and planned our night. Everything, from what we would wear to who would drive, and whether we would get dinner before the show. Every time the plan got more detailed, I could not help but get giddier and giddier! ​

Finally, after weeks of waiting, the day of the show arrived. Once we walked through the venue gates, I was met with disappointment after disappointment. First, we had to stand in an extremely long line to get any concert merchandise. By the time I got to the front, all they had was one shirt; that seemed OK, but after getting it home, I decided it runs way too small, and I will probably never wear it. Not to mention, the tickets said the show started around 7:00 pm, but the artist I had been so excited to see didn't take the stage until 9:30 pm. This artist, I will keep him nameless, got on stage and, in my mind, made a complete fool of himself. He is known for numerous hits, and I felt like his playlist was mediocre at best. He did not sound fantastic live. Finally, the most appalling act was that he proceeded to get belligerently drunk on stage. The man couldn't hit a high note because he kept taking shots of alcohol while he sang for 75 minutes. I have never seen an artist behave like this.

I left the show completely disappointed. I was sad I had let my emotions get involved. I was bummed that something I thought would be so exciting was just a letdown.

Unfortunately, life has a way of disappointing us. People make promises they cannot keep, circumstances shift without warning, and even our own hearts can fail us. But there is one place where disappointment never gets the final word — the love of Jesus.
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Jesus’ love is the one constant that does not crack under pressure. It does not fade when we struggle. It does not leave us when we sin. His love shows up in the places where human love often runs thin — in our weakness, our worry, our wandering. And every time we come back to Him, we find the same thing: He has not moved. He has not changed. He has not stopped loving.

And how can we sit back and rest assured that Heaven will not, or ever could, be a disappointment, like those we have faced on Earth? Because of Jesus’ love!

We’re never disappointed with Jesus’ love because it is not based on human strength — it is rooted in divine character. And God’s character doesn’t fail.


So, when life feels heavy, when people fall short, when your own heart feels tired, remember this: Jesus’ love is the one place you can rest without fear of being let down. It is the love that holds, heals, and carries us through every season.

​In His Name, Tracee

this week in a room with a picture window to Kachemak Bay where we’ve spotted dozens of otters, harbor seals, bald eagles (one tore a gull to shreds right in front of us), orcas, and a multitude of other critters. We smartly brought two pairs of binoculars! 

Seeing the sea life going about the business of finding food, swimming against the strong tides, and popping up here and there to catch a breath, I keep remembering the scripture below from a few sermons back -- remember the lilies … (ok, so I AM washing clothes right now and the irony is not lost on me.) The animals we see do not have a chance to be idle, and the contrast between our restful binocular watching and their constant motion hasn’t been lost on me, even if the comparison doesn’t mean a whole lot. I just find it interesting how we are often in full-schedule, high-stress mode or we rest — we spin in varying tempos — while most of creation finds itself in a different, more predictable rhythm.

​In His Name, Deborah

notebooks that belonged to my great-greats in the 1840’s. My great-grandfather’s diplomas from high school (“Normal school” at that time). It is on actual vellum. 

Among the various photographs and papers is a packet of letters tied with a ribbon. Curiosity got the better of me one day, and I opened the letter on top and started to read. It didn’t take me long to see that it was a love letter, written by my great-grandfather to my great-grandmother. He was away from home, serving in the Oklahoma State Senate. It wasn’t a long letter, but his love for his wife and family was plainly evident. The rest of the letters continued in the same way, weaving a beautiful tapestry that continues through the following generations.

These letters were cherished by my great-grandmother. I can imagine her re-reading them over and over again as the weeks passed while he was away.

We have all heard that the Bible is a collection of God’s love letters to us written over many years and in many voices. Letters of poetry, wisdom, advice, warning, and sacrifice. Yet, how many of us have taken the time to read those love letters, much less re-read them?

Some view the Bible as a to-do list of how to appease a harsh and menacing God. Some view it as a weapon to be used to justify their superiority and to oppress those deemed less deserving. Others view it as a myth or just a plain history book flawed with errors.
Honestly, I have viewed the Bible in some of these ways. Things started to change for me when I accepted a challenge to read through the Bible in one year. The object was not to read it as a book, but to read it as if it was God writing to me to show me His love for me and all of humanity.

I won’t tell you that it was an easy task. There were some dry days that were hard to see God at all. My mind wandered when reading through lists of names and genealogies. There were times when there was a lot of “smiting” and cruel acts. Truthfully, it was hard to see God’s love in some parts.

I persevered and made it through the Bible in one year. Despite the doubts I had at times, God changed me. I was able to see the Bible as a whole story instead of individual books. As I have read through each year since, I have come to love the God who has revealed Himself to me in His word. He reveals some new facet of His character every day. I wake every morning eager to see what He will show me that day.

