RESURRECTION
A maple tree next door kept its leaves last fall.
Now, at February’s end, they still hang on -
Shriveled, but bravely burnt-orange against the white snow.
Perhaps a botanist could explain why,
Or maybe that tree just likes the way it looks in autumn.
It’s found the style that suits it and it’s sticking to it
Despite all its neighbors’ bare branchy winter silhouettes.
Maybe, like most of us, it doesn’t like change,
And having gone from green to orange,
It’s taken a stand and said, “That’s enough -
No more changes for me, thank you.”
One hopes though, that in the next few months,
Those leaves will finally drop for new green to appear.
Before new life, a death must sometimes come.
--Kay Carlsen
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Sorenson Gallery
The current display in the Sorenson Gallery features watercolors from several different artists: Phyllis Kalliokoski, Jane Freeman, Ivy Bailie, LaVonne Forseberg, Mary Therese Peterson and Judith Selby. The bright colors are just what we all need as we think spring.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Seek His Face, Volume I
Contentment
by alison mellgren
“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members
do not have the same function…” Romans 12:4
It seems to me our relationships tell us who we are. We define ourselves by them. As do others. Sometimes they define us by the lack of them. You cannot watch a movie, read a book or chat with a friend and not be exposed to someone’s opinion on relationships. The overriding consensus seems to be we should not be alone.
I am a single Christian. Single is not a disease which needs a cure as some people seem to think. It is simply one of many adjectives which describe me. The world has a lot to say about relationships especially if you are single. So do many dating or married Christians who unwittingly convey through words or actions; that if you are a Christian and single you have not realized your full potential yet. This can be such a discouragement to singles in the body of Christ.
“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly…” Romans 12:4-6a.
Being single is not a condition nor is being married. Both are a commitment and we all share the same condition: sinful, fallen man. Recently I discussed this “single” scenario with my siblings. For the first time our conversation became more than venting our frustration regarding a viewpoint which appears to celebrate being in a relationship, more than not being in one.
Through our discussion the Lord began to reveal to us that whether we are single, married and struggling to start a family, on the brink of a divorce or a careworn single parent, at times we all share the innate frustration of feeling we are entirely alone.
There are times in our lives when this loneliness is felt more keenly. These periods are not necessarily contingent on social and familial relationships or the lack of them. When the children of God lose sight of the one relationship which matters most—the one with our Savior— we begin to feel our aloneness. Our fallen state accentuates this loneliness.
Whenever I read the psalms of David I marvel. I do not have to wonder how he is feeling about his relationship with his Lord. He praises fluently or cries out in bold anguish. His impassioned pleas appear to fall on deaf ears while he laments his circumstances repeatedly, with a fervor which almost seems to offend. Yet in the next verse David can revert to unabashed, effervescent tribute.
What the Lord desires from us is communion which is unashamed and unafraid. King David pursued this kind of communal relationship with the Lord throughout his life. Yet even the man after God’s own heart struggled with the act of putting his relationship with his Lord first.
Every time I read a psalm of David I admire and appreciate his simple, child-like trust. This trust allows him to express himself without reservation. Whatever his circumstance whether dire or joyful, his trust reveals he knows the source of his contentment.
Any relationship issue is really one about contentment. Can we be content where we are? Can we be content with what the Lord has given us? Do we grumble about what we still do not have? Do we sulk about what we had to give up? Do we begin to orchestrate circumstances to provide what it is we think we need?
Apart from Christ we are truly alone. Even those of us who are born again experience this loneliness not because Christ has left us, but because we have left Him— in our hearts and by our actions.
Maybe our day gets busy and we neglect our personal devotions thinking tomorrow we will have more time. Maybe we turn aside to do “good” things, letting our works become an effort at righteousness. Maybe we shun the simple resting at His feet like Martha, thinking later we will have more time. We have made tomorrow our apology and later a justifiable excuse for someday.
Isaiah 30:15 describes very well what God considers contentment. “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”
In the body of Christ we all serve a purpose. Let us build up our fellow believers encouraging and supporting them in the role the Lord has called them to fulfill. I urge you to pursue with diligence the relationship which matters the most. Believers, make someday today.
Contentment
by alison mellgren
“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members
do not have the same function…” Romans 12:4
It seems to me our relationships tell us who we are. We define ourselves by them. As do others. Sometimes they define us by the lack of them. You cannot watch a movie, read a book or chat with a friend and not be exposed to someone’s opinion on relationships. The overriding consensus seems to be we should not be alone.
