Can one person make a difference?

I've been pretty quiet lately.  I've been busy focused on my family and discerning so many things in my life.  Trying to figure out where I am and who I am and what I need to be doing.

This morning I woke up though, in the midst of a conversation with God, asking him what I can do to change this world, what I can do as one person to stop the violence and the hate.  It is so much bigger than just one person.  

My first thoughts were to love more, but my loving those around me and those I meet, just doesn't seem like enough!  I'm working on a sermon for this week, on John Wesley's 3rd rule of his 3 simple rules, Stay in Love with God.  It all ends up with action, that action being sharing God's love however, whenever we can.  But is that enough to change a world filled with hate, violence, greed, and self-centeredness?

I feel so sad and helpless.  Where can we start?  You know, when I first read about the shooting in Charleston, I prayed.  I prayed for the victims and also for the perpetrator.  I did.  I prayed for comfort for the families and friends of the victims and the community.  I prayed for the perpetrator, that his heart would be changed and for his family and friends.  It's hard to pray for those who make us angry, those who hurt us, but that is exactly what we should do. 

Matthew 5:43-48New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

I love these verses, they challenge me to be a better person.  It reminds me that God loves EVERYONE and honestly, to me it speaks of hope.  Hope that one person can make a difference in this world.  If each person I show love and compassion to goes out and does the same, maybe it could make a little bit of difference.  I don't know, maybe that's a little too idealistic but it never hurts to try.  Right?

Waiting on the Front Porch

How are you at waiting?  Me?  I'm not very good at it.  I'm rather impatient and when I'm excited, it's even worse!  But in chapter one of the book of Acts, Jesus tells the disciple to stay in Jerusalem and wait, to wait for the Holy Spirit.  Have you been watching the mini series AD:  The Bible Continues?  We have been.  I’ve got some mixed feelings about the show but in some of the early episodes, I was struck with the excitement of the disciples.  Some of them couldn’t wait to go out and share about the resurrection, others couldn’t wait because of fear, they wanted to get out of Jerusalem for fear of being found and killed.  Some just didn’t know what to do!  In the show they looked to Peter for guidance.  Peter looked scared and confused a lot but he was trying to be obedient to what the Lord had told them, so they waited.

I’ve been reading a lot, lately.  Usually I read articles about the church, about faith, about people.  I’ve been reading a lot of articles on evangelism recently.  Now, I have to tell you that I have not ever really been a fan of the word evangelism.  It kind of puts a bad taste in my mouth, well it used to anyway.  I grew up in the 80’s when we were being overrun with TV evangelists, many of whom were crooked.  We heard about them taking money from the poor, the elderly and well, just about anyone that would give it to them.  We heard how they cheated people and told people it would go to good use and often times it went for a new car or an extravagant home. 

We also had the people who went door to door trying to get people to go to their church. And if you didn’t go to their church, well, you were doomed.  They didn’t care if you already went to church, just another church, it wasn’t good enough, you had to go to their church.  We had book and record burnings trying to save people.  We had some crazy evangelists out there.  Not all were like that of course but they are the ones you usually heard about the most.  It was very confusing growing up with that.  I didn’t want to be one of those crazy church people.  It was hard because we know that we are supposed to share God’s message with others but others didn’t want to hear it because they didn’t trust church people.  They were afraid they would be made to feel bad about themselves, that they would be judged, that they would be treated as less than worthy.  It was hard.  I wonder, have things really changed all that much?  I don’t think we see the door to door thing as often any more but I do think we still see a lot of judgment out there, when what we really need to see a lot more love.   But I don’t think evangelism has to have that negative connotation.  It doesn’t have to be in your face, my way or the highway. 

Now, when I was younger and struggling with this, my daddy told me that the best evangelism was the way we lived our life.  The way we live our life out loud in front of the world.  We should be real and honest.  A neighbor of mine says we should be the same inside the church as we are outside of it.  Daddy said if we were living right, we never had to say a word, or at least we never had to force it.

