What is our most precious resource? The thing we all wish we had more of, to use, to share with our families and to give to others?

Surely, it is time. While we guard our time closely and feel we never have enough of it, it is when we give that time that we receive the most back. Volunteers who have given their time to serve as hosts for the First Teen Clothes Closet recently shared the moments of time when they were able to see and feel how this ministry is about so much more than clothes.

Look what we did! (And look at what we do… and what we plan on doing!) In November, the La Crosse Area Synod hosted an event: “The Generosity Jubilee”. For a year and a half, about a dozen congregations of our synod have done work toward developing more thoughtful ways of growing our stewardship, and this Jubilee was the final celebration. There, we heard from Rev. (and stewardship guru) Chick Lane who wrote a great little book called, “Ask, Thank, Tell.” He says developing a generous congregation has everything to do with these three words. People give when they are ASKed. THANKing is essential, too. And once people’s gifts have been given, we need to TELL the stories of how their support is making a difference.

By the time you are reading this, Advent will have started. You may have noticed that the church is festooned in blue, that there is a big wreath with candles at the front of the church and we have changed the musical setting of our liturgy. It is quite possible that our worship has a different rhythm to it, too. This first season of the church year often gets lost in the craziness of the holidays and yet, I have grown to appreciate the ways it calls me to slow down, to be still and to ponder what it means to have God with us.

This time of the year is when many of us open our homes to family and friends. I love hosting Thanksgiving. Opening my house to loved ones is a great joy for me. The smell of a turkey roasting, making the whole house smell so good and knowing our guests will be arriving soon brings me happiness. Greeting family as they come into the door, helping them with the food they brought, getting everything ready to sit down and share a meal together is a wonderful feeling. It’s also fun to go to someone else’s house, where you are greeted warmly. I always seem to find myself helping in the kitchen. That’s just my thing; give me something to help with and I am happy. Welcoming others and being welcomed is a wonderful privilege to do and to have done to you. That is what we want to accomplish here at First Lutheran.

November was a fun month for the OWLs. We began with Friday Night at the Movies. A fun-loving group of 22 headed to the local cinema for viewing the action thriller “Inferno”. We followed this with a wonderful fish fry dinner. A great time was had by all. Based on feedback from the group we will have another movie outing in the new year.

How much time do you waste in worry? It’s one thing to be concerned with something. To care so much about something or someone that you engage yourself out of concern seems Christ-like to me. But worry is something different. Concern breeds engagement. Worry breeds anxiety and fear.

As I was in Office Depot this past summer, I just needed some time to look and think about a project I was working on. Unfortunately, the people working were very helpful and almost every aisle I went down someone asked me if I needed help. Usually I like being asked if I need help because I usually do need help, but not this time. This time I just wanted to be by myself to think and work things out in my mind without interruptions. This may be what it is like for our visitors; they may not want a bunch of information or handouts. Sometimes all they want is one or two of their questions answered.

October was an enjoyable month for the OWLs. After a foggy ride to Sugar Creek to attend Yesterday’s Youth, we had a nice program and a great lunch. The ride back along the river was beautiful. Our potluck was well attended with a very interesting presentation from Skip Temte on his cruise ship experiences and his most recent trip to Alaska.

This fall there will be several opportunities for you to join a small group. The kids start school in September, and October brings the opportunity for adults at First to learn something new too. These 2 new groups, Bible 101 and Half Truths, will start in October and be finished by Thanksgiving.  

By popular request are rescheduling the canceled August outing to the Commonweal Theatre in Lanesboro, Minnesota. Our evening will start with a beautiful ride along the Root River, dinner in one of Lanesboro’s fine establishments and some fantastic Theatre at the Commonweal. This fabulous evening out is scheduled for Thursday, September 15. After a delicious dinner we will see they play Pride’s Crossing. Proclaimed the Best American Play of 1997 by the N.Y. Drama Critics Circle. A thoughtful and enticing play about the life of the first woman to swim the English Channel. The NY Post declared it “ a play you will remember and cherish forever”. We will leave the church at 4pm on Thursday, September 15. Cost of the Theatre is $35, ($30 if we get 15 or more) and dinner is on your own. Please email (owls@firstlu.org) by Tuesday, September 13th if you are planning on attending. You can pay for the tickets the night of the outing.

