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

I have been working on putting together pictures for the candid pages of our new Pictorial directory.  If you haven’t made an appointment yet with our photographer Steve Alfano, please do.  We need your picture.  It is such a blessing to be able to pull out the directory to put a name to a face, especially during this time of quarantine. We still have some appointments available for this Saturday evening.  The links to make an appointment is in this email in the announcement section, or you can call the church office and we can help you.  Anyway, I have been looking at pictures to put in our new directory. I always see the candid pages as a kind of a yearbook, as Cary Gray used to say.  It has been a walk down memory lane, with these pictures. From our saying thank you, blessings, and goodbye to Ginny and Jim, to us saying hello and welcome to George, Kathy, Ben & Lizzie.  From us saying goodbye and thank you to our old sanctuary, packing up and worshiping in Moore Hall, and when the new sanctuary was finished being told we needed to worship from home online.  Looking back and seeing God’s timing in all things. So much has happened over these past 15 months it really is kind of amazing. We added much needed tech in the sanctuary remodel because we knew would start streaming, little did we know how truly needed that was. We would be in a world of hurt today if we didn’t have the tech we have now.  God’s timing.  We are blessed. Looking at the ways we have innovated to continue serving and reaching people. Through Zoom meetings to Drive through Ashes for Ash Wednesday, to zooming and delivering pizza for our Messy church families. We have even used some good old fashioned no contact delivery of printed sermons and Daily blessings to reach those who don’t use tech.  Your church has been busy in ministry and we are blessed. 

We are blessed to be able to continue to worship, serve and learn together through some of the most difficult circumstances.  We are blessed to be part of a church family who cares for each other and for the community.   We have continued doing ministry through our Food Closet, Shower Ministry, collections for Family Promise, American Family Housing and Mental Health Association and have had two blood drives all in quarantine!  Church Committees, Vacation Bible Camp, Youth Group, Wednesday Night Study and Tuesday morning Bible study along with some UMW events have all learned to be online. We can be the church that we are called to be! We can see how God is working in our mess if we stop, breathe, and look around us.  God is good all the time and all the time God is good.  We can adapt, take stock in what works in ministry and what doesn’t and move ahead in this new world and changing times.  The church has always had to adapt, and we will continue to learn and change and keep being in ministry with our church family and beyond.  I heard a person say on one of my Zoom conferences, that the church has left the building. That is true, we don’t have to be here on campus to worship or to minister to one another.  We do have a beautiful campus for when we can come back safely, we have a campus that can adapt in more ways than we ever dreamed of and we can reach people online in ways we never thought of. We are blessed to be able to adapt and to live out our calling to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Suzanne 

Gracious and Loving God, we thank you for the gifts of creativity, perseverance, knowledge, and faith.  We are blessed to be able to use all our gifts to help others and to bring a glimpse of your kingdom here on earth.  Help us to remember that you will always have the last word.  Help us to see the breath and to see the beauty that surrounds us, and to remember that you are God. Help us to remember that hold us in your hands and that we have the strength to get through this because of you and because of you we can help others as well. Amen. 

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who trust in him! Psalm 34:8

Today I wanted to share with you from one of the meditative sights I follow, Anam Cara Ministries. I loved the image of a tea bag being steeped in all the goodness of God’s love and presence. I hope you find comfort in these thoughts.

…Sit with the image of making tea today. Imagine yourself in it. You are the tea bag resting in the cup, dry, waiting for the life of God to fill it up. What happens when your insides and God’s life-water meet? It takes a little time, but the colors and aromas begin to emerge. Your unique blend of flavors begin to seep out and make themselves known, until at some point, you and the water become one. And not just *one* thing, but a *new* thing that didn’t exist before. Your unique insides steeped in the life of God becomes this one-of-a-kind tea.

But this infusion can’t happen unless there is permeability – vulnerability – between the tea bag and the water. If your unique flavors have not been well-received at any point in your life, the tendency can be to wall those things off, protect them, keep it all inside. But when we do this, all that good stuff stays inside – and the water can’t get in either. No one – not you, God, or other people – get to experience the fullness of *you* then.

As you sit with this image in your imagination, consider what walls you have up – to letting God’s life in, or your true self out. Are you trying to make tea through a solid steel ball instead of a mesh one? Can you feel the warmth of the water outside but aren’t quite sure how to let it in?

What step could you make toward vulnerability today? To letting your true colors and flavors emerge? To trusting that God’s water is life-giving? If you have a few minutes right now, stay with the image and see what comes up. Talk to God about what emerges. Do you have any sense of how God might be responding to you in this moment?

What would it be, to steep yourself in God today? Perhaps you experience God in creation – everything around us speaks of his heart. Perhaps you find life in Scripture, and want to spend a little extra time soaking that in today. Or maybe there is another spiritual practice that you have found opens you to God in a way that lets your soul steep in God’s presence, in God’s love. Take a little extra time today, this week, to intentionally immerse yourself in those places you have found life with God.

God who is good beyond imagination, fill our cups this day, this week with fresh life-giving water. Surround us to rest in the warmth of your love and mercy. Grace us with the eyes to see you anew, to see you in the presence of others. Lead us in your ways and fill our heart with your love and joy. In the name of Christ Jesus. Amen.
 
Peace, Brenda

“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” – Psalm 95:1-2

A little under a year ago, we began our surgery journey with our son who was born cleft lip and palate. Since then, he has had six procedures (some planned, some unplanned). One thing has carried through all of these procedures – that child is filled with a joyful spirit.

