The Pastor's Perspective

       Frodo and Sam Looking at Mt. Doom      If you have ever read the Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien or watched the movies. You know about the story of Frodo and his dangerous trek through Morder. Just as Frodo faced the soul-crushing despair of Cirith Ungol, the betrayal of Gríma Wormtongue, or the sheer terror of Shelob's lair, we too encounter our own versions of these trials—moments of profound despair, unexpected betrayals, or overwhelming obstacles that threaten to consume us whole, testing the very limits of our endurance.       I think it is safe to say that we’ve all experinced a trial or two in our lives. It’s easy in those moments to wonder, “Why me? Why this hardship?”  We begin to look around and see what seems to us to be people living there best life and we are struggling. And often, the immediate conclusion to all of this is we say that the enemy is at work, unleashing every possible trouble our way. ...

     Someone once asked an elderly Christian woman what her favorite scripture was.  Without hesitation the elderly woman said "It came to pass". The person responded 'Out of all the passages of scripture why that one?"  She smiled and said "Because it does not say it came to stay"      There are some days so wonderful and so joyful that you wish time would stand still just a little longer. There are moments in life you wish you could return to, or repeat because they were wonderful experience's in you life.      A few Sunday's ago me and my wife went out and ate at Cracker barrel and beside us was a family with a small child. The mother laid out a place mat for the child and put a bib around his neck. The mother gave the boy some mashed potatoes and a hand full of cheerios.     Both me and my wife were reminded of when our children were that age. We remember with fondness of how cute our kids were when they were that litt...