Every August my family starts making choices about time. Schedules for the upcoming school year get formed based on school, work and social calendars. When will the Spring recital be? On what day of the week does Christmas Eve fall this year? How do I keep from working more than 3 nights a week? As parents, Carla and I begin by sorting through the necessities of our work schedules; and continuing education dates; and special retreats or family/work celebrations at which one of us needs to be present. Then, we sit the kids down and ask them to prioritize their desired activities. Dance, football, swimming, karate, volleyball and gymnastics will begin the conversation that will lead to band, choir, orchestra, basketball, soccer, baseball and other clubs they may want to do. As we sort through their greatest desires for activities, we will ask questions like, “How will you get to this or that activity? How much does it cost? Can we make this happen for you and you and you?” But will we remember the Sabbath? Will we honor God’s desire for us to rest?

I have often marveled at what a small group of dedicated, prayerful people can do for the life of a faith community. The congregation where I grew up had a prayer chain, of how many people I don’t know, but the people I knew that dedicated time each day to pray for the concerns of our church and people were all people that I have sought to emulate as I walk the path of a follower of Jesus. I consider Jane, who was nearly 100 years old when she died. Jane was one of the first people I knew to be on Facebook and Twitter, which she used to keep up with all the people she prayed for. She continually inquired about my life as I made my way through college and seminary and then first call, and I KNEW that everything I told her about would be lifted in prayer daily. She was the first prayer warrior I knew, and I always have her in mind when I talk about prayer.

I loved my grandparents’ junk drawer; it had an old pair of scissors, rubber bands that usually were so old they broke, bread ties galore, plus a small hammer among other things. Every house has a junk drawer, usually in the kitchen. Ours is, but maybe yours is in the laundry room, or mud room. It’s filled with things you don’t use very often, like bag ties, screwdriver, both flat head and phillips, a hammer, nails, screws, which my husband has in baby food jars, koozies, rubber bands, an odd button, a broken part of a toy, among others things. We are very fortunate to live where we have a surplus and our needs are easily supplied. We know that others are not so fortunate and live in places where daily needs are not met and where sending your child to school, can’t be done without the supplies needed.

Thank you for the overwhelming response to the call for Sunday School teachers! We have all the teachers spots filled! Yahoo! If you are interested in being on the sub list, let us know! We are still looking for some extra help in the musical opening for K-5th. If you are interested in getting the kiddos excited and organized to worship through music contact us!

The OWLs took the month of July off but finished June with a picnic and rousing game of Kubb at the Narveson’ s. Kubb is a fun Scandinavian lawn game of opposing teams throwing sticks to knock the opposing team’s pieces down. Very basic, but much harder than you think. 

August will begin with our monthly potluck on Wednesday, August 10 at noon in the narthex. This is one week earlier than usual, so please mark your calendars. 

The weather does not feel like it’s anywhere near Thanksgiving Day, but at First Lutheran, we celebrate Thanksgiving every Wednesday and Sunday at the altar table. Giving God thanks for becoming one of us, saving us and equipping us to be a blessing to others is our ‘duty and delight.’ But God is not the only one worthy of thanks.

As many of you know, in April I became a MBTI Certified Practitioner. I have had such fun working with teams these last 6 weeks become stronger and more effective as they learn to appreciate their differences and use them to the benefit of the team and organization they work with. Starting in July I will begin work toward becoming a Master Practitioner. This requires two things from me: to take an additional 40 hours of classes and to work with individuals and groups for a total of 40 hours. This is where you come in! 

In spite of overcast skies, the OWLs had a fun and informative trip to Sugar Creek Bible camp in April. We saw several eagles on the trip down and enjoyed a wonderful program by Dick Campbell, who helped us “Remember the USS Indianapolis and Her Crew.” Everyone agreed we learned a great deal about the famous ship and its crew.