Mid-winter greetings Our Savior’s and friends,
How are you? Mid-winter always seems like a good time to check in with loved ones and friends. Though it may appear on the outside there are smiles all around, in the bleak midwinter there is often struggle. Struggle with less day light. Struggle with energy. Struggle with the cold temps and not being able to get outside and breath in that fresh air. Struggle with the state of the world. So much…
Winter can feel heavy for those of us that are here in God’s great north woods, unless you are an avid skier, snowmobiler, ice fisher person. The winter does offer a lot of great outdoor activities when the temps stay above zero!
But the point here, is how are you doing? Where are you at in terms of grief, joy, life, discipleship? What does your soul long for? We can get caught up in the everyday busyness of life and forget to check in with each other and ourselves.
As we enter into the second month of 2026, it will be filled with red and pink, hearts and chocolate as February 14th is Valentines Day. So, while the world around us consumes and buys into this secular “holiday” why don’t we buy into this notion of love and spend the month loving on each other? Who knew February 17th is National Random Acts of Kindness Day! Let’s make it an entire month!
Checking in with friends, church family, loved ones. Send a letter, a card, an email just to say, “hey I’m thinking of you.” Why not make February a month of random acts of kindness and love?
I challenge you to do something kind for someone each day this month with no strings attached and no need to receive anything in return. Because the reality is your heart will be filled with joy by the end of February.
February 18th is Ash Wednesday, a day we come together and accept the invitation into the discipline of Lent. The day we are reminded that we are but dust, and to dust we will one day return. A day we pause to worship, pray, confess and come together as followers of Jesus and bring with us all that weighs us down so that during the season of Lent we can begin to unpack our heavy hearts, clear out our cluttered minds and prepare our imaginations to be ready to receive the Good News on Easter morning that Christ is alive! Alive for you and for me, and for the world!
Beloved family, let us love one another in a time such as this where division, hatred, lies, twists, deception, name calling, and so much heaviness is consuming our souls, our hearts and our minds! Let us love one another as God first loved us! May it be so!
Pastor Liz