Recently I had a chance to hear a motivational speech by Silver Medal Olympian Noelle Pikus-Pace. Among the many fine things she had to say, she also held up a small bound book and told us that she kept a “Goals Journal.”  The bound book was her daily Goals Journal.  Over the years, it has helped keep her focused on what is most important each day.

Noel told us that she tries to have three goals for each day.  Any more than that, and she feels overwhelmed.  That too is a great reminder.  One of the keys to personal happiness is that we do not expect too much of our selves.  When there is too wide of a gap between self-expectation and our ability to meet the goals we have set, feelings of inadequacy are inevitable.  

Soon thereafter, I was talking with someone else who was at this same event.  Speaking about daily goals setting, she said, “I do that, but mentally”.  It was good to hear that there are more ways than one to keep goals before us: sometimes, by writing them down, sometimes by carrying them in our heads and in our hearts.  Wherever they are, these goals give our lives meaning and purpose throughout each day, each week, and each year.

The key feature of keeping a cluster of goals, is to surround them and infuse them with prayer.  Conversations with the Lord about what we hope and intend to do does several things.  First of all, it allows us to determine whether our goals happen to coincide with God’s goals for us.  Most often, they do coincide and we sense God at work as we try to meet those goals.  Sometimes, however, our goals are not in line with what God intends for our best good.  When that happens, God will let us know.

Second, God will assist us in reaching these goals.  This is exactly what we hope will happen.  We want to have God’s Holy Spirit’s energy, focus, direction and inspiration in order to meet and achieve the best possible results from our goals.  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,” is how the Bible talks about this.

Third, God loves to see us at work when we are “about our Father’s business”.  So prayer is a way to hear back from God how we are doing.  This summer, why not try the “Three Goals” approach to each day.  You very well may find that this spiritual discipline helps the day go better than expected.

Yours in Christ,

Dr. John A. Dalles, Pastor

Not long ago, I got lost searching for a place I wanted to get to.  I had GPS instructions, but they were not exactly correct.  In fact, although they were followed explicitly, the car ended up on a long hillside in a rural-meets-outer-suburbia location that was all wrong.  And being in the car, I was just as lost as the car was!  I imagine many of you have at one time or another found yourself in a similar situation – maybe it was when you were a kid and got lost at the mall.  Maybe it was sometime in the past several weeks.   The worst part about being lost isn’t that you cannot find your way back (there are lots of ways to do that), but it is the feeling that you have been cut off, alone, and unable to reconnect with your friends or your family. 

Scripture reminds us that we are never as lost as we think we are.  Even though there are many situations that make us seem like we are spiritually out in the boondocks –  facing some kind of trouble, seeking a job, dealing with illness, wrestling with injustice, or missing someone we love – to name but a few.  We know how it feels – heartache, loneliness, grief, fear.  So how good it is to hear someone say something like this:

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39).  

The Apostle Paul wrote those words to Christians in Rome who were up against tremendous challenges.  He wrote them because they were true, and because they would build people up, and because they would help people reboot their lives in a Christ-like direction.

Have you wound up in a place that you do not recognize?  A remote location where everything seems unfamiliar?  A place where the road seems to narrow down from a broadly paved superhighway to a gravel wagon track?  When you reach such a place, allow the words from Romans to center you.

If events have made you feel far from God, if you are lost or hurting, physically, emotionally, spiritually, let God do for you what you cannot do.  God will always be there.  In Jesus Christ we know this is true.  Have every ounce of faith in the Lord and Savior.  Christ is there for you.  Christ can make you more than conquerors.  Let Him.

Yours in Christ,

John A. Dalles, Pastor

“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” - Matthew 5:14-16

This is a beloved passage from The Sermon on the Mount. Keep in mind that he had a wide range of listeners there.  Of course, his disciples were present.  There were others who were close to Jesus who also followed him, but who were not numbered among the Twelve.  We can picture them, eager to hear what he has to say.  And there were people of different ages and circumstances in life, who gathered to hear what he had to say. 

First: Jesus gives them all a wonderful compliment by calling them the light of the world.  Normally, if you were to ask anyone what the light of the world is, they would say what?  The sun, probably.  The sun provided both light and heat to our planet and everything that is on it.  This is a rather spectacular statement Jesus is making, comparing the people gathered there to the sun.  God is light. Jesus is light. And, as Jesus says, so are you!  Are they the ones who provide light and warmth in the world? 

Second: Jesus calls them a city built on a hill.  This is an uplifting comment, to be sure.  What does a city on a hill do in the landscape?  It draws us to it.  Remind me to tell you about the one we visited in France.  You have possibly been drawn to cities on hills (Rome, San Francisco, etc.).  During the Olympics, we were watching Rio, and the many hills there.  Cities on hills are almost always of interest.  People pay attention.  They cannot be hid.

Third: Jesus compares them to a lamp that has been lit.  People light lamps when it begins to get dark, when the sun is going down, at night, or when things are very dark and stormy.  We have had some days like that recently, where even in the middle of the day, it gets very dark.  Putting a bushel basket over a lamp renders it ineffective.  It stifles the light.  We might want to ponder what things stifle the light that God’s people shine forth. 

