our family.  Are  you surprised?  I was!  One day, when I was working as an associate pastor in my first church back in Indiana, I came home and declared to my wife that I was going to make a pie that evening.  You see, as a pastor, there are many times when it feels like you are not finishing anything, but only adding more things to your to do list.  And that can be frustrating.  I wanted to take on a project that I could begin and end that evening.  Something that would allow me to be creative and expressive and that would allow me to enjoy the fruits of my labor after I was finished.  Is that too much to ask?

And I did it.  It took me about 5 hours and at least 2 trips to the grocery store.  But I made 2 apple pies, completely from scratch.  I peeled the apples, made the crusts (top and bottom), got everything prepared and in the oven, and finally got to bed close to midnight after the pies had a chance to cool. 

And believe it or not, I enjoyed it.  And that got me interested in baking.  Since those first 2 pies, baking has become a bit of a hobby for me.  I don’t do pies often because they take a lot of time, but I enjoy experimenting with different kinds of cookies.  Just ask my children who makes the best chocolate chip cookies!  Along the way I have had plenty of flops.  One of the nice things about having 4 kids is that even when a cookie experiment doesn’t turn out so well, as long as it’s got sugar in it, my kids will eat every last one of them.  So while I sometimes have cookies that don’t turn out the way I would like them to, they never get wasted at the Mapstone house.

So this year for Thanksgiving I made a French Apple Pie (the kind with the crumb topping) and a Caramel Apple Pecan Pie.  Both turned out pretty well.  Most people are surprised when they find out that I bake a “mean” apple pie.  I guess I just don’t look like a baker?  But I found out that you never know what you might be good at until you try it.  And who knows, you just might find that you like doing something that you didn’t expect.  The same is true in the church.  There are all kinds of jobs that need to be done.  Some of them require specific gifts in order to be done well, but others just need someone who is willing to give it a try.  As a church body, we need to be willing to get out there and try some of these things.

I didn’t become a pastor until I was almost 30 years old.  Before that I was a graphic designer.  But before going into full-time ministry I have served in the church in a whole bunch of different ways.  I had handled the sound board, led games at AWANA, worked with the youth group, cleaned the church, served in the nursery, taught Sunday School, headed up a small-group, drawn cartoons for the church newsletter, coached the basketball team, redesigned the church bulletin, served on different committees, and been a deacon.  Some of those things I was good at, some not so much, but all of those provided opportunities for me to serve and to find out what I was good at.  Each one of those opportunities helped prepare me for full-time ministry.  Yes, even serving in the nursery helped prepare me to be the pastor I am today.

I guess what I am saying is that too often when someone asks us to consider doing something at the church, our default answer is “no.”  I decided to say “yes,” to a lot of things that I might not have tried, and it eventually led to me becoming a pastor.  Who knows what God has in store for you?  I never thought that I would be the one who makes the pies in our family.  But I gave it a try and I found out that it was something that I enjoy doing and I am actually pretty good at it.  Who know, you might find the same thing if you are willing to try something new?