2012.01.09 Monday Morning Message

Message from the archives of Richard Evans:

Top of the morning and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

My sole message today may be summed up in four words: "DON'T DESPISE SMALL THINGS!" To be faithful in little things is a great qualification for great things!

Perhaps the greatest fault of our age is that we are in too big a hurry to pay attention to small things which might improve our life.

What are some of those small things?

1. convey congratulations to friends (especially young people) when some success or happiness comes to them.
2. extend a word of appreciation for the work of someone you know.
3. extend sympathy. Comfort comes when one knows that others are sharing their sorrow.
   

Perhaps being diligent in doing small things prompted Emerson's fable, "The Mountain and the Squirrel."

"The mountain and the squirrel had a quarrel. And the former called the latter 'Little Prig'; Bun replied, 'You are doubtless very big; but all sorts of things and weather must be taken in together, to make up a year and a sphere. And I think it no disgrace to occupy my place. If I'm not so large as you, you are not so small as I, and not half so spry. I'll not deny you make a very pretty squirrel track; talents differ; all is well and wisely put; if I cannot carry forests on my back, neither can you crack a nut.'"

"Talents differ!" Thank goodness we're not all alike!

Peace,
Richard

2011.10.31 Monday Morning

 

Special warm greetings to all of you from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, in Vinita, Oklahoma, where we celebrate the 129th anniversary of Pilgrim Church.  

For six years at Pilgrim Church, I always sensed a feeling of thrill and humility to preach, and to serve Communion, as the congregation celebrated its birth on the Sunday nearest All Saints Day (Nov. 1, 2011).

 

To be in the company of an unseen cloud of Christians (Hebrews 12:1) who risked everything by leaving the comforts of their homes in the east to cross a hostile terrain to Oklahoma, with the good news of Jesus Christ, makes me feel very humble.

 

Humbling, yes, but it is also challenging to have entered into their labors.  Each generation is a link in a chain of Christian discipleship.  We must see to it that ours is not a weak link!

 

Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.  In that way we will be true to them, and to our Lord, who is the same yesterday, today and forever.  (Hebrews 13:8)

 

God is with you!

 

With blessings and in friendship,

Richard

 

2011.10.10 Monday Morning!

Greetings and all good wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

Do you remember the film " Bridge On the River Kwai?" The film was based on a book by Ernest Gordon, a Scot and an officer in the British Army during World War II. He was captured early in the war and spent the remainder of the war in a prison camp in Southeast Asia. After the war, he immigrated to the United States and became a chaplain at Princeton University.

In his book, Gordon wrote that he had no religious faith at all when he was captured, but he came away from that prison camp convinced he had been touched by God and he was called to spend the rest of his life serving others. He wrote: "In the muck and misery of that dreadful prison camp, I learned to care for others and that God cared for me. I discovered I was important to others. God found me in the most unexpected place."

Life is filled with strange interruptions - unexpected moments that change our lives forever. At the time such interruptions are often unwelcome and resented. At other times, they are signs of hope. In retrospect, they often seem as if they were destined.

When you may have unexpected interruptions, evaluate them for they may change the whole landscape of your life.

With blessings and best wishes,
Richard

www.pilgrimpresbyterian.blogspot.com/

2011.8.29 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma.

 

In one of Charles Schultz's cartoon strips, "Peanuts", Charlie Brown comes downstairs and into the kitchen in his pajamas.  Sleepily rubbing his eyes, he says to his mother, "I think maybe I've discovered my trouble in getting out of bed - I think I am allergic to morning."

 

This is the way a lot of us face a new day.  We are allergic to dawn!  Morning means one thing to a single mother who gets a child ready for nursery school before driving off to a stressful job.  To another person, morning means struggling into bed after working the graveyard shift in a food processing plant.  For some, morning means the toothache that throbbed at 1:00 a.m., is nothing more than a slight annoyance at 8:00 a.m.

 

In stories and myths,  dawn is viewed as significant in that light has its own way of overcoming darkness and fear.  Dawn re-awakens life!  However you experience the morning, the Bible tells us that we can experience "the mercies of God which are new every morning."

