For what reason would God choose to be born as one of us just to suffer and die on a cross? He deserves none of the punishment you see on the Isaiah 53 column. And we deserve none of the rewards you see on the New Testament text column. To what purpose?…

Construction zones almost always try my patience. I diligently get in the correct lane, as soon as I see the sign and try to wait patiently. Almost always, though, there is someone who drives past all who are waiting, and not slowly, of course. When they get to the front of the line, then they slow down and turn their signal on, waiting for someone to let them in line. Just once I would love for them not to be able to get in line, but someone always lets them in, like me, because my conscious wouldn’t let me not do it. Sometimes it feels like a construction zone here for our visitors waiting patiently until someone welcomes them. If they are not welcomed, many will just leave thinking we are an unfriendly church. I have been told that several times in the past year, and it breaks my heart. I cannot talk to everyone by myself, before or after worship, so people get missed.…

The OWLs are a hearty bunch. In spite of subzero temperature, we gathered for our potluck on Ash Wednesday. Thanks to everyone who brought extra food to help feed the mid-day worshipers. After a fantastic lunch, we had a fun time learning about each other’s heritage. We found a great number of us are from Norwegian descent, but we also have a few Germans and some from England. A great time was had by all… just see the photos on the left!

For March we hope for warmer weather as we leave the confines of La Crosse for our outing. We will travel to Houston, Minnesota, on Saturday, March 7, to visit the International Owls Festival. 

Last fall First Lutheran published a long-range Strategic Plan, set to begin January 1, 2015. In response to the plan, we have already hired Bridget Crave as our Director of Small Groups and Aliyah Richling as our Children’s Choir Director. A full time Youth Director position has been approved by our Finance Team (they believe we can afford it) and also by our Vision & Leadership Team (they agree that the vision for the congregation includes this position). A job description is almost complete, and we will begin searching in earnest by February 1. Other goals for this first quarter of 2015 include recruiting a Stewardship Action Team, a Community Outreach Action Team and Sanctuary Players—who are willing to do dramatic readings and skits in worship. In the second quarter of this year we hope to recruit Worship Directors, establish Hospitality Action Teams, recruit a Worship Action Team and create a Welcome Basket Team

It seems like just yesterday that the Christmas decorations were put away and life got back to “normal”. It hardly seems possible that Lent and Easter are just a few weeks away. And yet, here we are again, getting ready to enter into the time of the year that calls us first to examine our own lives and sin and need for God and then to rejoice again in being saved by God through the death and resurrection of Jesus from our sin. All year, we have been focused outward as we consider how we can be of service to others but Lent calls us to spend some time looking inward. I sometimes consider this time of year the time for Christians to consider what needs to be changed in their lives, instead of the beginning of the new year. We don’t, however, stay in this inwardly gazing mode for long, but are called to acts of service and love. We once again dedicate ourselves to the disciplines of a follower of Christ: study, prayer, worship, giving and acts of service.

In spite of cold and snow the OWLs had a very enjoyable January. Our outing to the Johnsmith concert at the Pump House preceded by dinner at the Waterford provided much warmth, laughter and good music during our Friday Night Out. Our potluck with speaker Rob Wessler presenting his experiences in China was fun and informative.

In February our theme will be history and heritage. Our first event is our potluck which will be on Ash Wednesday, February 18 at noon in the narthex. As we have done in the past we will provide lunch to Lenten worshipers after the morning service. Please bring some extra food to share. For our program we will once again turn to ourselves and have an opportunity to get to know each other better through our stories. Our theme is history and heritage. We all come from different backgrounds and national heritages. Please come prepared to tell a little about yourself and your family heritage. Each person will have about five minutes to share memories, show family artifacts or simply tell a story about their youth or ancestors. If you know some of your family genealogy and would like to share, that is fine too. As always, you can sit and listen if you prefer not to share.

I recently heard that 2015— according to Chinese astrology—is the “Year of the Sheep”. This, apparently, is not such a great thing if you are a couple considering bringing a child into this world. 2014 was an auspicious “Year of the Horse.” Sheep, though, are meek creatures, and raised for nothing more than slaughter. The thought is that children born this year will be followers, not leaders. Many Chinese believe they will be destined for heartbreak or failed marriages and that they will be unlucky in business, too. Have you ever noticed Christians call every year since the birth of Christ, “The Year of Our Lord”? Of course, Our Lord is likened in Scripture to a lamb… led to slaughter. The meekness of Christ is at the core of his ultimate power: the power to take the world’s abuse and transform it into peace, love and strength. For us, every year is a Year of the Sheep!…

By the time this newsletter is in your hands, we will be right in the middle of the twelve days of the Christmas season of the Church. We will have sung Joy to the World, decorated the trees and opened presents, made and eaten and given away yummy cookies, spent time with family and friends. While we will still be in the midst of Christmas the world will have moved on. Yet, after weeks of waiting, we still celebrate the birth of Jesus. That celebration culminates on January 6th with the celebration of Epiphany, the day when those wise people from the East came to visit Jesus.…

Years ago as a family, when my girls were small, we would go ice fishing. Perry would open up several holes to fish in and start fishing, while I would try to fish and watch the girls playing in the snow. The girls would run around, make houses in the snow and play with the fish being caught. We would remind them often to watch out for fishing holes and not go too far from mom or dad. As they would play one of them or both of them would step into a fishing hole and get one or both feet wet before it was time to go home. I was usually prepared for this and brought with us dry socks and bread bags. We would change out of the wet socks, put dry ones on, with bread bags over them, and the feet would go back into the boots, after dumping all the water out. Getting your feet wet was the cost of being together as an ice-fishing family, and being prepared for wet feet was part of that.…

I remember greeting my first care receiver with those words about six years ago. Since then I have had the privilege of serving two other care receivers, each in a totally different difficult life circumstance. When the first Stephen Minister class was started at First Lutheran, I thought it may be something I would be interested in, but I just wasn’t certain. Would I be capable of the training? Would I have the time? Is this what I was called to do? I passed on that opportunity, but the idea of serving just wouldn’t leave my mind. When the second class was started, I knew I was called to serve. I was compelled to serve....

The return of MP3 Night! (Movie, Pizza, Pajamas, and Popcorn). Featuring the movie: The Sandlot or Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (I’ll let you and the kids vote, most votes wins)...

I’m using my newsletter this month to continue the conversations we had through cottage meetings. Something like a dozen meetings happened with anywhere from five to thirty participants each. In all, about 100 members took the time to hear more about the Plan and take the time to ask their questions. Thank you to those who participated! For those who were unable, I’ve included some of the most common comments and questions below....