Jesus  encourages them to let their light shine.  The message that Jesus offers here is inspirational. It is as if Jesus is saying to them: “What you think of yourself is much more important than what people think of you.” And adding to that, “What I think of you is even more important than that.”  The message that Jesus offers is motivational. He wants them to act on the idea: “Be a little more YOU.  And a lot less what others have said you are.”  Jesus knows who they can be, and is prompting them to live into that reality.  In Christ, to do more, to be more, to give more, to serve more, and to love more. 

So there they are: Light of the world.  City on a hill.  Lamp on a lamp stand.  It would be good to hear Jesus' words as less of a requirement, and more of a blessing; as less of a command, and more of a commissioning. When we hear Christ’s teachings in this way, they are invitational.  Come and be this.  Come and live in this way. 

Yours in Christ,

John A. Dalles, Pastor

            ²² But God has helped me to this very day; so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— ²³ that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.” - Acts 26:22 & 23

In this section of Acts Paul is making his defense.  He is speaking boldly and frankly, we sense that his viewpoint is one of strength, not of timidity.  He understands that this is an opportunity for him to witness to the Gospel and to reach people he might not have been able to reach otherwise.  

Paul is standing and testifying to “small and great alike”.  He is well aware that there are some very important people with him, people who are very good friends of the Emperor.  He also knows that the people who serve the court, and who look on at what is happening, have stories to tell.  Small and great alike are worthwhile to Paul because they are worthwhile to God.

            Paul stresses the continuity of God’s help and that his current predicament has not gotten in the way of what he is being called to do.  Sometimes we turn it around and allow our predicaments to stifle and stop our initiative.  We need Paul’s example, here.  Paul uses the example of the prophets and of Moses – examples which would be clear to every person in the room, small and great alike.  Paul does not even have to elaborate.  He simply mentions their names.  If we said, “I am saying nothing beyond what Thomas Jefferson and George Washington said…” we understand something of the importance.   Great figures of the past who represent our shared ideals are being evoked in the present moment.  Paul indicates that Jesus is the fulfillment of what the prophets and Moses said would happen.  His message is one of light, to enlighten all believers. 

Here are some questions to ponder as you put this passage to use in your own life:

Would you say that God has helped you to this very day?  What are some examples you can think of, when God has done this for you?  Can we say that God has helped Wekiva Presbyterian church to this very day?  Again, what things standout for you?   What is Paul’s purpose (clue it is in the second half of verse 22).  What is the purpose of each Christian?  Why is the message “to small and great alike”?

Yours in Christ,

The Rev. Dr. John A. Dalles, Pastor

Hello Friends,

We are all coming to grips with the awful, senseless acts of violence that were leveled upon our friends and neighbors this past weekend here in Orlando.  The tragedy is beyond comprehension, and the sorrow that each family affected now faces is a heavy burden for them to bear.  Our hearts and our prayers go out to them, and our hope is that through these and the prayers of so many others around the world, God will bring them comfort.

We believe that when one person suffers, we all share in that suffering.  The death of one person is a loss to one and all, and the violence that comes out of hatred, while unspeakably terrible, is also devoid of all meaning.  No matter what was in the mind of the killer – one thing we know – it was totally wrong.

We grieve with the parents, neighbors, and friends of all of these innocent people who were struck down, and those who are suffering terrible injuries; they were and are people of peace.  We uphold with gratitude all who came to their aid, the police, the EMTs, the surgeons, nurses, and hospital staff members.  We pray that they all know that we stand with them, and admire all that they did, and continue to do, to help.

As the days and weeks unfold, we will learn more.  But what we know already is this:  Life is greater than death; love is stronger than hate; hope is more beautiful than despair; the building up of a person or community is far greater than tearing it down.  So today and each day, offer your life, your love, your encouragement, and your good work, trusting that God will see us through.

In Christ’s love,

John Dalles, Pastor

Papa is with God...

Papa is with God.  He left us last night just before ten.  Mimi had been with him most of the day, and the rest of us had been with him for much of the evening.  When we got to Hospice, the change from yesterday was surprising and dramatic. He did not eat anything yesterday, was mostly sleeping, having more labored breathing and only responded with effort when prompted.  

We all left to go home around 8:30, and took Mimi home and then did a few helpful things there.  We were at our house maybe a half hour when the phone rang and it was the nurse from Hospice, named Hope, who told us that she had just gone into his room to check on him and he was gone.  It was about ten of ten.  We drove over to Mimi’s and told her in person, and asked her if she wanted to go back to Hospice to see his body—she said no, which was the right decision.  We also asked did she want to come to our house to sleep or have one of us stay there and she said no.  

So today will be one of making arrangements.  I do not know what Mom will decide.  I have some ideas, but will see what she is thinking, and go from there.

I am so grateful that he had such a good day on Sunday, so that everyone had interaction time with him, and he was able to truly enjoy them being there.  He had three good meals, and really loved his vanilla pudding at supper time Sunday. Taylor was there for part of the day and in addition to all the family, some dear friends, too.  He was obviously feeling much better than he had on Saturday in the hospital, and was sitting up in the bed smiling.  Of course people often do rally when the end is near, and this must have been what was happening on Sunday.  But we just thought he had found some new strength that might sustain him for some little while.  