 

How do you experience the morning?  Be intentional about the wonder of life.  Be intentional about the way you speak and act.  God through your new day as a tourist, seeing everything as for the first time, and you will discover that mercies surround you- mercies are within you.  These mercies will offer you new opportunities.  You will be more joyful and cheerful!

 

Yes, 'top of the morning'  to you with  all good wishes,

 

Richard

2011.8.15 Monday Morning!

Top of the morning and all good wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

 

After retiring from a full time pastorate, I served Grace Presbyterian Church, Grove, Oklahoma, as a part time temporary pastor.  One summer, Bruce Lietzke, son of a beloved member of Grace Church, won the U. S. Open Golf Tournament for Seniors.  The entire community was excited and proud.  Bruce is a pro, and one of the best golfers in the country.

 

I have a lot of good friends, whom I like a lot, but they must be among the worst golfers on the planet.  Still they go back to the links time and time again.  WHY?

 

I think I've found the answer:

Even the best golfer can once in awhile play a shot that Bruce Lietske, or even Tiger Woods, would be proud to make.  And so, it seems to me, that even the poorest golfers are upheld by the hope of being NOT what they are at their worst, but what they are at their best.  Isn't that true of life, too?

 

Here is a suggestion to help you grasp the moment when you are at your best. Begin each day, even before popping out of bed, by saying this little prayer: 

LORD, HELP ME TO BE TODAY WHAT I AM AT MY BEST.

 

Don't be satisfied with yourself or with things the way they are.  Aim to be at your best and you'll never lose hope that you can be better.  When you strive to be your best, you'll be an effective instrument of God's love and a source of encouragement to others.

 

Never lose Hope!

Cheers,

Richard

 

   

2010.12.13 Monday Morning!

Best wishes for a MERRY CHRISTMAS from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church in Vinita, Oklahoma.

 

Christmas is a time for lights.  Beautiful lights are shining in every city and village.  Lights are an important part of Christmas, symbols of the Christmas story:

    The true light that enlightens every person has come

     into the world in the birth of Jesus.  In him was life,

     and the life was light for all people.  His light shines

     in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

                                            (Will you read John 1:1-18, please?)

 

The mood of despair, however, is familiar in our dark patches.  Immense problems face our nation and the world;  war, an economic recession, unemployment, hunger, home foreclosures, terrorism.

 

And, there are personal difficulties:  problems within families and among friends, jobs that no longer give satisfaction, loss of health, unexpected death of a loved one.

 

I understand how people may feel abandoned by God.  Sometimes I ask myself "Is there really a God who cares?"

 

Then the light of Christmas comes with the assurance that in smooth and rough places "God is with us".  None of us is alone.  Confident of that helps disperse times of darkness.  I haven't  answers to the many questions that bother me, but of this I am sure; God is with me and helps me carry on with courage and strength.

 

My thoughts and prayers are with friends for whom 2010 has been a shattering year.

 

Richard.

Message to all Readers

Hello to Everyone,

It would seem that our old counter has died and/or the homepage company I am using is forcing us to use a new guest counter, so if the number of visits has all of a sudden Jumped to a much smaller number than previously, there is nothing I can do about it.  I guess we shall continue on.  I do know that we were around 1200 - 1300 visits recently.  Anyway, while this may not be very many, it is still not so nice to loose around 800 visits from our counter.

Thanks for your continued visits and your hard work for all of us Richard!

- B. D.

2008.11.10 Monday Morning!

Greetings and best wishes from Pilgrim Presbyterian Church, located in the heart of Vinita, Oklahoma. If you have relatives or friends who may like to get our Monday Morning email, please send addresses to Donna in the Church Office.

Moving from one residence to another is a test of patience, strength and endurance. Last week my wife and I moved from an apartment to a house. Humdrum as moving may appear, I assure you it is a test. But isn't all life a series of tests? I found a scribbled note among papers I've been sorting, and it's worth sharing with you today.

"When a neighbor has been bruised, our kindness is tested. When he or she has been blessed, our generosity is tested. When we have been hurt, our forgiveness is tested. Trouble tests our courage. Temptation tests our strength. Friendship tests our loyalty. Failure tests our perseverance."

We are all tested. How do you fare in life's constant quizzes?

Cheers,
Richard