As I go through my day, He will nudge me and remind me of what I have read. He will show me the meaning of what I have read in a seemingly mundane part of my day. He shows up increasingly as I take the time to look for Him.

It is my wish that everyone would have this experience. I invite you to see God’s love for you firsthand. Several people joined me earlier this year. We started in Genesis on January 1st.  We will be starting the New Testament on October 1st. Please join us.

We are using the Bible Recap plan produced by Tara-Leigh Cobble. You can find information on how to start the reading plan here: https://www.thebiblerecap.com/start#how

Look for Step 1. You can join using your YouVersion Bible app on your phone or tablet, print a copy, or both. There are even versions for kids and ASL. No purchase needed.

I would love to answer any questions you have. Call me at (208) 449-7590, email me at [email protected], or catch me at church.

I am excited to see what God will do in your life as He reveals Himself and His deep love for you in new ways through His Word.

In His Name, Dan

California, the land of oak trees and rolling golden hills, and as we all know, Californians know everything … right?!?).

Anyway — you’re a leaf. The wind blows, and you react to that wind along with the thousands of other leaves, who are just like you, on the tree. You don’t really have a choice because you are a leaf, but still — you blow around. You wave about. Your neighbors wave about, too. The wind moves you whether you are aware of it or not, whether you choose it or not.

And if you’re a human — say, me — standing in the kitchen and looking out at your neighbor’s Norway Maple across the street, you might notice that the leaves betray a certain body to the wind’s movement, very much like ripples in a pond. There is an observable pattern to the movement of air through the trees. If you’ve ever been part of “The Wave” in a packed sports stadium, you might find kinship with a leaf when it feels the wind. And the human in the kitchen watching it all might notice that synchronicity.

That’s when, if you’re me, you think — “A HA! That’s what I’ll write about for my church blog this week — invisible elephants.”

My grandfather (on my mother’s side) used to say, “Mmmm hmmm  … There they go, Dalton — see ‘em? The invisible elephants are runnin’ ‘cross the hills again. And they’re movin’ quick today.” He said that because he and my grandmother lived on 600 acres of gently rolling hills populated by a beautiful blanket of lush green stalks of barley in the fertile coastal region of central California, where my barefoot mother spent her imaginative childhood on a trusty horse that she loved, with a sister who was just as barefoot, equestrian, and imaginative as she was. And when the coastal wind picked up over those gentle hills, one could see in vivid detail the definitions of the wind’s gusts and lulls expressed through the swaying of the barley stalks. When the barley was tall enough, the movements of the wind through the fields resembled the footprints of a herd of … something large, like invisible elephants trampling through the fields. So, this is what he told my mother and her sister when they were children, and this is what he told me. "See there? The elephants are runnin' again." 

God moves through our entire world that way, I think.

But remember — you’re just a leaf, or a single blade of barley. You can’t see the invisible elephants from where you are. The invisible elephants definitely see you, though, and they charge right through you.

Recently, Dan MacDonald, my father-in-law, blessed our congregation with a guest sermon. I had been eagerly anticipating this day like a parent who can’t wait to show his kid off at a talent show. For 23 years I’ve been aware of just how unique, gifted, and blessed Jenny’s father truly is, and how he can change a person’s life in an instant, without ever realizing it or seeking knowledge of it, with nothing more than his words. I’ve seen him preach numerous times and, every single time, each experience has never felt short of God’s own hands touching my life through Dan’s words. I love my father-in-law more than I can express. He’s the real deal. And he was the real deal with our 1st Pres family. Lucky you.

He talked about Romans 8:28. 

Dan went on to really extrapolate on this passage, and you should listen to his sermon if you missed it — or listen to it again; it’s that good. He made some excellent points that I won’t include here. But among his points, and I believe it was his main point, was that God works in all of our lives towards His will and our salvation — always. Literally ALWAYS.

It’s easy to see that truth when the flowers bloom, when the sunset is amazing, when you get the new job, when you have your first child, when you are blessed with your first grandchild, when the Mariners win the World Series … well, ok, I went maybe too far with that last one. But it’s also just as true when your car breaks down, when you get sick at the worst possible time, when your family member wanders deeper into addiction, when you need surgery, when you lose a spouse or a parent, when nations go to war … God is still working in all things. You often can’t see it in those times, but that is simply because ... 

You are a leaf.

The wind blows, and the leaves move in synchronized concert. If you asked each individual leaf what it feels like, the answers would be myriad. Some would celebrate the dance, others might express concern about their weakening branch. But if you were a human watching the wind blow through the branches from across the street — which is to say, if you were God — it would all make sense. You would see the large-scale patterns moving through the leaves as a matter of course and design, like a conducted symphony.