Now back to that waiting.  I’m sure you are wondering what waiting and evangelism have to do with one another.  Well, remember those articles I’ve been reading? Yes, well, the ones on evangelism where quite interesting and are changing my views on that word.  Evangelism doesn’t have to be loud, it doesn’t have to be preachy, it doesn’t have to even be in words.  I think this is where the waiting comes into play.  I think the waiting and the going out and doing, and being work well together.  Sounds kind of weird to say wait and do in the same sentence.

I think as we are out doing, as we are out serving, as we are out in ministry, sometimes, we have to wait.  Waiting sometimes can mean, just being present, just listening, just waiting for the right moment.

I think I’ve shared the story with you all about my neighbor who was an atheist before.  She let me know very quickly after we met, that she was an atheist who didn’t believe, so I chose to just be her friend, to just be with her and listen.  Inevitably, she would end up moving the conversation towards religion, towards God, towards what I believe and my faith, by asking me questions.  I seldom ever brought the subject up myself, she almost always did.  I waited.  Let the power of the Holy Spirit do the work for me and then when it was time, I trusted that that same Spirit would give me the words to share with her.  I think by my waiting, she felt safe to talk to me about these things. 

Now, I’ll be honest, I didn’t do any of this purposefully.  I never felt qualified to do any talking about faith, religion or God and I was always terrified that I would say the wrong thing or turn her further away.  When she would ask a question, I remember almost always pausing, waiting and taking a deep breath before I tried to answer or speak.  As I am writing this, I'm thinking how interesting it was that I always took a deep a breath.  In retrospect, I wonder if that wasn’t me breathing in the Holy Spirit so that maybe God could speak through me.  It wasn’t ever something I thought about at the time though. 

I wonder if our evangelism wouldn’t be more effective if we always did this, if we always waited, if we always took a deep breath as if to breathe in the Holy Spirit so that it can work or speak through us.  Sometimes in our excitement we want to rush out and as the song says, Shout it from the mountaintops!  We want to change hearts and make disciples so badly that we end up alienating people instead of drawing them near.

Evangelism isn’t easy, it’s tricky; even this quiet kind.  Evangelism requires us to go out, to get out, to leave our pews, to leave our comfort zones.  I’m the first one say that I really like my comfort zone and I really don’t like leaving it.  It’s, well, you know, comfortable!  We like our pews.  It’s much easier to come into the church building, be with like-minded people, greet one another, sing hymns together, be in communion together.  We need that!  It fuels us.  But I wonder if sometimes we aren’t a little like the disciples in Acts 1:10, looking heavenward, instead of looking around us seeing where we need to go and do, to go and be, to be those disciples growing the kingdom and maybe we can do it with some quiet or soft evangelism.

One of the articles I read recently asked the question, “Is the church, whichever church you attend, a front porch church or a backyard church.”  Interesting question.  I’ve always been fascinated by front porches.  I love them and hate that they have gone to wayside.  Front porches kept neighborhoods connected.  One of my favorite scenes from “The Andy Griffin Show” was when he, Aunt Bea, and Opie are on the porch after dinner.  Aunt Bea is crocheting, Andy is pickin’ at his guitar and Opie is playing with a toy and then a neighbor or friend appears and joins them on the porch and they have dessert together!  I love that!  Since the demise of the front porch, neighborhoods have become somewhat cold.  Neighbors don’t seem to know each other much.  They keep more to themselves now. They are more of backyard people where they are separated by fences, sometimes by really tall, private fences.  We can hear each other but we can’t see each other, we aren’t so much apart of each other’s lives.  

Front porches kept us connected.  They were welcoming, inviting, they invited people to come over and get to know each other.   So as a church are we a front porch church?  Do people see us?  Or are we a backyard church?  Doing everything behind a privacy fence, where people on the outside can hear us but not see us.  Where people know we are here but don’t feel that sense of invitation, of welcome from the outside?

Being a front porch church can be soft, easy evangelism.  When we are out where our neighbors can see us they become intrigued.  If we are in mission, we become a front porch church, outside where people can see us, where we share Jesus with them.  Even if we never say a word about Him, He can be seen through us and neighbors can become curious and wander over to visit on the front porch. 

