Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, October 4, 2023


Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in a brief return to summertime, as the thermometer is expect to touch the mid-70’s today, and let us be glad for the promised rain in the coming days that will intensify the beautiful fall colors that are coming into full expression.  And let us further rejoice and be glad that no one is calling for snow any time soon…

With happy memories of summer still front of mind for many of us, and eager anticipation of crisp autumn days and snuggling in next to the fireplace or patio fire pit occupying some of our thoughts, this is a good time to give our heartfelt thanks to our loving God, who blesses us with varying seasons to enjoy.  Summertime can’t be beat for fun and relaxation, but it’s hard to argue with the sights, sounds, and smells of autumn; winter brings cold temperatures and the serene beauty of the snow-covered ground, and spring gives us the thrill of new life emerging from the cold.  But today, we give thanks for autumn, for cider mills and apple farms, for cozy sweaters and just a hint of coolness in the air; today, we give thanks for family and good friends, for fellow travelers in The Way, and for fond memories of those who have gone on before us into the Church Triumphant.  Today, we celebrate the countless gifts and blessings that are ours to enjoy, as summer fades into fall.  We know that for many of you, each day is cause for celebration; we celebrate with you!  But we also know that for some, each day brings pain, either physical or spiritual; and we pray for relief for you.  In these days of seasonal transition, we invite you to remember that God loves you and wants only good things for you, including freedom from any hurts you may feel; turn to the Almighty when the day seems hard, and you will find refreshment.  Turn to the Almighty when the day seems great, and you will find further delight.  Turn to the Almighty always and forever, and you will find love.

God bless you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, September 27, 2023 Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us rejoice in cool evenings that are so nice for sleeping, and let us be glad in early autumn days that allow us to enjoy the great outdoors in comfort. Now, if we could get just a little rain to freshen things up a bit! The colors of fall are beginning to dominate the landscape, and the apple orchards and cider mills are beckoning us to come sample their offerings (we’re particularly fond of Knaebe’s), so we invite you to get out and enjoy the blessings of the season!

Earlier this week, a dozen of our congregants from both Westminster Presbyterian and Grand Lake Community Chapel came together for the final “Adopt-A-Highway” road cleanup of the season along US23; a total of 19 bags of trash were collected, and more importantly good fellowship was shared by all. This joint effort got us to thinking about the power of community, about how much can be accomplished when good women and men join forces to tackle a project; which in turn got us to thinking about how we express our faith in the world. There’s a tendency to think that our public witness has to be big and splashy to grab the attention of the world, but walking along US23 on the stretch of highway assigned to our churches, and proudly proclaimed on signs posted at both end of the stretch, with passers-by waving and honking horns in support of our work, was a witness to our Christian way of life. Volunteers giving freely of their time to make the world a cleaner place, clearly connected to our churches, sent an unmistakable message about who we are and what we value. When we hold a door open for another person, when we share a friendly greeting with a stranger, when we slow down enough to let another vehicle ease onto the freeway, and then wave a “hello” to the other driver, we’re demonstrating what it is to live out our faith. Certainly, helping out at a food pantry distribution or lending a hand in response to a natural disaster are great things; but it’s so often the little things that carry the work of Christ out into the world we share with billions of others. A community of faith can do amazing things, one small gesture at a time. As we read in Psalm 133: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”

God bless you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell: (734) 502-5969 revgregrc@yahoo.com / revgreggl@yahoo.com revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:9

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, September 20, 2023


Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in the beautiful late-summer day that is ours to enjoy, and let us be glad that truly cold temperatures are still a few weeks away (we hope…).  Yes, many of our furnaces were running early this morning, but the day in Presque Isle County promises to warm up a bit, and the next few days are expected to be very nice; so let’s all try to get out and revel in the blessings of nature that surround us!

As nice as the next few days are predicted to be, the fact is that summer officially comes to an end this coming Saturday.  Endings are very often difficult for us to deal with, be it the ending of a season, the ending of a relationship, or the ending of a well-lived life; many of us mourn the endings that present themselves to us, and rightfully so.  We’ll miss the warmth of summer days, and that makes us melancholy.  We’ll miss the familiarity of a relationship with another person or group.  We’ll most certainly miss the presence of a loved one who has gone on before us into the Church Triumphant.  But we must remember that each ending brings with it a new beginning; a new season to enjoy, new friends to know better, and the peace and comfort that comes from the sure and certain promise of the Resurrection of our Lord that we will be reunited with our loved ones in due time.  It’s OK to be sad when endings intrude on our happiness, but it’s not OK to stay sad when beginnings present themselves.  It’s OK to remember what had been before the ending, either fondly or ruefully; it’s not OK to be paralyzed by the past and stop living the today that has been gifted to us – or the tomorrow that awaits.  Remembering that God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good can help us keep ourselves in a place of balance and joy.

