Of all the great things I appreciate about Foothills, the greatest of all, are the people!  As we enter the last week of construction, I am left in awe and humbled by people’s generosity of their time and their sweat to help get this project done for the Kingdom of God.  For months I has witnessed volunteers with smiles on their faces as they have demolished walls, swept floors, painted, cleaned up, refinished wood and rock, made coffee, and with glad hearts simply doing whatever was asked of them.  Your spirit and attitudes have not gone unnoticed by the professionals who are hired to work on this project.  It has been said to me that they have never experienced anything like this before.  One of them told me this has been the most enjoyable project they have ever worked on.  Not only have we saved tens of thousands of dollars by all your volunteering, you have left an impact on the workers.  I can’t tell you how much my heart is blessed by all of this.  I must be the most blessed Pastor in town to have such great people like all of you!

Here in the next few weeks we will be putting the final touches on the project.  We will be installing a new sound system in the auditorium, installing the platform curtain, rehanging the screens, adding more chairs, installing acoustic panels in the multi-purpose room and next week, moving our offices into our new building.  All this is possible because of the many volunteers who sacrificed their time to get us here.  I can’t even begin to thank you enough.  May we all be able to step back here in a few weeks and just be in awe of what God has done through your willing hands and sweet spirits.  This is how the church is supposed to function!  Foothills…Well Done!!!  I love you and am proud of you more than you will ever know.

Filled with gratitude,

Pastor Dale

Did you hear that Monday, January 25th is the most depressing day of the entire year according to some psychologist?  No wonder we were all in a bad mood.  Take heart though!  It’s all uphill from this point on!  I guess this is why I put this picture of me here.  I just wanted to make someone laugh.  For those who always want their pastor to look serious and distinguished all the time…I’m sorry.  That’s just not me.  Sometimes I just need to laugh and not be serious.  This picture was taken at the State Fair and yes, there were other people around.  I didn’t care.  Sometimes, you just have to laugh and not take life so serious. The life God has given us is such a tremendous gift.  I believe even in the midst of the mundane and trails of life, He still wants us to find some joy in it all.

As I write this it is cold and foggy out my office window.  It does seem like a rather depressing time of the year.  Everything is gray, cold, and the grip of winter is still very much a reality.  Therefore, let’s make the best of it.  Let’s choose to laugh, enjoy life, find some color in the midst of gray backdrop of winter.  God wants us to.  Look at what He says in His word.

Prov. 15:15 “For the despondent, every day brings trouble; for the happy heart, life is a continual feast.” (NLT)

Job 8:21 “He will once again fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy.” (NLT)

Ps. 32:11 “So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!” (NLT)

Ps. 105:3 “Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad.” (NASB)

Let me encourage you to find some joy today.  Choose to laugh, do something fun; for a moment, release yourself from the burden of being productive.  I think sometimes our souls are starved because we allow ourselves to become despondent in the grind and routines of life.  Notice the Scripture…for the happy heart has a continual feast!  Why not give yourself permission and let God once again fill your mouth with laughter.  I believe our laughter and joy brings God great pleasure.  Just as my heart is filled with pleasure over the laughter and joy of my children, I believe our laughter and joy does exactly the same thing for God.

It may be gray and cold out, but we can choose a glad heart today and put a smile on the face of our Father!

Pastor Dale

We have all been watching the events unfold in Haiti over the past week with heavy hearts.  The human suffering is just hard to absorb emotionally and to mentally try to understand.  I have found myself tearing up as I have watched the images on the news of broken bodies and wounded people.  I, like many others, have asked the Lord…but why?

I may not have an answer for such heart wrenching questions that come with events like this, but there is something I want to address right here and right now.  I have heard some Christian leaders say that this has happened to the people of Haiti because of their sinful ways and that this tragedy is a result of God’s judgment.  This just makes me angry.  How dare you speak for God!  How arrogant to sit in judgment of another nation!  How dare we elevate ourselves above these people thinking that we are so much better, so much more righteous, and not as deserving God’s punishment on our own lives!  Haiti may be the voodoo capital of the world but what about the US?  Are we any less deserving of God’s wrath being the porn capital of the world?  What about all the missionaries and aid workers who died in the earthquake?  What about the over 2000 Americans still unaccounted for?  (Most were there serving the people of Haiti.)  Listen to what Jesus said when people thought a recent tragedy was the result of God’s judgment.