I am a single Christian. Single is not a disease which needs a cure as some people seem to think. It is simply one of many adjectives which describe me. The world has a lot to say about relationships especially if you are single. So do many dating or married Christians who unwittingly convey through words or actions; that if you are a Christian and single you have not realized your full potential yet. This can be such a discouragement to singles in the body of Christ.
“For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly…” Romans 12:4-6a.
Being single is not a condition nor is being married. Both are a commitment and we all share the same condition: sinful, fallen man. Recently I discussed this “single” scenario with my siblings. For the first time our conversation became more than venting our frustration regarding a viewpoint which appears to celebrate being in a relationship, more than not being in one.
Through our discussion the Lord began to reveal to us that whether we are single, married and struggling to start a family, on the brink of a divorce or a careworn single parent, at times we all share the innate frustration of feeling we are entirely alone.
There are times in our lives when this loneliness is felt more keenly. These periods are not necessarily contingent on social and familial relationships or the lack of them. When the children of God lose sight of the one relationship which matters most—the one with our Savior— we begin to feel our aloneness. Our fallen state accentuates this loneliness.
Whenever I read the psalms of David I marvel. I do not have to wonder how he is feeling about his relationship with his Lord. He praises fluently or cries out in bold anguish. His impassioned pleas appear to fall on deaf ears while he laments his circumstances repeatedly, with a fervor which almost seems to offend. Yet in the next verse David can revert to unabashed, effervescent tribute.
What the Lord desires from us is communion which is unashamed and unafraid. King David pursued this kind of communal relationship with the Lord throughout his life. Yet even the man after God’s own heart struggled with the act of putting his relationship with his Lord first.
Every time I read a psalm of David I admire and appreciate his simple, child-like trust. This trust allows him to express himself without reservation. Whatever his circumstance whether dire or joyful, his trust reveals he knows the source of his contentment.
Any relationship issue is really one about contentment. Can we be content where we are? Can we be content with what the Lord has given us? Do we grumble about what we still do not have? Do we sulk about what we had to give up? Do we begin to orchestrate circumstances to provide what it is we think we need?
Apart from Christ we are truly alone. Even those of us who are born again experience this loneliness not because Christ has left us, but because we have left Him— in our hearts and by our actions.
Maybe our day gets busy and we neglect our personal devotions thinking tomorrow we will have more time. Maybe we turn aside to do “good” things, letting our works become an effort at righteousness. Maybe we shun the simple resting at His feet like Martha, thinking later we will have more time. We have made tomorrow our apology and later a justifiable excuse for someday.
Isaiah 30:15 describes very well what God considers contentment. “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”
In the body of Christ we all serve a purpose. Let us build up our fellow believers encouraging and supporting them in the role the Lord has called them to fulfill. I urge you to pursue with diligence the relationship which matters the most. Believers, make someday today.
this is an exerpt from my published work, Seek His Face, Volume I
Shadowborn
Ever will the heart of man
Seek to guard the dark within
Crushing what the light would show
Denying freedom to the soul
Avarice, hate, deceit, and strife
All lead to everlasting night
Oh can the darkened heart of man
Fulfill the laws demands
There is a god inside of me
Thriving on dark apart from Thee
Shaping my hopeless destiny
Condemning my soul eternally
This endless struggle we endure
For we are not what we were
Redemption waits, errant child
To pierce the dark cleanse the vile
Oh son of man would you be saved
One bled freely death He gave
Immanuel and Prince of Peace
Sacrificed to grant release
There is a god inside of me
Thriving on dark apart from Thee
Shaping my hopeless destiny
Condemning my soul eternally
Hope lies not in strength of man
Where souls toil on in barren land
The heart of wrath can be remade
Sin atoned judgement paid
Relinquish will self and pride
The gods within must all die
Embrace the death light demands
Claim redemption fallen man
Now this God inside of me
Fulfilled the law on Calvary
Granting release from slavery
He shapes my life my destiny
Ever will the heart of man
Seek to guard the dark within
Crushing what the light would show
Denying freedom to the soul
Avarice, hate, deceit, and strife
All lead to everlasting night
Oh can the darkened heart of man
Fulfill the laws demands
There is a god inside of me
Thriving on dark apart from Thee
Shaping my hopeless destiny
Condemning my soul eternally
This endless struggle we endure
For we are not what we were
Redemption waits, errant child
To pierce the dark cleanse the vile
Oh son of man would you be saved
One bled freely death He gave
Immanuel and Prince of Peace
Sacrificed to grant release
There is a god inside of me
Thriving on dark apart from Thee
Shaping my hopeless destiny
Condemning my soul eternally
Hope lies not in strength of man
Where souls toil on in barren land
The heart of wrath can be remade
Sin atoned judgement paid
Relinquish will self and pride
The gods within must all die
Embrace the death light demands
Claim redemption fallen man
Now this God inside of me
Fulfilled the law on Calvary
Granting release from slavery
He shapes my life my destiny
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Ah, March - it seems to be coming in like a lamb - here’s hoping it will go out the same way, as the Fosston Community Library Arts Association has a big event scheduled for Saturday, March 27. Plans are under way for Hope for Haiti: A Musical Benefit. A number of area musicians are donating their time and talents, including Dale Branstner, Neil Bursheim, Mark Hendrickson, Luke Dorman, Stacy Juntenun and more. There will be music in the auditorium and also in the gallery, which will double as a coffeehouse for the evening, with refreshments available. The program on the main state will begin at 7:00, but things will be percolating in the coffeehouse by 6:30. All proceeds will be directed to Haiti relief.
