Words from Colorado

"Offer hospitality to one another without        grumbling"  (1 Peter 4:9 (NIV).           They arrived this past Saturday afternoon. Seven men from Arizona, drywall experts, who we had contracted to come and tape and mud our new sanctuary.    Our Church has provided a camper and a fifth wheel on site and enough food to make them want to become Baptists!   They didn’t get started until Sunday afternoon. As of this writing they have done an incredible job, and most likely will have it finished by this Saturday!  What a difference a few days make!   Most of them have a difficult time with English, and I have an incredibly difficult time with Spanish. Yet a language they, we…. all understand is kindness and hospitality.  Our Church members had brought so much food that the Arizona Seven…had to say No mas…. (No More)! On Monday night our mens group cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for our guests. After we prayed, I told them this story that one man translated:

                                           If it wasn’t 115 degrees it was close! I wasn’t in Texas or Death valley. I wasn’t alone either, if misery loves company…I was with good company and we were all miserable! It happened in the summer of either 74 or 75. I probably use to remember the year, but that memory has melted from my cranium! I know where I was, I was in South Carolina. I remember who I was with…My dad, my brother Mike and our sister Michelle. My mom escaped this adventure she was at work!  Blessed woman! I know what I wish I wasn’t doing at the time…picking peaches! South Carolina has incredible produce, and the peaches are delicious. We went to an orchard, to pick if I remember right (And remember my melted memory condition) "just" a few bushels of peaches. I know what you’re thinking how difficult can that be? That depends! Are you with someone who wants to get in, get it done and go home? Or are you being supervised (Think watched like a hawk) by

  But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. (Luke 18:16).         He likes morning hellos and a squeeze now and then. He likes to play piano, with me (The blues) and enjoys snacks; we have that in common for sure!  He is partial to pajamas and string cheese. He is also apt to eat a shark or two (gummy) if offered. In fact if I don’t offer, He takes me by the hand and forcibly leads me to a small refrigerator in my office, and asks me along the way, “What you got”…what you got”? He is all of two years old, and he makes HillTop Baptist Church a place of laughter and fun! He is also my friend, and when I said something to him this week, that he felt reached the level of humor (wherever that bar is set for, a toddler) he told me in a clear voice, “You’re funny Pastor”! Just yesterday when I came to work, he was waiting…and rushed to me and squeezed my leg, a fine how do you do, from a boy nam

                Certain events are forever etched in our minds.We most likely can recall the first special someone who took interest in us, that first kiss…stays with you! We can remember first cars, first real dates, first apartments, or houses...Etc. First things simply refuse to step away from our memories. And first memories are often a wonderful gift. However, there are also lingering memories that are unpleasant. We wish our memories were not so clear, some times.         Life requires good and bad experiences!         One of my favorite Preachers the late Ron Dunn once said:       “Good and bad travel on parallel tracks (In our lives) and usually arrive at the same time”   Ten years ago on a September morning, all of us old enough to remember do. We know where we were, when maniacal and misguided terrorists hijacked fully fueled airplanes and steered them into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon…and if not for the courage of those on board, another plane…would have slammed into th