The New Year

Hey Everyone!

I trust that 2007 (yeah, just like everyone else I started off writing '06) is treating you well so far. We are doing quite well so far this year.

As an update on my computer problems, my hard drive did finally bite the dust just before Christmas. I have a new one installed and pretty much everything is up and running. I need to find a few drivers online and then I'll be back up to normal.

Our Christmas programs were incredible! Our Sunday School program was probably the best I had seen. The Gospel was very clearly portrayed with the question "Do You Believe?" being prominent throughout. It was followed by a cookie fellowship time. I had a chance to meet many new people, but when you have an additional 33% in the church that is to be expected. The next week was our Candlelight Service. Again, it went very well with the opportunity to meet new people.

We then drove through the night to my parents house in order to surprise my Mom on Christmas morning. That was a LOT of fun!

New Years was a lot of fun with Misty's family visiting us. I'm one of those fortunate enough to have wonderful in-laws (Doug and Peggy, if you're reading this you better comment!)

That pretty much brings us up to the present. I'll be finishing up my series in Galatians this week with a sermon addressing the question "What Really Matters?" For Paul, it didn't matter what others thought about him. He said that the world was dead to him, but not only that, he was dead to the world. As far as they were concerned Paul was dead. They didn't care for him at all. They just needed a body to complete the thought. Hmm, interesting. Does the world matter to you?

God bless,
Parson Larson

Hard Week

Have you ever had a week where you just can't get to whatever it is that needs to be done? That's pretty much how this week is going...

#1 Computer Problems
The Power Supply on my desktop went out. Hence, trying to type on my laptop slowed me down. New psu shows up and after installation, computer works, for awhile. I now find out my hard drive is going out. I'm trying to back up all of my information so it doesn't get lost. Oh fun.

#2 Adoption Process
Our home study is this week. The social worker spends a day here interviewing us. I don't mind the process, but that's most of a day that I can't work.

#3 Thursday
I don't mind Thursdays. They are perfectly wonderful days. ALL of our Bible studies happen to fall on Thursdays. I'm not quite sure how this happened. Oh well, it works. It just doesn't leave a whole lot of time to work on a sermon.

#4 Christmas
Ok, I love Christmas. As the song goes, "It's the most wonderful time of the year." This is my first Christmas as a pastor and I'm getting a glimpse of all that goes on in a church during Christmas. It's pretty cool, but time consuming.

Anyway, that's a glimpse of this week. #1 is the most frustrating, but I'm dealing with it. I enjoy computer work so I'm getting it all done. I just need to focus on other things first.

I have my sermon narrowed down for this week. We'll be studying the kenosis in Christmas. If you have no idea what that is, look it up. Studying builds character. :-) Or read Phil. 2:5-11 for an idea.

You know what, I think this is enough for today. I better get to work on this sermon.

God bless,
Parson Larson

Merry Christmas

It's looking like it will be one of the busiest Christmases I've had for quite awhile, but I guess that I can expect that now that I'm a pastor. (For those just stumbling across this, I'm at my first pastorate in Kansas.)

For those who live in North Central Kansas, I have one question... Does it snow here? We moved here in August and had some good rain storms (tornado just north of us) but it is now December 12th and we haven't had any snow yet!!! We have had 60+ degree weather in the last week. What's going on? Nothing is forecasted for this week either. Oh well, just remember this post when we're snowed in this January.

Had dinner with some new friends in the area last night. Like myself, he is a young pastor in a rural setting so we have quite a bit in common there, plus their two boys are the same ages as my kids, and Misty and Mary Ellen get along really well too. It was a lot of fun.

Last Sunday's sermon was about missing Christ in Christmas and comparing us to those who missed Him the first Christmas. I'm not entirely sure what this week I'll be preaching on, other than a Christmas theme, but I have a few ideas. Just need to narrow them down to something a little more specific.

Our Home Study for our adoption is coming up this week, please keep us in your prayers. I'm kind of nervous about that. If you want more information go to Misty's blog at mistyandtyler.blogspot.com

God bless and Merry Christmas!
"Parson Larson"