Luke 13:4 “And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No…” (NLT)

You see, this tragedy had NOTHING to do with God judging them because they were such terrible sinners.  When it comes to disasters like this, our responsibility as the people of God is not to decide why God allowed such an event.  God does not owe us an explanation.  Our responsibility is to be the heart, hands, and feet of Jesus to hurting people.  This is our job.  This is our calling.  This is our responsibility.  These people have enough pain and suffering.  They don’t need critical believers raining down on them any more pain then they already have.  What they need is to know that the faith community will love them, and in so doing, they will find Jesus.  Maybe this is the beginning of a revival in Haiti that will sweep that island.  This is what we should be praying for.

Keep praying for the people in Haiti.  Remember… God loves them!
Pastor Dale

Here a few weeks ago Lisa and I were visiting some friends of ours in Ashwood Oregon.  One of the things we did was visit some abandoned gold mines nearby their property.  In fact, this picture is one of the abandoned mine shafts.  We had fun walking around the abandoned buildings, walking in the houses, and seeing all the now silent equipment left behind that was once someone’s dream.  For whatever reason, the mine no longer fulfilled it’s purpose of providing enough gold to make it profitable and it was completely abandoned.  All that is left are empty buildings and unfulfilled dreams of what could have been.

All of this simply reminds me again how important it is for us as a church to NEVER forget our purpose.  As soon as we forget why we exist and focus on the non essentials we will eventually become like this abandoned gold mine.  We will simply begin to resemble what could have been.  We will resemble yet another unfulfilled dream.  As a church we do not mine for physical gold.  The gold we seek are the lives we are called to go out and search for who need Jesus.  We are called to reach the 1000s of unchurched people in our geographic area with the love and forgiveness of Jesus!

Why am I reminding you all of this once again?  Because as we come down the home stretch of our building project, PLEASE do not lose sight of our purpose.  Remember why we are doing this project.  It’s all being done so that we can continue to fulfill our purpose of reaching more people.  Notice that God is blessing this direction.  God is bringing more people.  God is continuing to provide finances even in our economy.  People’s lives are being changed!

People are not coming to Foothills because of our facility.  They are not coming because our building is so beautiful.  They are not coming because our programs are the most effective.  They are not staying because our worship is the best.  They are not here because our chairs are the most comfortable.  They are not here because our parking is the most convenient.  They do not stay because our acoustics have reached harmonic perfection.  NO!  People are coming to Foothills because they are experiencing the Living God and their lives are being transformed by Him!  There is something spiritual going on…something supernatural…something eternal…something that is being orchestrated by the Spirit of God…something that is beyond explanation.  What a privilege it is that we get to be a part of this!

I will never allow our buildings to ever become the focus of Foothills as long as I have breath within me.  We are here to reach people for Jesus Christ!  As we finish this project, let’s continue to remember why we did this.  It is not our facilities that will keep us from resembling an abandoned gold mine, it will be our continual commitment to the purpose for which God placed us here.  Some of you may love what has been remodeled and constructed.  Some of you may wonder and question it.  Others of you may simply disagree with it.  Honestly, I don’t really care.  Why?  BECAUSE THIS IS NOT THE FOCUS!  I am more concerned whether or not we continue to embrace what God has called us to do as a church.  This is what matters to God, this is what matters to me, and I pray, this is what really matters to all of you.  This is what I really care about.

May God continue to give us a passion for the purpose He created Foothills for and a supernatural unity to carry it out.

Staying focused with you,

Pastor Dale

Here it is…a brand new year.  It’s 2010.  Doesn’t it just seem like yesterday we survived Y2K?   The world went on as if the new millennium didn’t really matter.  10 years have past by already!  The changes we have seen in only 10 short years have been amazing.  The advancement in technology; the increased connection of the global economy, and the pace at which we live is truly mind boggling.  All these advancements haven’t solved any of the age old problems.  People are still people.  Human natural hasn’t changed at all.  We are the same stressed out, over worked, haggard, joyless people we were 10 years ago.

A new year has caused me to think a lot about how I am living my life.  You might say that I am in an evaluation period right now.  It’s all still in process.  It will be for months.  I’ve thought a lot about the past 10 years.  I’ve reflected how I have been living my life, am I really living my values, how I invest my time, how happy I really am, and what God really wants me to be and do.

Recently the Lord reminded me of some counsel that I have shared with many people over the years.  He brought it back to my mind so that I would listen to my own counsel.  What is it you’re asking?  It is a simple statement:  “You have the life you’ve chosen.” As I was contemplating the last decade and looking into the face of yet another one, the Lord reminded me I have some choices.  I am not a victim to my circumstances.  I don’t have to repeat the last 10 years.  If I desire more satisfaction, then choose it.  If I want more fulfillment, then choose it.  If I want more out of my relationships, then choose it.  If I want to fish more, then choose it.  (Yes, I really want to fish more!)  If I want to live life in a way that is more in line with who God created me to be…THEN CHOOSE IT!

