Dear Rose Park,

Last week Saturday, Simon and I went to a prayer walk at Jefferson Elementary. My friend Tim Laird hosted the prayer walk and invited me to join. After going for a run with a friend, I quick showered woke up Simon, and loaded Rudy into the car in order to drive over to Jefferson on the south side of town. The whole prayer walk only took about fifteen minutes; we walked around the school and prayed for the students, teachers, administrators, and family and community members. It was a beautiful morning and something I’ll never forget.

Dear Rose Park,

It’s hard to believe another year has gone by. Another Christmas celebrated, another service of remembering those who have passed away and celebrating those who joined our church family, another year of decorations and family gatherings. Given this cyclical nature, it can be so tempting to jump on the hamster wheel, simply throw our lives into cruise control and go through the motions.

Dear Rose Park,

A few weeks ago I went to visit Jack and Carlene Hartman at Holland Hospital. Carlene was having some routine tests, but I thought I’d sit with Jack in the lobby to keep in company while he waited over three hours for the tests to occur. I’ve always enjoyed chatting with Jack; the Tuesday crew of guys call him an encyclopedia of knowledge, and they aren’t wrong. Even better, Jack deeply loves the Lord and deeply believes in the power of prayer.

Dear Rose Park,

There’s something satisfying about an orderly work place or a neatly organized drawer; I’m not sure how to put it into words but there’s something simply satisfying when everything is in its’ place, when it’s perfectly symmetrical, or when a set is complete. Maybe this is just me, but I doubt it.

Dear Rose Park,

When Sam and I first got married, I remember a wise mentor telling me, “I never knew how selfish I was until I got married.” A few years later, when Sam was first pregnant with Simon, that same wise mentor told me, “I never knew how selfish I still was until I had kids.” I’m still learning this lesson to be true, but this past Monday I replaced the word ‘selfish’ with ‘impatient’ and I learned a new lesson.

Dear Rose Park,

The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. - Exodus 34: 6&7

The 34th chapter in the book of Exodus describes God in various ways, but perhaps one of the most important descriptions is faithfulness. God is abounding in faithfulness to His people. He is steadfast, loyal, and true. This means we can depend on God to keep His promises; promises to go before us, to be with us, to never leave us, nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8). God also calls His people to be faithful in return.

Dear Rose Park,

Last Wednesday I took Simon to get a haircut before the Thanksgiving Holiday. Simon gets his haircut at a barber shop called KO Cutz on College Avenue near downtown Holland. KO Cutz is owned and managed by local Holland boxing hero Johnny Garcia. As you can imagine, the walls of KO Cutz are adorned with all of the newspaper clippings, awards, and belts that Johnny amassed during his boxing career. But when Simon sat down in the chair to get his cut, I never would have imagined that I’d be reminded of the beauty of Advent.

Dear Rose Park,

American poet Emily Dickinson once offered these words as it relates to the convicting power of poetry: “If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry.” I don’t imagine many of us are embracing the rhythms and truths of poetry on a daily basis, however poetry is a common form of language throughout much of scripture. Elements of poetry are present in Genesis, the major and minor prophets, the Psalms and Proverbs, and even the New Testament. One poem in particular sticks out in my mind.

Dear Rose Park,

Flour. Sugar. Warm Water. Yeast. These are the four basic ingredients in order to make bread. The smallest amount of these ingredients is yeast (typically a teaspoon or two) and yet yeast has a tremendous impact on the outcome. Yeast is what makes the bread rise; without yeast you won’t get bread, but instead you’ll have crackers. In this way, yeast is subtle and subversive but it has a tremendous impact on the surrounding culture.

Dear Rose Park,

For the next two Sunday’s we’re going to be talking about generosity. I imagine some of you just shifted in your seats or even raised your eyebrows at the thought of talking about money in the church. First, when we talk about generosity we are not merely talking about our finances. Second, it seems to me that if we avoid the subject of giving our time, energy and resources then we allow for a variety of other sources to dictate our view and posture. In other words, we must talk about generosity if we truly desire to love Christ with heart, soul, mind, and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves.