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When we get to February, most people think about Valentines Day. While that is a good holiday since it celebrates human love, it’s not the only holiday. This February we also have Groundhog Day and Ash Wednesday.

I am fascinated by Groundhog Day. It’s a uniquely American holiday, though some believe the idea behind it came from the German Candleman’s Day. During the dark of winter, German clergy blessed and distributed candles for people to place in every window of their homes. If the sun came out on February 2, it meant six more weeks of wintery weather. In the United States, that tradition became watching a groundhog pop out of its den to see if it would see its shadow. If it  does see its shadow on February 2, it means six more weeks of winter for us. The earliest record of this groundhog practice is from February 1841.

I am fascinated by how seriously some people take Groundhog Day. There are celebrations. Predictions make the news. It’s a popular topic of discussion among many people on February 2. However, it is not the most accurate way to predict the weather. Punxsutawney Phil, the most famous groundhog, has been correct only about 39% of the time. That’s not the most reliable meteorologist, but overall it is a cute and fun winter tradition. Plus, it gives us something to look forward to during the long days of the winter season.

Ash Wednesday this year is on February 18. Unlike most of our holidays, the date of Ash Wednesday moves, depending on when Easter falls each year. Easter always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. (That’s as clear as mud, right?) Ash Wednesday is six and a half weeks before Easter.

Unlike Groundhog Day, Ash Wednesday is not uniquely American. The use of ashes is a biblical tradition. It was used as a sign of confession and repentance. In the early Christian Church, the 40-day Lenten fast came into being, along with the tradition of receiving ashes on the first day of the Lenten fast.

Today ashes symbolize both repentance and death and are used on Ash Wednesday to allow people to reflect on their sins throughout Lent. This helps to prepare us to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday. When we receive the black mark of ashes upon our foreheads, we hear the words, “You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Immediately, we are reminded that our time on earth is limited. In the story of Adam and Eve, the first humans were made out of the dust of the ground and then had life breathed into them. That is the origin of “you are dust.” When we die, part of a funeral service includes “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” Therefore, we are reminded that our lives will come to an end at some point, “and to dust you shall return.” These words cause us to pause and to reflect, which is very appropriate as we enter into the season of Lent.

February is a transition month most years. It usually is the final month of continuous Winter, before we begin to see signs of Spring. Therefore, all of these holidays remind us that something better is coming. Winter will not last forever.

Pastor Beth

My Great-Grandpa Wallace who lived to be 97 ½ years old used to say that time seems to speed up as we age. Birthdays come faster. Holidays come faster. The seasons change faster. What used to seem to take forever later seems to go by in the blink of an eye. I was 10 when he was 97, so I didn’t understand it then, but now I’m beginning to understand. In many ways, time does seem to move along faster now than it did when I was a child.

I also recently heard the DJs on the radio talking about a poll that had just come out. The question for the poll was “Do you stay up until midnight on New Year’s Eve?” Among the people who answered the poll question, it was 50/50. Only half of adults stay up to actually ring in the New Year. Then the DJs started wondering how many of the people polled are over age 45 because, in their opinion, the older one is the less likely it is that person would stay up.

I can’t disagree. When I was younger, especially in my 20s, I always stayed up to watch the ball drop at midnight. However, that has happened less and less often as I got older. The main reason I think is because I often have had to work on New Year’s Day. When January 1 is a Sunday, I lead worship. When I worked in retail and when I worked in grocery, stores are open on New Year’s Day, and I would work. My husband, too, as a baker, still has to work on holidays because people still want their baked goods.

The other reason I don’t stay up is because I like my sleep, and I need a regular schedule. Because I rarely every stay up until midnight on any night, in order to keep a regular schedule, I go to bed at my regular time. I used to laugh at my parents for going to be at 9:00 pm, but now I do that, too.

But the New Year is still an exciting time. When we turn the page on the calendar, we also feel like we have a new lease on life. Everything feels like it resets, and we get another chance. People make resolutions to do better in the New Year. People make changes in their lives, sometimes big changes and sometimes smaller changes, but we feel braver to make changes when the clock strikes midnight.

My life goal is to be that brave every day. When I need to make a change, I hope I’m brave enough to make it when it’s needed. I know that because of Jesus Christ my Savior, I get a new chance continuously and I try to utilize those chances. I try to remember how blessed I am as a child of God and to live my life accordingly.