God bless you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

And he is before all things,
and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:17

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, September 13, 2023


Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in the glorious day that has dawned Up North, and let us be glad for the promise of several more days like this one to get out and enjoy!  It may be a bit on the cool side for some, but a light jacket or sweater addresses that, so try to get outdoors if at all able and soak in the grandeur!

It’s all too easy to take what we’ve been blessed with for granted, because it’s always around us; beautiful surroundings, good people, loving families, and God’s abundance.  So easy, in fact, that we often forget to say “thank you” for all of it, every single day.  Sure, we say “thank you” when an unforeseen need is met with an unanticipated gift, or when a feared diagnosis turns out to be a relatively minor (and easily treated) ailment; but what about those days when everything just kinda’ goes along without any issues, kinda’ routine and kinda’ easy?  Why don’t we consistently say “thank you” for normal?  Normal (acknowledging that “normal” is a loaded word) is a gift from God every bit as much as a miraculous healing.  “Kinda’ easy” is every bit as much a gift from God as being guided through a challenge.  While it may be a tad trite, adopting an attitude of gratitude can fill our hearts and souls with reservoirs of spiritual energy that we can draw on when kinda’ easy gets replaced with kinda’ hard.  So try to say “thank you” for all the little things in life that we take for granted, ranging from the lights turning on when we flip the switch to the friendly wave of a neighbor as we pass by.  Trust us, your day will be brighter for it!

God bless you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, September 6, 2023


Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in the burst of summery weather over the holiday weekend, and let us be glad for the promise of much-needed rain over the course of the next couple of days!  As we write this message, it’s bright and sunny and very warm – something that we missed out on for much of the Memorial Day to Labor Day season, so we hope that you’re able to get out and enjoy the day!

The month of September is really all about transitions; kids go back to school, the weather begins to cool, the trees begin their annual color change (and what a beautiful thing that is!), several businesses shut down for the fall and winter months, while others open, and many of us go about the business of putting away our summer “toys” and think about prepping our winter ones.  In the church world, the quiet of summer transitions into the hustle-and-bustle of committee meetings, Sunday School, and looking forward to planning for Christmas.  Yet through all of these transitions, we are reminded of the one great constant in the lives of the faithful; the constancy of God’s presence.  It matters not if we’re sitting on a sandy beach, hiking along a forest trail, or sitting in a comfy chair watching the world outside go through its changes; God is with us, offering his guidance, strength, wisdom, and love.  It’s good to remember this, as we go from one season to the next, and it’s good to offer God our thanks for the glorious design of Creation.  Change is a good thing, even if we’re not always delighted with it, for without change there is little opportunity for growth and new experiences; and besides, if everything stayed the same, think how dull life could be!  During this time of transition, remember that God is good, all the time.  And all the time, God is good!

God bless you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”2 Corinthians 4:16

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it! Let us rejoice that we have been given the opportunity to test the furnaces in our homes before the traditional heating season begins, and let us be glad that the forecast is for a warm and sunny Labor Day holiday! Wow, was it cold this morning; not mid-January cold, but plenty cold enough for the end of August! As we write this message, it’s bright and sunny, and beginning to warm up a bit, for which we are grateful. But the early morning temperature sure got our attention!

Isn’t it interesting how things that don’t fit with our expectations can throw us for a loop? Cold temperatures in August leave us scrambling for the sweaters buried in the back of our closets, unexpected rain finds us running for shelter, and as the fall sports season unfolds, upset losses by our favorite teams can throw us into days of sadness. While these “bad” things can be upsetting, there are “good” things that don’t fit with our expectations too. A phone call or visit from a long-lost friend or family member is a delight, but makes us late for a meeting. A neighbor drops off freshly-baked bread, but we’ve just gotten home from the local bakery with a loaf of our favorite. A healthy baby is born a few weeks early, and we haven’t purchased a gift yet. It’s fairly safe to say that, good or bad, our plans will likely need some adjusting; but it’s also fairly safe to say that “such is life”. The predictability and precision that many of us crave is really quite rare, and our carefully-developed plans don’t often work out exactly as we had hoped. Even those plans that we pray over, trusting that God will bless them and bring them to fruition exactly as we wish, don’t always play out as intended. There’s an old saying that tells us if you want to make God laugh, tell him you have a plan… One of the keys to contentment is the ability to be flexible and adaptive as each day unfolds, and to trust that God has a hand in the planning. And try to laugh along with God as your plans change to meet his will.

God bless you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell: (734) 502-5969 revgregrc@yahoo.com / revgreggl@yahoo.com revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, August 23, 2023


Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in another day to enjoy being in the presence of our Lord, and let us be glad for the unlimited love and grace that is ours to share!  While it may be a bit gloomy and unseasonably cool, it’s a perfect day to share a loving embrace with our sweetheart(s) on this “Hug Your Sweetheart Day” (according to 123Greetings.com)!