God repeatedly told the Israelites to “Choose Life”.  I think we get so lost in being controlled by the circumstances of life that we forget God gives us the freedom to choose life.  In fact, this is what He wants us to do.  Therefore, I resolve to choose life in 2010.  I resolve to no longer be a victim to my circumstances allowing them to dictate the type of life I experience.  Today, I choose life.

As you look into the face of another year, my encouragement to you is to ask God to help you do the same.  Choose life!  May 2010 be the most life filled year you have ever experienced because you chose it to be so!

Choosing life with you,

Dale

Here it is just a few short days before Christmas.  I have a simply message for everyone before I detach myself from all of my daily responsibilities…Enjoy Christmas!

Sounds simply doesn’t it?  Let’s not get caught up this year in all the Christmas insanity.  What about slowing down?  What about remembering that Christmas is not about what presents we bought for someone else or what ones we received?  It’s not about getting meals prepared just right or the having your tree decorated to perfection.  It’s not about obsessing over what you don’t have even though for many, this has been a tough year.  How about we simply decide to enjoy Christmas this year?

What if we embraced a relational Christmas?  Isn’t this what Christmas is all about anyway?  Didn’t God send His Son to earth in a cradle so that He could die on a cross?  Didn’t that cross provide our forgiveness so we could have a relationship with God?  As God transforms our hearts are we not freed to enjoy relationships with each other?  Aren’t the greatest commands relational commands to love God and each other?  See, Christmas set in motion the reality of it all!

Therefore, if we’re really going to enjoy Christmas, it comes down to relationships.  To celebrate Christmas properly and to enjoy it fully we simply need to be loving God and loving people.  Wow!  That’s pretty simple.  If we miss these two things we will miss Christmas.  If we miss these priorities, we will be left at the end of yet another holiday feeling empty and unfulfilled.  So, don’t do!  Enjoy Christmas!

Take the time to tell the Lord how much you love Him.  Make Christmas a worship experience.  Spend time with the people you love and make sure you show them and tell them how much they mean to you.   Make some memories and laugh often.  Then, when it’s all over and we all have to face another New Year, you can say, “Wow, Christmas was really enjoyable this year!”

Lord bless you all!  May the Lord grant you all a very merry and enjoyable Christmas!

Pastor Dale

Well, here we are ready to celebrate yet another holiday season.  But wait…isn’t it called CHRISTMAS?  Isn’t it merry Christmas NOT happy Holidays?  I must be honest…I am so sick and tired of all the political correctness with Christmas.  If all the unbelievers out there want to have a secular holiday filled with commercialization, packed Malls with raging unhappy people, intense pressure to purchase items we don’t need nor can afford, and they are offended by the word CHRISTMAS, that’s fine.  Pick another day, pick another month, pick another time.  I don’t care, but leave our CHRISTMAS alone!  You can’t have it and I don’t think people should agree to all this political correctness so easy.  If Christmas offends you then I refuse to apologize for celebrating the birth of my Savior.  I guess some people will just have to be offended.  I think I’d rather offend the politically correct folks then Jesus.  It’s His holy day.  Therefore, we should never be afraid to call it was it is.  CHRISTMAS!

I put these cartoon here because I happened to think they’re funny.

I also encourage you to check out this video on YouTube.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

May you all have a very Merry Politically Incorrect Christmas celebrating the birth of our Wonderful Savior JESUS!

Merry Tossmas

Pastor Dale

Here is a brown bear I ran into several years ago on the Russian River in Alaska while on a fishing trip.  The fish were in and I could hardly wait to get my line wet fishing for this massive run of sockeye salmon.  I heard people talk about “The Falls” on the Russian River.  It is a 2 mile hike to reach the falls where tremendous amounts of salmon stack up before attempting their journey over this natural barrier.  Many people won’t make this hike though.  It’s not because it’s a rather difficult hike.  It’s because when you arrive, there are already fishermen there…the four legged kind.  What can I say…I had to go!

The day didn’t disappoint.  I had one of the most amazing fishing experiences of my life.  I caught so many fish that my arms burned with pain while my heart was filled with pleasure.  Yes, there were bears.  But they were so concerned about the salmon that they really didn’t care much for the fishermen who braved the journey.  Was the hike a risk?  Yes.  But, taking this risk I was rewarded with some of the greatest memories of my life.  Not to mention some pretty amazing pictures as well.

