May's Message

by Pastor Dave Speicher

As school begins to come to a close, as graduation ceremonies and receptions are planned and held, as track, softball, and soccer playoffs take place, and as baseball summer schedules begin, it is possible to feel that you are going crazy or insane! A few months ago, I received an interesting e-mail entitled, “20 Ways to Maintain a Healthy Level of Insanity”. I won’t list all 20 due to lack of space, but I thought a few were humerous and worth a good laugh. Here they are:

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down. (If this is a federal offense, watch out for Jon and Lawney!!)?
2. Page yourself over the intercom without disguising your voice.
3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask them if they want fries with that.
4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it, ‘IN’.
5. With a serious face, order diet water whenever you go out to eat.
6. Specify that your ‘drive thru’ order is ‘to go’.
7. Put a mosquito net around your work area and play tropical sounds all day.
8. When the money comes out at the ATM, scream “I Won! I Won!”

Well, I really don’t suggest that you look for ways to raise the level of insanity. In fact, when we begin to feel that things are out of control and we might go insane, God calls us to experience His peace and the calm of His Spirit by keeping our heart and our mind focused on Jesus so we can have a positive outlook and spirit, rather than living with a negative or pessimistic spirit. How do we do that? I’m glad you asked!! The Bible says in Isaiah 26:3-4, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the Rock eternal.”

One of the keys to keeping insanity at bay is simply to trust forever and always in the Rock of our salvation. Another key is to rejoice in the Lord as we think about the good and the positive things of God. One of my life verses is Philippians 4:4 which says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” God has used that verse and the verses that follow it to shape and re-focus my life for many years now. Really, the passage of Philippians 4:4-9 is like a “life verse” for me. After the Apostle Paul says to rejoice in verse 4, he goes on in verses 5-9 to say, “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things…and the God of peace will be with you.” Praise God! There is no better way to live than with a positive and praising spirit that honors Christ in our lives and reflects His love to those we are around.

I pray that God will fill you with His peace as you seek Him each day and that you will experience a heart full of joy and praise because of your trust in Him. I believe God will do that right here at Lakeside Community Church in our ministry and building expansion process as we all keep focused on Him. See you each Sunday to worship the Lord and offer praise and honor to our awesome God.