Pastor Beth

I have a Christmas challenge for you this year. We did a similar thing last year in a more informal way. I am challenging all of you who can, to put together Christmas Blessing Boxes for those in need. Below is a list of food items to either bring to church for us to give to the Care Share Food Pantry in Gillett or to give to a family directly that you know is in need. If you are a Thrivent member, you might consider getting a Thrivent card to pay for this endeavor. You don’t actually have to wait until December 24 to deliver your food collections. Do it any time!
Here’s your list of suggestions:

1) Box of stuffing mix
2) Instant mashed potatoes
3) Jars or packages of gravy
4) Canned yams
5) Cranberry sauce
6) Canned green beans
7) Cream of mushroom soup
8) French fried onions
9) Paper plates
10) Paper towels
11) Canned corn powder)
12) Cake mix or brownie mix
13) Can of icing
14) Box of dry cereal
15) Box of shelf stable milk
16) Canned or dried beans
17) Rice
18) Peanut butter
19) Box of crackers
20) Bag of sugar
21) Box of tea or coffee
22) Box of macaroni and cheese
23) Spices (salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder)
24) Canned meat (ham, turkey, tuna)

As Jesus said several times in scripture, the poor will always be with us. This Advent and Christmas season, I really challenge all of us to remember the poor and to help them meet their needs. Collecting together food is a wonderful way to do just that. Let’s help our neighbors to have a wonderful Christmas with full tummies.
Blessings during this holiday season!
Pastor Beth

We only see cornucopias during the season of Thanksgiving. The word comes from the Latin cornu meaning “horn” and copia meaning “abundance.” Therefore, another name for cornucopia is horn of plenty.

Typically, cornucopias are horn-shaped woven wicker baskets that are filled to overflowing with fruits, vegetables, flowers, and nuts. They often are used to decorate a side table during the season of Thanksgiving or even as a centerpiece on the main table during the Thanksgiving meal. Wherever we see them, we are reminded that we have plenty.

Often, society tells us that there is scarcity. News stories tell us that there is a shortage of this item or that item. Advertisements tell us to “get it before it’s gone.” Plus, we are also often told that we need to have these items, or else we will miss out on something. If we listen to these messages, then we begin to believe that we don’t have enough. We think that our resources are limited.

However, our nation is not a nation of scarcity. Admittedly, there is a legitimate shortage of affordable housing right now, but for the most part we have an overabundance of resources. We have food, running water, electricity, and heat for the winter and cooling for the summer, transportation, jobs, beautiful national and state parks, and lots more. Plus, our biggest resources are our “can-do” spirit and our generosity. Every single time I see a drive for food or clothing or diapers or school supplies, people come out in droves to share out of their abundance. What this sharing does is help to distribute necessities to those who are in less-fortunate situations, thus helping to make sure that those in need get what they need.

What the cornucopia does is remind us of our abundance. It also reminds us to share our abundance with others. To give generously to others helps to foster a sense of community and mutual support. It also helps to assure that everyone has enough, moving from individual prosperity to collective well-being. Abundance is not what we hold on to but what we share. It is a privilege to be able to share our abundance with others.

As we enter into the season of Thanksgiving, my prayer is that we do give thanks to God for our abundance and that we do share our abundance with others. Blessed Thanksgiving!!

Pastor Beth

In Psalm 107:37, we read, “They sow fields, and plant vineyards, and get a fruitful yield.”

October is a month of harvest. If you haven’t finished picking and pulling your garden plants, this month is the time to finish that task. Any crops left in fields get harvested during the month of October. Here in Wisconsin, if you don’t finish your harvesting before Halloween, it’s likely not to get harvested.

As I write this article, I am just about to pull my tomato plants and harvest the rest of my tomatoes. Oddly, this year my tomato plants produced fruit much later than normal. Usually I pull my tomato plants early in September, but not this year. Once I harvest the remaining tomatoes then I will have everything out of my garden except a few carrots.

For me, harvest is an exciting time. I get to take stock of what my little garden has produced. I don’t can anything, but I freeze a lot each year. This year I planted extra tomato plants because we ran out of frozen tomato juice which I use for making various soups throughout the year. As I finish harvesting all those tomatoes, I will turn them into juice, measuring it out in the amount I need for soup before I freeze it. I have already also chopped and frozen peppers for those same soup recipes. And I cooked the one squash I grew this year and froze that for future use.

