Pastor Dalene Vasbinder may be reached at 206.363.1438 (office) or by email at: dalene@lakecitychristianchurch.org

Dalene Vasbinder

Pastor's Column - May 2008
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
As I recently said in one of my last sermons, boy, have I been ready for Easter! By that I’m not referring to Easter Sunday - as wonderful as it was. No, I’m referring to this Easter season and it’s emphasis on new life, these days of embracing newness and freshness, and an intentional time of saying no to those parts of life that are not life giving.
Questions that I have been asking myself lately, that I invite you to reflect on also: How do I see Easter happening around me? How am I personally embodying Easter, embracing new life in my life? How is our congregation living out this Easter season, how are we embodying God’s promise of new life as church to our community?
In addition to leaving you with the above questions to ponder, I’ll share with you a new spiritual ‘discipline’ that I have been trying on each morning. The idea came one night after Kaylen and I read a chapter of “Hattie Big Sky”, a novel about a 16 year old orphan trying to stake a claim on her uncle’s land in Montana during World War I. Each morning as Hattie begins her chores she speaks a litany of thanks to God…nothing formal, just simple, ordinary stuff of life…the tea kettle, buffalo chips for the fire, warm mittens, milk from the very ornery cow. I’ve been trying to infuse Hattie’s spirit of gratitude in my early mornings. As I walk Cayanne, as I shower, as I fix the kids’ breakfast, I think about those ordinary gifts in life I can say, “Thanks, God” for. The list is pretty long!
Not anything earth shattering new, I realize. And this may read more like a November ‘Thanksgiving’ column than an April/May one. But, hey, the Easter theme is tied in here! As I express my gratitude, I become aware of a sense of being renewed, of those darker places in my life being redeemed…
Christ is risen indeed!