But, unfortunately, we “leaves” don’t get that observational privilege. We are confined to the point-of-view of a single leaf on a small branch on a large branch on a huge tree in a larger forest in a vast landscape — or a single blade on a stalk in an endless field of barley. The wind blows through us, and we only know that it feels good or that it’s stormy and we’re worried about the branch or the stalk breaking or that there’s a fire over yonder and the wind might just carry it here toward our own fiery death.

We are just leaves. We can’t control or even comprehend the bigger picture. But unlike leaves, we humans, who are still just like leaves, have Scripture. And Scripture tells us that we can and are to trust God’s promise that He never stops working for us, in ALL things, because of His endless and passionate and even desperate love for each one of us.

All the same — the leaf and the blade of barley probably can’t understand photosynthesis, climate patterns, or fire risk. As humans, we can’t fully understand the spark of life, comprehensive societal dynamics, or outright loss and tragedy. But the invisible elephants run anyway, and Scripture tells us that invisible elephants are evidence of God’s good work in our world — even when they break the stalks or carry the fire.

Ok, so Romans 8:28 doesn’t directly discuss wind in your neighbor’s Norway Maple nor invisible elephants in the central California barley fields, but I’m pretty sure that’s what God was getting at. We are all just leaves, and it is not for us to understand how all of nature works — but it clearly does. We are just humans, and it is not for us to understand God’s mind — but He clearly plans.

As Dan put it:
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In other words — never mind the invisible elephants; that’s God’s doing. You just work on living and growing and trusting that the elephants are necessary. The leaf blows, and the barley sways, and that’s just how it works. God promises that it's all for the best, that the leaves are orchestrated, that the invisible elephants have a destination. And what in this universe is more secure than God's promise?

Plus … isn’t there some relief in the fact that you are just a leaf or a blade of barley? Imagine being responsible for directing a herd of invisible elephants! So … just be a leaf. That’s all you are, after all. And trust the wind.

In His wind,
Dalton

However, the common theme I see among all of these generations is heartbreak.
I feel like every generation is asking the same questions:
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When I hear a young person dismiss an older person with “Whatever, Boomer” or an older person dismiss a younger person with “This generation these days,” I can’t help but feel sad. I hear lots of older people describe the loneliness of growing old, and lots of young people describe feeling overwhelmed and lonely. All generations seem too quick to blame those before or after them. I rarely hear someone blame their own generation for any of our social problems. It seems like our media outlets only add to the hurt by pitting us against each other every chance they get. The news is all too quick to plaster stories of evil youngsters beating up the elderly or the rich older person taking advantage of the poor young person getting started in life. 

I wonder, however, if we are asking the right questions. 

If we all seem to be carrying our own version of heartbreak at the idea of being forgotten, unheard, and unloved, maybe it is time to change our questions:
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It is a subtle change in the question, one that asks us to put others first.
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At one time Jesus stood in a synagogue in His hometown and read a passage from Isaiah 61. 

Jesus stood among his neighbors, having grown up knowing their stories and heartbreaks. At first, His neighbors were impressed with His choice of reading for that day. Yet when He challenged their heartache with the thought of considering others’ needs equal to their own, He caused a riot and was led out of town to be thrown off a cliff. 

What was the crime that day that caused such anger among Jesus’ childhood community? 

God had asked people to be humble. 

If heartbroken generations are to be healed and cared for, then the people of God will need to be humble. We will need to set aside our ‘rights’ and seek to minister to the needs of others. We can do this as believers because God has promised to meet all of our needs. We have a Father in heaven to whom we can take our heartbroken lives for healing. 

What about those around us who know nothing of God’s goodness or those who walked in the freedom of God’s love and have become bound once again to fear and pride?

I wonder if I had been in Nazareth that day, would I have been among the crowd leading Jesus to the cliffside because my pride was hurt by the thought of considering others? I hope not. Yet every time I ask my neighbor for the things only God can give, and I refuse to ask my neighbor how I can serve them, I see myself leading my Savior to some self-righteous high place to throw Him down. 

At 1st Pres, we have decided to be an inter-generational church. A family where generations intertwine and are celebrated, where each age has a place at the table. In a few weeks, we will kick off the fall with a potluck, and I look forward to babies in high chairs, dear ones in wheelchairs, talk of pickleball courts and new classrooms. There will be tears as we comfort each other over some recent losses in our family. Kids will run and play, and we will look on with joy, envious of their energy. Our teens will be asked all about their coming school year and their hopes and dreams. Our gym will be full of voices from every generation mixed in a sacred place of refuge where all hearts are bound together in love.

​In His Name, Bonnie