I don’t have a very big garden. My garden is literally 2 feet by 18 feet right next to our garage, plus a raised planter next to the back porch. Still every year, I raise plenty to eat, plenty to freeze, and plenty to share. That makes me happy.

I think of the story of the mustard seed found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. If it’s in all three of those gospels, it must be important. The story reminds us that a tiny mustard seed when planted grows almost into the size of a small tree, and birds can lodge in its branches. Jesus then reminds his followers that lots of small items and actions and words can grow into something big. My little garden is much like that mustard seed.

There are many, many ways that the small things in our lives can become larger things. When we are kind and generous and loving and gracious, our actions touch many other people’s lives. So, share what you have, and your harvest will multiply.

Pastor Beth

It’s that time of the year again. September is the beginning of a new school year, a new Sunday school year, and harvest time. The leaves will quickly begin to turn color for the Fall, and our gardens and crops will bring in a bounty. Even though Art and I don’t have children, there is still a buzz in the air, and we definitely know what month it is!

At Our Redeemer’s this September, we will be particularly busy. We have lots of special events going on:

              Monday, September 1, at 10 a.m., we will have a float in the Suring Labor Day parade. If you would like to ride on the float, talk to me!

              Sunday, September 7, we will have our second annual pet blessing and then our Sunday School rally. We will worship outdoors that day, unless it rains. If it rains, we will meet in fellowship hall. All animals and people are welcome. After the worship service, we will have finger foods and games for people to play.

              Sunday, September 14, will be the first Sunday of Sunday School classes. There will be two classes this year: preschool through grade 2 and grades 3 through 6. We will also present Bibles to our elementary-age children during the worship service.

              Sunday, September 21, we will have a baptism!! Come and celebrate with baby Myles and his family.

              Sunday, September 28, we will bless the quilts that the quilters of Our Redeemer’s have made this past year as we prepare to box them up and ship them off to help other people around the world. Quilting is truly a ministry of love!

As you can see, September is action-packed in our congregation. Please come, join us, and be a part of all the festivities.

Pastor Beth

First of all, thank you to everyone who sent well wishes via mail, email, texts, or phone calls when I had surgery.  It was delightful and greatly appreciated.  Since my ankle surgery, I have been getting around with a knee scooter and crutches.  Immediately, I started to make notes about lessons learned while using them. Here are some of my learnings:

Crutches are more difficult to use than I remember. I last used them in 2018 so not that long ago, but this time around has been much harder.

I don’t know how anyone can use either the crutches or the knee scooter if they didn’t already workout because it is a workout!  I jazzercise regularly and I was intentionally doing an upper-body workout to prepare, and I’m still exhausted all the time when I use them.

Some people don’t watch out for me, even when they look right at me on crutches or a scooter.  Most people have been very kind and gracious and helpful by holding doors and offering to carry things.

I can’t carry much while on crutches or the scooter. I’m using a backpack, but it throws off my balance when I’m on crutches.  I have a bag on one scooter and a basket on the other, but they don’t carry a lot.

Art and I have discovered that we can work together. (Early in our marriage we discovered that we don’t always work well together.)  However, one day early in my recovery I wanted to bake a cake which I couldn’t make on my own. I needed help to get ingredients down and to put it into the oven and get it back out. We managed!

When we moved into our house, it seemed so large. However, it seems small as I try to get around on a knee scooter in it.  I have to make a lot of Y-turns.

While the floors in our house are level, the transitions between floors can be a challenge. Also, dog toys inhibit getting around.  Both the floor transitions and the dog toys cause the scooter to come to a complete halt.

Handicap parking is excellent. However, parking lot and sidewalk surfaces are not always level.  They have grooves, bumps, and holes in them.

Going backwards on a scooter can be painful, especially when I run into something.

There are lots of lessons that I have learned. I hope you enjoy this list!

Pastor Beth

I think many of us get to be those “Get off my yard, you young whippersnapper” kind of people as we age. Not every day, but some days. I know that for myself, as I approach 60, I have those days when I wonder about younger generations. However, then I have other days when young people give me great hope for the future.