The thing about front porches, the important thing about front porches, is that they help us to get to know our neighbors.  When we get to know our neighbors, they get to know us too and then through us hopefully they can see love and kindness, a family that cares and takes care of one another.  Hopefully they will see something that they want to be a part of and hopefully, that something is the body of Christ.  Like my daddy said, “It’s how we live our life that is the best evangelism.” We need to be present, on that front porch, we need to be listening, and we need to be waiting for the Holy Spirit while we are doing all of that to open doors, doors of conversation or even just open doors for others to see what it’s all about.  That waiting is hard, sometimes we want to push through and just share and be heard, but sometimes we need to wait, on the front porch of course, and let the Holy Spirit lead us.

Beginnings

"In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth..."  Genesis 1:1

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God."  John 1:1-2

Beginnings.  They are all around us every day.  I was looking through some photos and could beginnings over!  Photos of my babies, their beginnings.
 Photos of sunrises, the beginning of a new day.  Photos of graduations, enlistments, retirements - beginnings of new life chapters.  Photos of trees budding, flowers blooming, bird's nests.

Beginnings are all around us and yet I wonder how often we really see them, or really notice them.  Beginnings are important.  If we look closely, we can see God in every beginning.

What beginnings are you seeing around you lately?  Where are you seeing God around you?

Thoughts on Mother's Day... a little late

I was so lucky to have my mom here the days leading up to and on Mother's day.  We have visited and visited so much.  One of the things we visited about was Mother's day.  We reminisced a bit about how Mother's Day used to be.

I remember when Mother's Day was a big deal in the church.  When it was right up there with Easter and Christmas in attendance.  People went to church on Mother's day.  Families went to church on Mother's day to honor their mothers, whether they were together or not, whether they were their real mothers or not!  I remember Mothers wearing corsages.  Mothers celebrated their mothers and their women friends.

I remember talking about women who impact our lives whether they were mother's or not; aunts, sisters, teachers, neighbors, role models.  They were all celebrated and honored.

I kind of miss those days.  I understand some of the reasons why they are days of the past.  I understand that this day can be a sad day for many.  I understand, I do, but in my reminiscing I wonder if they had mother figures in their lives that they might like to honor or if they are a mother figure to someone that would like to honor them.  I just wonder.

I think of all the women who have played such and important role in my life.  My own mother, my grandmother, my sisters, my aunts, my nieces.  The adopted grandmothers I had when I was a child and even as an adult that I had when my real grandparents were too far away or gone.  I think of the women who have been there for me as a military wife, when I lived so far from my own mother and felt so alone.  The women who helped me in so many different ways throughout my life, I am so thankful for each of them.  I hope they were honored yesterday in a great way.  I hope they know the impact they have had on my life and how I wouldn't be who I am today without them.  Some of them got me through rough times and some of them were there to celebrate the great times!  I love them all and I thought of so many of you yesterday.  Thank you all for being in my life.

I had a wonderful Mother's day.  I spent it with my favorite people, my mother, my husband, my kids and a kid who is like my kid (aka my future daughter-in-law).  We visited, we watched my darling daughter dance in her recital, we laughed, we ate, we goofed off.  We had a great day.  I always love spending time with them.  I got to hear my all time favorite sound late into the evening... the sound of my children laughing and goofing off together.  Oh, there is no better sound to me than youthful laughter.

So, I hope you all had a wonderful day of honoring the mothers in your lives, honoring the women who positively influence your life and the lives of those around you.

Oh my, what a gift!

I am privileged to share a message and worship about once a month with a lovely little congregation at Grinter Chapel United Methodist Church.  I love spending time with them.  They are a delight!

This morning when I arrived, one of the members called me over and gave me this plate.  He told me that I had been coming often enough to get a plate!  What a precious gift!  I can't wait to go get a plate holder so I can display it.  It means so much to me.  This is the first and only church that I have been able to speak at on a regular basis!!

They are an amazing group of people and I just love each one of them. Thank you so much for letting share in worship with you all.  And special thanks to their pastor who shares them with me.  I appreciate it more than you will ever know.

Priorities

Yesterday I was part of a discussion on priorities, how to order our lives and do so the way God wants us to. There were five priorities.

