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Have you ever planned an event with a certain group in mind and then soon realized that the attendance would be different than you thought and much, much larger? That happened for me this summer. Last year, Deacon Wes and I hosted a small Pride event for our youth and young adults. It was a hit! Some of our youth had some ideas about what more could be offered the next year, so when it came time to plan for this year, we reached out to that group to see if they•d like to plan it.

When I was a child, I thought there was nothing cooler than staying up late. Sleepovers with no bedtime were always so exciting! My friends and I would try to make it through as much of the night as possible without sleeping. This wasn't too hard for me because I was certain if I fell asleep I'd miss something! Even when I wasn't at sleepovers I did what I could to stay up late. There was one year where I insisted that I needed music to be played at night to help me to sleep - or maybe it was to help me stay awake!

This week as I was taking a peek at the children's Bible that we give our families for baptisms, I noticed that our text for this week didn't make the cut. Was I surprised? No. The text for this week is one of those difficult texts that can't quite be summed up in a few short sentences or made alright with a lovely illustration.

Who are you to your family and friends? I am asking for the simplest characterization that the people who you know the best use to describe you. Are you a truth teller, a trusted person that most people can count on to get the job done, or the one who lights up whatever room you step into? Maybe you are seen as the smart one, the funny one, the quiet one, the loud one, the stylish one, or the complicated one.

There is a hymn that makes an impassioned plea to Jesus. The first verse of the hymn goes: "Pass me not O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry; while on others thou art calling, do not pass me by." The refrain goes on to say, "Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry; while on others thou art calling, do not pass me by."

I remember going to a lakeside retreat and getting in a boat to enjoy some fun in the water. I eventually decided to have fun by being while riding on a car tire inner tube that was tied to a rope and pulled behind the boat that I was in.

Last summer, one of my favorite fellowship ministries offered by our church was Wednesday outdoor movie nights. Deacon Wes built a giant screen with a painter's tarp and some 2 x 4s and set it up above the stairs in the back of the church so you could see it from far away. It was so much fun to gather together safely and enjoy movies!

Have you ever heard of the term "fictive kin"? "This idea is referred to as chosen kin, fictive kin or voluntary kin. Sociologists define the concept as a form of extended family members who are not related by either blood or marriage." (Wikipedia, 5.22.21) What do you think about those who you see as fictive kin in your life if any? I feel that we need to be more concerned about fictive kin and its meaning for us now more than ever before.

I have questions for you. How close are you to God? If you are not close to God, are you open to God's teachings? If you have a close relationship with God, what type of relationship is it? How does it manifest itself in your daily life? How do you see yourself in relationship to God, what type of believer are you?

I came across a quote that I thought was both true and sad at the same time and it stuck in my head. It goes like this, "It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright." from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1791. I have visualized an empty sack that was somehow able to move on its own power, trying to stand upright. It is a funny thing to imagine, and the more I thought about it the funnier my imaginings of it became.

What should we be considering that we need to focus on as we end the liturgical season of Easter this Sunday? Each year we have several Sundays to think, pray, and act upon God's word and then put it into practice. What have you taken away from these past Sundays where we celebrated and worshipped and put into practice?

Every now and then, while a seminarian, the admissions office would ask me to have lunch with a prospective student. I loved doing this! It was always neat meeting people and hearing what it was that was bringing them to seminary. Sometimes these conversations led to new connections and new classmates, and even the times it didn't, I often learned something.