I was reflecting with Judy that on Saturday when he was so uncomfortable and we all hurried to be there, he did say his I love you and good bye to each one of us.  He had also told Judy that he did not want Mimi to see him die or after he was dead.  it is good that the kids especially will now have that memory of his speaking to each of them, and telling them he loved them.

When he was admitted to Hospice, they gave Mimi a booklet about what signs pointed to the fact that death was near, starring about three months out.  Last night when we got back from being with Papa, after we headed home, she did a breathing treatment before bed, and as she was doing it, she was reading the booklet. Then, after we went over to tell her the news, she told us she had been reading the booklet and that she could see times in the past three months that pointed to what was happening, including his loss of interest in the political news, which he had been following eagerly up till then.  He also had told her that he had a goal of reaching his 94th birthday, which he did.  She said, “I’m mad at myself that I did not read the book as soon as they gave it to me (Saturday night)”.  I asked her if she would have felt any different about things had she read it sooner.  She wasn’t sure.

The Hospice people were very good with both of them and all of us.  I will say that the daytime nurse did not give us any clues that the time was as close as it was.  The night nurse who came on at 7 spoke of his labored breathing as “part of the process” which we all understood.  But she also said that his vitals had not changed, giving us the indication that while the end was approaching it did not sound as if it would be anytime soon.   So it made sense for us to go home.  I think maybe he was waiting for us to go, to leave us.

Mimi said several times over this weekend and again last night “We’ve had ten wonderful years here in Florida” and as we were talking with her on the phone when we were driving back to our house the last time last night she said, “You wish you could go on to the end together… but you can’t."

So we will go through the day step by step today.  Thanks for your prayers as we do so.

With love, 

John and Judy

Isabel Roberts at Greenwood Cemetery - Orlando

Yesterday there was a ceremony honoring Isabel Roberts at the historic Greenwood Cemetery in Orlando, Florida.

Civic leaders, architects, historians, and many others who have an admiration for Ms Roberts and her life's work came together to dedicate a new grave marker at the site where she was buried alongside her mother Mary Roberts and her sister Charlotte, in 1955.

As a part of the program, I shared a talk called "Remembering Isabel Roberts".  It was a brief biographical sketch about her life, education, and work, in the Oak Park Studio and as one of the two partners in the Orlando architectural firm, Ryan and Roberts.  The next photo shows me with the grave marker.

For 61 years, Isabel Roberts' final resting place has gone mostly unnoticed.  Which parallels what happened to the awareness of her contributions to the architectural environment in the Chicago area and in Central Florida.

While in Frank Lloyd Wright's employment in his Oak Park Studio throughout its creative years, Isabel Robetrs is known to have designed the prairie style windows in a number of Wright's homes.  She was one of two of his last employees who kept the Oak Park Studio open as work that was on the boards was completed, after Wright went off to Europe with Mrs. Cheney.  In her application for membership  in the AIA, Isabel Roberts listed her own home and the K C DeRhodes Residence in South Bend, Indiana, as her work.  Isabel was an architectural designer.

There is no reasons to doubt the truth of her claim, as her fellow architects from Chicago state in letters of recommendation written on her behalf.  Hermann Von Holst (who oversaw the work at the Oak Park Studio after Wright departed) and John Van Bergen (a noted Chicago architect who was the other continuing member of the original Oak Park staff, after Wright had gone), both offered clear reference to Isabel's gifts as an architect.  Most importably, so did Wright himself, in a letter that begins with a breezy "To Anyone, Anywhere" and goes on to say that Isabel is an architect.

In 1920, Isabel moved from River Forest, Illinois, to St. Cloud, Florida.  There, she entered into an architectural practice with Ida Annah Ryan, the first women in the USA to receive a masters degree in architecture (from MIT).   Throughout the 1920s, they created some of the most notable buildings in the Orlando area, in both the Prairie Style and in the Mediterranean Revival idiom.  Some are now gone, some are still there, including the partners' own home and studio, and The Matilda Fraser Residence, one of the finest homes from their hands, built for a educator and women's suffrage friend of Anna Idah Ryan's who, like Ryan, moved from Boston to Orlando in the 1920s.

There are other fine examples of their work in St Cloud, including this Prairie Style house:

Most of this was long forgotten, because no one was around to tell the story.  Some of it was forgotten because as time progressed, the accomplishments of all of the Oak Park Studio draftsmen (five men and two women) were subsumed into the celebrated genius of Wright himself.

It is still a challenge for women in the field of architecture.  Think what a challenge it was for Isabel Roberts and Idah Ryan a century and more ago.  Their work - although still there as a reminder of their creativity - became obscured over time.

The placing of the grave marker on Isabel Roberts' grave is one step in helping our collective memory.  Another would be to identify those works of Ryan and Roberts which are still standing, and gracing our communities, so that they receive the recognition they deserve.  If you know of such structures, please contact me.