
We have added a “Food Blessing Box” to our landscape and ministry for those in need to be able to grab non-perishable food items for a meal or two. Feel free to take advantage of these items. We also need non-perishable food items to replenish the box when needed. Please bring your items to church or add your items to the box. May ALL who give and receive be blessed!
LETTER FROM PASTOR DONNA
January 28, 2025
It is no secret that I dislike winter. The cold gets inside of me, and it just won’t let go. Add to that the shorter hours of daylight and the usually cloudy skies, and it all makes me wish I could skip over winter. But I can’t. I can’t change the weather, I can’t change the clouds, I can’t change one thing about the season. You know what I can change, though? How I approach each day. I cannot control the things I dislike the most about winter, but I can control my attitude when I put my mind to it.
Right now, as I write this, the sky is grey and low, but the sun just peeked through for a moment. I noticed and thanked God for that little bit of sunshine, and how it perked me up. This past weekend, when the temps finally rose above freezing for the fist time in what felt like weeks, I thanked God for the warmer weather and how it made me feel better.
Perhaps, it is because of the weather that I do not like, that I can better appreciate the good days more. Isn’t that how we all are in some way? There is an old saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” and while it is usually applied to romantic relationships, I believe it has a wider appeal. I miss the sun when it does not shine for several days, but do I notice it as much when I see it often? I miss the balmy temps that allow me to stop wearing layer upon layer to keep warm, but do I notice and appreciate those warmer days when there are many in a row?
Scripture tells us that God is with us always, but do we always live in that truth? Or do we recognize it only when we are enduring a season of hardship and realize we need him desperately? We don’t always appreciate the good as we live it, but we sure do miss it when it’s gone. We look back longingly to what was as we slog through our current hardship.
Maybe that is why I love spring so much. As the weather warms and the earth is reborn, I can deeply appreciate it because I know what it was like to live without it all for the past three months. But that isn’t all. Because I know what is coming, I can, even now, begin to look forward with hope. I can begin to look for signs that spring promises to be here in its time. Seed catalogs and gardening goods are appearing on store shelves. In about two weeks, pitchers and catchers will begin reporting to their respective teams’ Spring Training sites. The hours of daylight are starting to grow noticeably longer. Spring is coming!
The psalmist wrote in chapter 74, “The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” I am so grateful for that reminder, because I need to remember that God made both winter and summer and so they are both good, whether I like it or not. It also gives me confidence to know that winter is a season; it will come and go as God directs it. I cannot control the seasons, only how I react and respond to them.
I will probably still complain about the cold, but I hope I will remember that the colder the winter the fewer the bugs in summer. When I am frustrated that the snow is piling up, I want to remember how the melting snow waters the earth and fills the water tables so that we will have water when the summer sun beats down. May I always look for the good to balance whatever it is I grumble about. May you do the same. May we always proclaim that God is good, all the time, no matter the weather or our present circumstance.
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Donna
It is no secret that I dislike winter. The cold gets inside of me, and it just won’t let go. Add to that the shorter hours of daylight and the usually cloudy skies, and it all makes me wish I could skip over winter. But I can’t. I can’t change the weather, I can’t change the clouds, I can’t change one thing about the season. You know what I can change, though? How I approach each day. I cannot control the things I dislike the most about winter, but I can control my attitude when I put my mind to it.
Right now, as I write this, the sky is grey and low, but the sun just peeked through for a moment. I noticed and thanked God for that little bit of sunshine, and how it perked me up. This past weekend, when the temps finally rose above freezing for the fist time in what felt like weeks, I thanked God for the warmer weather and how it made me feel better.
Perhaps, it is because of the weather that I do not like, that I can better appreciate the good days more. Isn’t that how we all are in some way? There is an old saying, “Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” and while it is usually applied to romantic relationships, I believe it has a wider appeal. I miss the sun when it does not shine for several days, but do I notice it as much when I see it often? I miss the balmy temps that allow me to stop wearing layer upon layer to keep warm, but do I notice and appreciate those warmer days when there are many in a row?
Scripture tells us that God is with us always, but do we always live in that truth? Or do we recognize it only when we are enduring a season of hardship and realize we need him desperately? We don’t always appreciate the good as we live it, but we sure do miss it when it’s gone. We look back longingly to what was as we slog through our current hardship.
Maybe that is why I love spring so much. As the weather warms and the earth is reborn, I can deeply appreciate it because I know what it was like to live without it all for the past three months. But that isn’t all. Because I know what is coming, I can, even now, begin to look forward with hope. I can begin to look for signs that spring promises to be here in its time. Seed catalogs and gardening goods are appearing on store shelves. In about two weeks, pitchers and catchers will begin reporting to their respective teams’ Spring Training sites. The hours of daylight are starting to grow noticeably longer. Spring is coming!
The psalmist wrote in chapter 74, “The day is yours, and yours also the night; you established the sun and moon. It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.” I am so grateful for that reminder, because I need to remember that God made both winter and summer and so they are both good, whether I like it or not. It also gives me confidence to know that winter is a season; it will come and go as God directs it. I cannot control the seasons, only how I react and respond to them.
I will probably still complain about the cold, but I hope I will remember that the colder the winter the fewer the bugs in summer. When I am frustrated that the snow is piling up, I want to remember how the melting snow waters the earth and fills the water tables so that we will have water when the summer sun beats down. May I always look for the good to balance whatever it is I grumble about. May you do the same. May we always proclaim that God is good, all the time, no matter the weather or our present circumstance.
Blessings to you all,
Pastor Donna
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Morning education classes
Classes for Pre K- Adults of all ages are meeting from, 9:30 am to 10:30 am.
Young ones (Birth - Pre-K) - the nursery
*Pre-K - 1st Grade - downstairs with Ms Connie *2nd - 5th Grade - downstairs with Ms Roberta 6th - 8th Grade - downstairs with Ms Sabrina |
9th - 12th Grade - downstairs with Mr Chris
Young Adult/College & Career - in the library Russ Bowman's Class for adults - at Dunkin' Donuts Alpha and Omega for adults -in the Fellowship Hall |
Watch previous week's messAGES FROM pASTOR dONNA (AND OTHERS) ON OUR worship services PAGE OR ON OUR fACEBOOK PAGE (@ROOTSTOWNCHURCHofhope)
For more news, updates and info, check out our News page!
Habitat of portage county Apostles Build
Apostles Build Story: The project that was started in July 2019 has been completed! The Hummel-Tucker family were presented with their home on April 25th at 2 pm! Blessings to the family as they begin to move in and get comfortable! Thank you to all who helped, prayed for, donated to this project!