The last procedure we had was delayed. First, we were moved from 8:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon. That meant that we now had a one-year-old fasting all day long rather than fasting while asleep, then heading right in for surgery. Then, when we arrived for the procedure, it was delayed another two hours while the doctors dealt with complex cases and the OR schedule was shifted around to accommodate emergencies.

Atton didn’t shed a single tear. Not from being hungry, missing his nap, or from being bored waiting in the little pre-op room. Nope, the kid sang, danced, played with the toys provided by the Child Life Department (hospital God-send), and genuinely had a good time. We called his sister on FaceTime a couple times, and we even got some giggles out of the lad. The only way to really describe him is a true champ.

Towards the end, nurses, doctors, CNAs, random hospital staff started stopping by (at an appropriate physical distance of course) and asking about this little one-year-old boy that was just so happy waiting for his procedure. They were all completely amazed. A few thought that he had been given an extra dose of calming medicine, but he hasn’t needed any calming medicine in any of his procedures so far.

I attribute his behavior to two things: trust and his joyful spirit.

He trusted that we were there for a reason. He trusted his doctors to know what they’re doing. He trusted the nurses to care for him (this continued to letting one of the nurses carry him to the operating room chatting and cuddling all the way). He trusted me that I wanted only the best for him.

His joy carries him through every stressful situation and buoys the rest of us up too. As you can probably attest, a baby’s laughter is the best medicine, and our little boy is no different.

Why share this story? Well, if a little guy that is barely one and has gone through 6 pretty significant surgeries still has trust in humanity and takes life on with joy, can’t we? Let’s channel that spirit and bring greater good to the world.

Emalee

Lord, may we find joy amidst all that is happening in our world. May we see your presence every day, and in that put our trust. Amen.

⁸ “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. ⁹ Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. ¹¹ For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. – Exodus 20: 8-11

Recently, Brenda posted an updated version of the 10 Commandments from the Contemplative Monk on Facebook. The modern version of the fourth commandment really stuck out to me: “Do not use productivity to dominate life.” This spoke to my soul, as I’m one who crams my life to the brim with activities, work, and my own driven expectations, then says yes to just one more thing.

Maybe because I have lifelong anxiety and can’t slow down. Or I never feel like I’m really doing enough to prove myself. Or I’ve spread myself so thin that I don’t really think I’m serving anyone to the best of my ability. Or I just don’t want to let anyone that I know, love, or care about down by saying no.

Needless to say, I’m completely guilty of letting productivity dominate life. Maybe you are too. Perhaps the pandemic forced you into slowing down, or like me, you just got busier. So, where do we go from here? How can we find a way to celebrate the Sabbath and make it holy? How do we stop productivity from driving our lives?

The world we live in today certainly doesn’t make it easier. With work expectations, club and team sports (when they start up again) forcing students to choose between playing and church activities like Youth Group, family expectations, and social media distractions, there is always something available to fill your time.  

Let’s challenge ourselves to fill some of that time worshipping our God, finding sabbath (whether on Sunday morning or whenever you can connect during the week), and releasing the control of productivity. Maybe it starts with 5 minutes here or there. (As the mother of toddlers, that’s probably all the uninterrupted time I can fathom at the start.) Then, may that time and spirit grow into a true sabbath dedicated to rest and worship.

Lord, for some, this pandemic has become a time of true sabbath, turning to God as their lives have slowed down. For others, the rat race has continued or sped up. Thank you for your presence in both scenarios. Through productivity and peace, may we grow closer to you, finding Sabbath by releasing control. Amen. 

Emalee

You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.
– Exodus 20:4-6

God is perfect. And God is jealous. How can both be true? Jealousy, as we understand it in human experience, comes from a place of fear; from a sense of inadequacy. The person who is jealous worries that the beloved will discover their shortcomings and will find something better. Human jealousy is inward oriented. This isn’t the way that God is jealous. God is sufficient – God is more than enough to fill every need of the beloved (that is, us). So the jealousy of God is not a sign of insufficiency.

The “jealousy” of God is different. It is outward oriented. God knows us (God made us, after all) and God knows what we truly need. God loves us deeply and passionately; so much so that God allows us to choose to listen or to turn away. God knows what is likely to happen when we turn from God and begin to worship something else. We will eventually find that the something else will be inadequate – insufficient – and we will get hurt.

What we experience as “punishment” is simply the consequence of following something other than God. And that often extends through generations in a family. Look at the way that abuse can affect generations following the first abusive relationship; or substance abuse can alter entire family systems. And then look at the resilience of individuals in families who keep first things first through generations.

God knows that we will face hard times. Often dreadful things happen that defy explanation or blame. God wants what is best for us especially in these times. So while God gives us freedom to choose, God continually invites us to make the love of God first in our lives. God’s will is frustrated when we choose something else. God longs to be in a deep and meaningful relationship with us.
We will be exploring this and more on Sunday morning in worship. We will be talking about “Getting Unstuck.” Here are some questions to get you thinking, and for discussion following the message:

1. What distracts you from fulfilling your purpose? (“I Know Better”, “If I only had that thing/gift…”, other)
2. What helps you stay focused?
3. What is one small step you can take right now?

Gracious God, we thank you that you seek us out when we turn away. We thank you that you stand at the door and knock. We thank you for Jesus, who invites us to take his easy yoke and light burden upon ourselves. Help us, especially in this time, to keep your love in our hearts, on our lips, and moving through the work of our hands. May we see the spark of your divine grace in everyone we meet. Amen.