The first was putting God first.  That seems like a given if you are a religious person but it's not always easy.  Things get in the way, life gets in the way.  We feel pulled in so many directions sometimes.  Putting God first though helps in all those situations, doesn't it? Putting God first adds balance for us that helps in all aspects of our lives.

The next was time.  I took this to mean taking time for him.  Time to chat with him, to learn more about him and from him, to just be in his presence.  That could mean worship on Sundays or whatever day you choose, or prayer time throughout the day, meditation, I am learning to love that one.  It could mean a quiet walk in nature noticing His beautiful creation.  It could mean serving others at a food pantry or a shelter.  Time with God is pretty personal.  We all do it in our own way, we just need to be sure we are doing it.

Money, that's one people don't like to talk about, isn't it?  It's important!  Giving, it should proportionate.  I love the verse in Deuteronomy 16 that says, "Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you."  According to the blessings God has given you.  In other words... Share.  We teach our kids to share at a very young age but when we think of money, sometimes we forget that.  The other part we often forget is in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, "For God loves a cheerful giver."  We are supposed to be cheerful in our giving.  Don't write your check out to the church as if it is a bill but as if it is a part of your worship experience!  Don't frown as you as give that dollar to the man or woman on the street, see Jesus in their face instead and be happy to share what you have with them, with him.

The next priority was Family Responsibility.  This one was interesting.  In the study we were doing, it was talking about honoring our parents, loving our spouses, caring for and teaching our children.  It talks about extending our family concerns and asks us to recall Boaz and Ruth.  That was extended family so in that example we are care for our extended family but I wonder how far that goes.  I'd not really thought about that before.  Not I wouldn't help extended family if needed but I had not thought of it in this context.  How do we help our families?  How far do we go for them? Again, I think we are supposed to do it cheerfully and be happy that we are able to help in whatever way we can, financially, by babysitting, by listening, by praying, by loving.

The last priority listed was Openness to the Needs of Others.  We are to be open to those around us so that we can see their needs.  That's hard sometimes I think.  We are often so caught up in our own lives that we forget to see what is going on around us.  I think we all do that from time to time.  Think of the Good Samaritan.  The priest and the Levite were too busy in their own lives to be open to the needs of the injured man but the Samaritan was open to his needs and cared for him.  Or what about how Peter and John were going to the temple for prayer and a lame man asked for alms.  Peter  and John stopped and took time to look the man in the eyes and healed him.  They took the time to be open the needs of this man.  We should be open to the needs of others whether it's to our neighbor whose husband is deployed and needs help with their yard work, or our elderly neighbor who is lonely and needs someone to talk to now and again.  Maybe it's the person at the next table at the diner sitting by themselves who needs a friendly smile.  We just need to be open, to be aware of those around us.

Personally, I kind of feel like if we have God first in our lives, then all these other priorities will just kind of fall into place but it's always good to be aware, to be cognizant of where our priorities are.  Like it says in Matthew 6 verse 21, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Change

I was sitting here today scrolling through Facebook (when I should totally be doing other things...) looking at all the people and organizations I have followed over the years, and I suddenly realized that I've changed A LOT in the last few years.  I"m not the same person I was.  My spiritual needs have completely changed.  My spirituality has changed.  About the only thing that hasn't changed about me is my weight! :(

It was kind of a shock to me at first.  I noticed that some of the pages I used to read everyday and hang on their every word, I scrolled right past.   They aren't what I need anymore.  They were there for me when I needed them and I 'm so glad but as I've grown and changed I need them less and less.  Don't get me wrong, there are still occasions where a post from them will catch my eye and it will be just what I needed to hear or read at that moment but I find I read them less and less.  They have been replaced with new pages that speak to me in new ways and for now I'm growing with them.  Who knows in a year or two they may be ones I'm scrolling past!

It was kind of weird to realize the change in me.  It was so gradual, I don't think I had realized how big the change really was.  It's a good change.  It's a welcome change.  Well, by me anyway.  LOL  I think sometimes the changes really get on my family's nerves!  But we love each other through it.  I mean that's what family does.

Anyway, I don't really know that there is much purpose for this post other than just my noticing a change, a good change or growth and thinking about it 'out loud.'  Growing, we should be ever growing.