May 3, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus. Sunday was the 5th Sunday of Easter. Springtime has come to East Texas! The temperatures have warmed into the 80s, and we have had plenty of spring rain. My garden looks so good. I notice when I am driving around how pretty people’s roses are this year. My roses have been fantastic. I don’t know if it is really true, but it seems that the best-smelling roses have the most and meanest thorns (should be a life lesson in there somewhere).

April 20, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus. Sunday was the 3rd Sunday of Eastertide: We are still dealing with resurrection and what that means to 21st century Jesus followers. I think we can all agree that spring time is the right time for resurrection and rebirth. Martin Luther said that the Lord wrote the promise of resurrection not only in books but in every leaf of springtime.

April 6, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus. Old Man Winter seemed to resist giving up this past week, as we had several mornings with temperatures in the 30s. I sure was hoping there would not be a frost to wreak havoc on my gardening work. Several walks in the park this week were really chilly: My four-footed pals Gunter and Sam didn’t argue about cutting the walk short to go home. Of course, they know they are getting a treat when they get back.

March 22, 2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus. Sunday was the 5th Sunday of Lent. We are reaching the end of this Christian time of reflection, with next Sunday being Palm Sunday. Over half of each of the Gospels deals with that last week of Jesus’ life between Palm Sunday and Easter morning. Life, death, and new life is at the heart of Christianity, so it is Easter—not Christmas—that is the most important Christian celebration. But the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday make it the saddest time also.

March 8,2021 - Grace and peace from our brother Jesus. Sunday was the 3rd Sunday of Lent. Paxton Methodist is having in-person worship; we respect each other by wearing masks and keeping socially distant. Scientists and medical professionals, who know more than politicians about this subject, say that we can do three simple things: To curtail the spread of Covid-19, we should wash our hands regularly, stay at least six feet apart—social distancing, and yes, wear a mask—or maybe two masks. Things are so dire that mask-wearing is the patriotic thing to do.