The 2010 theme for LARL Youth Services is “Read Every Day,” certainly good advice for all of us, young, old, and in the middle. In observance of the “Read Every Day” campaign, the Fosston Library will have a Dr. Seuss story time on March 12 and show the movie In Search of Dr. Seuss at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 13.
If you’ve read this year’s community read selection, Nothing by Trouble by Minnesota author Susan May Warren, you won’t want to miss a chance to hear her speak at the library on Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. Warren, a former missionary to Russia, is the award-winning author of 17 novels and novellas. She currently lives in Grand Marais and writes full-time. If you haven’t read her book, there is still time before she comes, and while you’re at it, read three more books and sign up for the Hot Reads adult reading program. The grand prize drawing will be held after Warren’s presentation, and of course, refreshments will be served.
March also brings us St. Patrick’s Day, when we all pretend to be Irish. On Wednesday, March 17, there will be a family celebration from 4-6 p.m. at the library. Hear the story of St. Patrick, stay for games, a treasure hunt and green refreshments (probably not spinach).
There is a colorful new show in the Sorenson Gallery with a number of watercolors and collages by several different artists. There are works by Phyllis Kalliokoski of East Grand Forks, Jane Freeman, Judith Selby and Mary Therese Peterson, all of Bemidji, Ivy Bailie of Fosston, and LaVonne Forseberg of Thief River Falls, Be sure to stop by and see it.
Movies at the library from the month of March are Darby O’Gill and the Little People on Monday, March 15, at 3:30 p.m. and Star Trek on Tuesday, March 16, also at 3:30.
The 2010 theme for LARL Youth Services is “Read Every Day,” certainly good advice for all of us, young, old, and in the middle. In observance of the “Read Every Day” campaign, the Fosston Library will have a Dr. Seuss story time on March 12 and show the movie In Search of Dr. Seuss at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 13.
If you’ve read this year’s community read selection, Nothing by Trouble by Minnesota author Susan May Warren, you won’t want to miss a chance to hear her speak at the library on Tuesday, March 23, at 7 p.m. Warren, a former missionary to Russia, is the award-winning author of 17 novels and novellas. She currently lives in Grand Marais and writes full-time. If you haven’t read her book, there is still time before she comes, and while you’re at it, read three more books and sign up for the Hot Reads adult reading program. The grand prize drawing will be held after Warren’s presentation, and of course, refreshments will be served.
March also brings us St. Patrick’s Day, when we all pretend to be Irish. On Wednesday, March 17, there will be a family celebration from 4-6 p.m. at the library. Hear the story of St. Patrick, stay for games, a treasure hunt and green refreshments (probably not spinach).
There is a colorful new show in the Sorenson Gallery with a number of watercolors and collages by several different artists. There are works by Phyllis Kalliokoski of East Grand Forks, Jane Freeman, Judith Selby and Mary Therese Peterson, all of Bemidji, Ivy Bailie of Fosston, and LaVonne Forseberg of Thief River Falls, Be sure to stop by and see it.
Movies at the library from the month of March are Darby O’Gill and the Little People on Monday, March 15, at 3:30 p.m. and Star Trek on Tuesday, March 16, also at 3:30.
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