Our faith journey with Jesus will require us to take risks in order to continue following Him.  Jesus doesn’t stay in the land of the familiar.  He is constantly calling us and taking us where we’ve never been before.  He wants us to have experiences with Him that will be beyond anything we have ever imagined.  What are some of these risks you may ask?  There may be times when He asks us to risk our reputations; risk our security; and even risk rejection from others in order to experience all He has.  Following Jesus is not always predictable, safe, logical, linear, orderly, or with a list of details about what’s ahead.  It’s a journey all about faith and trust in the One we call Savior.

As you consider what you’re willing to risk in order to follow Jesus, consider one final thought.  The reality about this risk I am referring to is really no risk at all.  It is a “perceived” risk.  It is a risk that only exists in our minds.  Why do I say this?  Because the safest place to be in life is next to Jesus following Him.  Where is the risk in this?  It seems a lot riskier to live my life resisting the direction Jesus is calling me to go then it is to embrace walking with Him into the unknown.

I for one do not want to miss out on the adventure that awaits me as I follow Christ.  May God give you the desire and the courage to risk whatever you perceive to experience more than you can ever imagine!

Pastor Dale

So here I am with a Steelhead on the Deschutes River just a few weeks ago.  Why am I sharing this picture with you?  Because this day trip to one of my favorite rivers reminded me of something very important.  It was God’s way of illustrating a critical life principal to me once again.  What was it?  KEEP ENJOYING THE GIFT OF LIFE!

This may not sound very spiritual to some of you…but it is.  Look what the Scripture says!

Ecc. 8:15 “So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun.”

I Tim. 6:17 “…put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.“

Honestly, I can get so driven and so focused that I stop enjoying life.  I allow the demands of being the Lead Pastor of Foothills to basically consume my entire being.  What happens is that my life becomes completely filled with ministry issues only and I begin to lose Dale.  I begin to lose who I am.  I am more than a Pastor.  God made me to enjoy the outdoors; a great river; beautiful mountains; majestic elk; warm sunny beaches; great friends; an amazing family; and of course, a great cup of coffee.

Life is a gift from God.  He created a world that would provide enjoyment for us.  God could have made sunsets ugly, or a Steelhead gray, or the world in black and white.  No!  God created everything for our enjoyment!  He created a world with such tremendous variety there is something for everyone.  When we are laughing and having fun in the world He created, I believe we are putting a smile on His face.  Yes, having fun is spiritual.  Having fun and enjoying life is God’s will for those He created.  Enjoying life reminds me of who I am.

So for those of you who need permission to enjoy life; here it is.  God gives you permission.  In fact, He wants you to discover ways to get out of the routine that is robbing you of who you are and enjoy the gift of life again.  Don’t let this holiday season be one of stress, anxiety, and a haggard pace.  Go do something fun!  Find your smile again.  Rediscover laughter, wonder, and a fresh appreciation for this amazing world God created for our enjoyment.  C’mon!  Make the choice.  Maybe you can share some fun pictures with me.

Choosing to enjoy life…fish on!

Pastor Dale

Isn’t this true?  The world may set aside one day a year to be thankful, but as followers of Christ, being thankful should be a lifestyle.  Being thankful should be part of our character.  We of all people have good reason to be thankful 24/7/365 days a year.

Now I realize no one has a perfect life or gets to experience a pain free existence.  But this doesn’t mean we have to wait until everything is favorable before we are thankful.  The Bible tells us to “give thanks IN all circumstances.”  Regardless of the circumstances, I can still choose to be thankful.  WHY? Because as a follower of Christ, I have so many things that I possess that circumstances cannot affect.

Circumstances cannot affect the love of God upon my life / the presence of God/ the power of God / the promises of God / my eternity / my inheritance / my rewards / my eternal future / or my complete forgiveness.  Here’s a start of what to be thankful for if you are struggling thinking of anything!

If you want to think about circumstances, just thank God that regardless of your income, you are richer than the vast majority of the rest of the world.  You have more opportunities before you than any other country.  You have freedoms unlike any other country.  You are secure more than any other country.  I know this nation is not perfect, but I am thankful for it nonetheless.  I wouldn’t trade for anywhere else in the world.

There is something else about being thankful.  It can transform your life.  How?  Because it is something God commands.  Choosing to be thankful despite the circumstances keeps our hearts tuned to the heart of the Father and therefore, transforms our heart.  Stop waiting to “feel” thankful.  By faith CHOOSE to be thankful and watch God bless you with a thankful heart.

May you all have a blessed Thanksgiving this year.  My prayer is that we choose to not to be thankful only one day a year.  We have so much to be thankful about.  May it be an every day experience!  May we be known as a thankful bunch of people.  May it simply be who we are!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Pastor Dale