Learning

One Ditch At A Time

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When I was in high school, I went to work part time for a contractor who built luxury homes in the Tacoma area. I was excited to learn the trade of building and even bought a really nice tool belt, framing hammer and square. I showed up to the job site on my first day- ready and eager!  As I approached the contractor, he did something that completely caught me off guard. He handed me a shovel and said, “You’ll need your gloves...”  Suddenly, my first day went from genuine eagerness, to a bit of fear as I knew a shovel and gloves meant I wasn’t going to be building much of anything that day.

He instructed me to dig a ditch. A large one. He said it was for drainage and it needed to be 8ft long, by 3ft wide, by 3ft deep. At this point, I had to look around and make sure I wasn’t working at a cemetery! Was I digging my own grave out here?!?

Upon giving me the instructions, he left to another job site. Suddenly, I was all alone. Just me and my shovel. I began the long and painful task of digging the ditch. It was hard work!  A few hours later the contractor returned to look at my progress. He offered some “atta-boy” sentiments, which was nice, but I was really wanting to be done with this job!

Later, I finished the huge ditch, got into my car and drove home dirty, exhausted and hoping I didn’t make a huge mistake taking this job. Well...it wasn’t a mistake at all.

The next day, he had me come back to the same site, except there were no shovels. It was a day spent learning the basics of home construction! The contractor told me that while the ditch was indeed for drainage and very important to the house, he had me do that job just to see how well I would follow his instructions. Those listening skills my parents had taught me as a boy had paid off!!

In the book of 2 Kings, there is a story of people who were instructed to dig ditches. A lot of them! The reason for the ditches was quite simple: Listen to what God was telling them to do, then do it in a trusting way and see what happens. The Bible actually has quite a lot to say about faith and action. Psalm 37 tells us to “trust in the Lord and DO good...”

I hope you’ll join me this Sunday, as we explore this story of ditches and trusting God in 2 Kings 3. This will be a conclusion of our series on Trust and I hope that if you’ve heard any of these messages, you’ve grown in your understanding of trust and faith. It’s never something we will perfect. No one does. This is a long journey of progression toward growth and maturity. The key is in not giving up. God is with us and He’s always good and faithful to prove Himself trustworthy!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

Entering Teen Territory

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Teen Parenting JeNell Buchanan, the small group leader of our Teen Parenting group, understands the learning-on-the-go style that many parents have had to adapt to with their teens. Growing as a parent as teens slowly become adults. But what is important to remember is no parent is alone.

In writing my first "blog," I'm finding it somewhat similar to my experience raising my now teenage son: I'm entering new territory, learning as I go... feeling confident one moment, and completely confused the next.

What in the world is a "blog" anyway? As a parent of a teenager, am I the only one who's perplexed about what my teen really wants and needs from me? Am I the only parent who wonders how to raise a teen in the "right" way? Am I the only one who doesn't even know what a "blog" is? When faced with such doubt, I've come to know (though I sometimes forget), that my only hope is in turning to God.

So, that's my plan for Wednesday night, April 30th at 6:30PM in the Mountainside Cafe. Pastor Tim White, Dr. Marty Folsom, and Nancy McJunkin will share spiritual wisdom in parenting teens from God's perspective. I'll be sitting on the edge of my seat, and if you have a teen or preteen, I hope you will be too!

TRUTH AND DARE
What Teens REALLY Need From Their Parents
Wed - April 30 - 6:30pm to 8:00pm in the Cafe
Guest Speakers: Pastor. Tim White Dr. Marty Folsom
Jr. High Teacher. Nancy McJunkinEach speaker will present information about their general approach to working with teens and their parents and address relevant topics to parenting teens. There will be a Q&A for the last 20 minutes.

Cookies and juice provided.

Sponsored by "Parent of Teens TLC" meeting on Sundays at 10am in the Counseling Center. Come join us for weekly support and encouragement.


More information about this event can be found here.

Like what you see but want more? Check out Washington Cathedral's website for more information.

Learning from Jesus

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Pastor Rey starts off on a new series "Can You Hear Me Now?", diving into prayer life and growing closer to God. The first step as we learn from Jesus is to pause, slow down, and get away from the crazy.

Imagine learning to throw a football from Russell Wilson, or how to coach a team from Pete Carroll, or how to manage a company from Paul Allen, or how to talk smack from Richard Sherman.  Minus the last example, I think most of us would relish in the opportunity to learn a skill from one of the greats.

Now imagine learning to pray from Jesus himself.  Imagine if you could somehow figure out this whole prayer thing from the person who was most connected to God.  Well you don’t have to imagine because you can learn to pray vicariously through the disciples who once asked Jesus, “Teach us to pray.”

I have been trying to figure out prayer ever since becoming Christian.  I have tried praying silently, aloud, writing down my prayers, reading other’s prayers, walking through nature and praying, praying while I jog, praying through scripture, praying on my knees, praying on my back, praying with my eyes open, and every other way you can imagine.

And for most of my life the results have been mixed.  Sure I have experienced answered prayers but they are sandwiched between unanswered prayers.  Honestly I can’t help but think that I must be doing it wrong.  Not saying the right words or not saying them the right way.

I think we have all had our doubts at some point.  Can God truly hear us?  Jesus answers that with an emphatic ‘YES!’  And he teaches us how to.

He  begins his lesson by introducing us to God.  He reveals the nature of God to us.  He reminds us who we are talking to because I think they struggle with the same issues I struggle with.  I tend to overlook God.

From the very beginning Jesus reminds us – Before you pray, I want to you pause.  I want you to slow down.  I want you to take a deep breath and think about who you are talking.  God is your Father.  Holy and different than all others.  None can compare.  Though He is unseen, he sees and knows all about you.  He knows all about your needs and he is your rewarder.

The essence of prayer is relationship which is why Jesus tells us to pause and think about who you are talking to.  Declare God’s greatness.

Which is what we are doing this week.  We are pausing.  We are taking this week to declare God’s greatness.  To make a list of who God is to you.  To contemplate.  To meditate.  To recognize the God of eternity who has invited us to refer to him as Father.

Don’t miss out next week as we dive into the rest of the prayer.  For those who missed, here is a link to last week’s message.

 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hUkswuF-KE&w=560&h=315]

Like what you hear, but want more?

You can check get more information by checking out our website, or you can email us if you have more questions.