We may not look forward to days like this when the weather isn’t exactly calling us to come out and play, but these days can be joyful and fulfilling if we can adjust our mindset just a little bit. Even though it’s summertime, it’s hard to beat snuggling into your favorite chair with a good book or magazine, covering up with a light blanket, and stretching your intellectual muscles a bit.  Better yet, consider taking advantage of an “inside day” to read a devotion or two, or maybe a few chapters of Scripture, and then contemplate what you’ve read – and talk with God about it.  This could be a very rewarding use of time, don’t you think?  Of course, you could use the day to clean the basement or organize your sock drawer, but that doesn’t sound like a whole lot of fun, as noble a task as these things might be.  Remember that God gives us exactly what we need, when we need it; even a cool and overcast summer’s day.  So embrace the gift of today, live fully in it, and give thanks to God for blessing us in limitless ways!

God bless you!

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

“Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.”  Psalm 143:8

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, August 16, 2023

Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in another week of Up North summer, and let us be glad that the season will be with us for a while longer!  It’s hard to beat living where we do at this time of the year, surrounded by incredible natural beauty and wonderful, kind people.  We are truly blessed to be in this place!

That God has put us in this place, in this season of our lives, begs the question “why?”  There are countless places to live and revitalize in the world, but precious few of them offer the tantalizing blend of weather, water, and variety of activities that we are presented with in Northeastern Michigan. It seems to us that there’s more to the “why?”  We are in this place, in this season of our lives, because there is important work for us to do here. Some of that work is enjoying a hard-earned respite from the workaday world, so that we are refreshed and reenergized when we return to the routines of life. Some of that work is enjoying retirement from our secular jobs. Some of that work is providing for ourselves and our families.  But the most important work we have to do is the work of God’s kingdom: sharing the Good News with all whom we meet; engaging in charitable works; growing in our faith through worship, prayer, and study; and being a Christian friend to those in need.  We are most certainly blessed to be able to serve our Lord in a beautiful place, so let’s make the most of the opportunity!

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. John 12:26

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Greetings in Christ!

            This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  Let us rejoice in a new month dawning, and let us be glad for another month of summer to revel in!  In spite of ads on TV, on-line, and in the papers touting back to school sales and end-of-summer closeouts on shorts and sandals, we still have lots of summer left to enjoy, so don’t give in to the pressure to get out your lined jeans and sweaters; it’s way too early for that!

            Which begs the question; what’s the rush?  We’re not ignorant of the business cycle, and the need for retailers to clear out one seasons’ products to make room for the next, but Halloween candy on the shelves in August?  Pre-season sales on boots and snow shovels before Labor Day?  Can’t we simply enjoy the moment, and live today to its fullest?  Maybe we should take a page out of Jesus’ playbook and be still for a time, to step away from the hustle and bustle of life and pray in a quiet place.  Maybe we should heed the words from Matthew’s gospel that tell us to not be anxious about our lives, to not worry about tomorrow; taking life as it comes, one day at a time, and trusting that Almighty God will put us in the right place at the right time.  Enjoy this day as the great blessing that it is; enjoy this season for the myriad delights it offers.  Don’t rush things, as is written in Proverbs 19:2, hasty feet miss the way!

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Ecclesiastes 3:11

Reaching out from Grand Lake Community Chapel

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Greetings in Christ!

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!  It may be overcast, and there may be rain in the forecast, but this is a magnificent day!  The Lord has blessed us with a day full of possibilities for adventure and learning, so let us rejoice in those gifts, and let us be glad for the unlimited opportunities that are available to us.

It’s interesting how we sometimes write off a day because it doesn’t look like our plans are going to come to fruition as we had hoped; maybe we’d planned a day on the lake, or a round of golf with friends, or a family picnic under a canopy of trees, and the weather doesn’t cooperate.  Or maybe we were looking forward to a day of getting things done in the house because the weather forecast was pretty dismal, but a beautiful sunny day beckons us outdoors.  Either way, our plans for the day have been disrupted, and we can get a little “testy.”  Why is that?  There are so many fun and interesting things to do with our days, so why is it so upsetting when we have to change course?  There’s an old joke that goes something like this: if you want to make God laugh, tell him you have plans.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with making God laugh; after all, laughter is a gift from God that is highly undervalued.  But it would probably put a smile on God’s face if we were just a tad less stuck in our ways, and a wee bit more willing to embrace whatever each day presents us with.  So how’s about we try to relax a little, and enjoy this day with a sense of joy and excitement, and see how it unfolds in God’s perfect time?  There will always be time to take care of the essentials of life, even if that time is available tomorrow.

Blessings,

Karen and Greg

Home: (989) 474-9116, Cell:  (734) 502-5969
revgregrc@yahoo.com  /  revgreggl@yahoo.com 
revkarenrc@yahoo.com / revkarengl@yahoo.com

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11