Recently, Art and I went to a high school graduation party for our friends’ son. Because the son was in music and drama in high school, many of his drama and music friends were there. When we arrived they had a game of poker going in the garage, but really it was a few who knew how to play teaching others who didn’t know how to play. We sat nearby for a while and listened to them, and it was wonderful. They were laughing. They were helping each other. They were sharing memories, and they were talking about the future. Listening to this group of friends, I could see that they have a bright future.

Over the last few months at church, we have gotten to celebrate with our young people at church. Three people celebrate their Confirmation, and three people celebrated their high school graduation. Then we had a week of Vacation Bible School.

Our young people are all very impressive and have a bright future. They are all hard workers. Almost all of them have jobs, in addition to going to school. At least one of the high school graduates took college courses while in high school and working a job, so that they are already ahead of the game for advanced learning. Some of them have been traveling this summer (2 to Washington D.C. and one to London and Paris) to see more of the world. Some of our young people came and taught or helped with VBS, giving their own time and even taking off work in order to help teach the younger children.

I like to think that Our Redeemer’s has helped to lay a good foundation in the lives of these young people, in addition to their families. The more we set a good example for the young people in our presence, the more they can see that anything is possible. Let continue to celebrate them!

Pastor Beth

I’m nesting. Now, don’t get any funny ideas. I’m too old to be having a baby. Sadly, I’m not even getting a new puppy or kitten. No, I’m preparing for surgery. On June 16 I will have ankle surgery.

In the meantime, I’m painting my kitchen. I started this project a year ago, and I got one wall painted. But then I got to the walls that had wallpaper on them, and things stalled. I removed some of it. Some of the wallpaper had already begun to come off on its own. We had a dog who had also taken some off. However, the rest of it clung to the wall like there was no tomorrow. I scraped. I scored it. I sprayed the stuff on it that “guaranteed” it would come off. I soaked it. I steamed it. Still there were large sections of the wallpaper that just would not budge. I gave up.

Early this spring a wise woman asked me about the progress in my kitchen. She suggested that I hire someone to remove the wallpaper. That was a novel thought to me. I had already asked our handyman, and he laughed at me. I told every person who had checked in on the progress of the kitchen that they could come over and help remove wallpaper, and they laughed at me. I didn’t think there was anyone who would remove it.

I searched online and found a painting company that would do it. When the man came to give an estimate, he said it was a small job that would probably only take an hour. When the day came to remove it, it took 2 workers over 3 hours to get it off. And I felt vindicated that I hadn’t made much progress.

Since that day, I have been happily painting away whenever I get a chance. My goal is to complete the project before surgery. One day when I was painting, I thought about the last time I did a major painting project. The month before I had my knee replaced, I painted our bedroom. So, this apparently has become one of the ways I nest before surgery.

It will be nice to have the kitchen completed and to have the ankle fixed. Blessings on all your projects!

Pastor Beth

I often think of the next several weeks as good times for family. During those weeks, we have several opportunities to gather with family, to celebrate with family, and to remember family.

In May we celebrate Mother’s Day. I always encourage people to remember all the important women in their lives for Mother’s Day. There are so many women who help to raise us: mothers, grandmothers, aunts, godmothers, and others. Therefore, it is important to remember those women in some way and to thank them for all that they have done for us.

In June we celebrate Father’s Day. Again, I always encourage people to remember all the important men in their lives on Father’s Day. We have many men who help to raise us also: fathers, grandfathers, uncles, godfathers, and others. It is important to remember those men in some way and to thank them in some way for all that they have done for us.

In between those two holidays is Memorial Day. While Memorial Day is not specifically for family events, it is a day meant to remember and to honor the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Some of us do have family members who died in service. Even if we don’t, Memorial Day is also a time to go the cemeteries to place flowers at the graves of our family members who have died, to honor and remember them.

Family is important. Whoever they are and whatever family looks like for us, family is crucial in our lives. They provide a foundation of love, support, and belonging. They instill values, offer guidance, and help us navigate life’s challenges. Strong family bonds foster a sense of purpose and identity, contributing to our overall happiness and self-esteem. Even when family members tease us and drive us crazy, we appreciate them and need them.

Beyond the specific holidays I have already mentioned, I think the summer months in general bring us more opportunities to get together with family. The warmer weather allows us to gather outside or to go camping together or to simply go for a walk together. We can cook out, picnic, and tailgate together. These are opportunities to make memories and to support one another.

As the weather (hopefully) turns warmer, we have a lot to look forward to. Enjoy those chances!

Pastor Beth