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Words of Wisdom 2

4/26/2021

7 Comments

 
In my last blog I talked about a journal I have kept over the years filled with all kinds of “Quotable Quotes”, poems, stories, or things that really struck a chord. This next little tidbit I came across many years ago. Back then I found it humorous and got a good chuckle. At this stage of life, it’s not quite as humorous!
Picture
Chris Gray
Lady in the Mirror
A very weird thing has happened. A strange old lady has moved into my house. I have no idea who she is, where she came from, or how she got in. I certainly did not invite her. All I know is that one day, she wasn’t there, and the next day, she was.

She is a clever old lady, and manages to keep out of sight for the most part, but whenever I pass a mirror, I catch a glimpse of her. And whenever I look in the mirror to check my appearance, there she is, hogging the whole thing, completely obliterating my gorgeous face and body. I have tried screaming at her, but she just screams back.

If she insists on hanging around, the least she could do is offer to pay part of the rent, but no. Every once in a while, I find a dollar bill stuck in a coat pocket, or some loose change under a sofa cushion, but it is not nearly enough!

I think she is stealing money from me. I go to the ATM and withdraw $100 and a few days later It is all gone. I certainly do not spend money THAT fast, so I can only conclude the old lady is pilfering from me. You’d think she would spend some of that money to buy wrinkle cream. Lord knows she needs it! And money isn’t the only thing I think she is stealing. Food seems to disappear at an alarming rate----especially the good stuff like ice cream, cookies, and chocolate. I can’t seem to keep that stuff in the house anymore. She must have a real sweet tooth, but she’d better watch it, because she is really packing on the pounds. I suspect she realizes this and to make herself feel better, she is tampering with my scale to make me think I am putting on weight too.

For an old lady, she is quite childish. She likes to play nasty games like going into my closets when I’m not home and altering my clothes so they don’t fit. She also fiddles with my DVD so it does not record what I have so carefully programmed. She’s also found other imaginative ways to annoy me. She gets into my mail, newspaper and magazines before I do, and blurs the print so I can’t read them.

Lately, she has been fooling with my groceries before I put them away, applying glue to the lids making it almost impossible for me to open the jars. Is this any way to repay my hospitality? She has also taken the fun out of shopping for clothes. When I try something on, she stands in front of the dressing room mirror and monopolizes it. She looks totally ridiculous in some of those outfits, plus, she keeps me from seeing how great they look on me!
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Try as she might, the little old lady in the mirror will not get the best of me! For I know that God will carry us through, even into our advanced years. He has had a plan for us since the beginning of time.

“And I will still be carrying you when you are old. Your hair will turn gray, and I will still carry you. I made you, and I will carry you to safety.”         Isaiah 46:4

Blessings,
Chris
7 Comments

Multi-tasking Fail

4/19/2021

2 Comments

 
We take turns in providing the devotion for our weekly staff meeting. My turn was last week. I forgot. Until our meeting began and I was on the spot it was easy to blame my forgetfulness on being too busy, or to use one of my favorite excuses - that I was multi-tasking and it slipped my mind. Arrgh! Thankfully, Carley generously offered to switch places with me.
Picture
Janet Starkey
With multi-tasking on my mind and it’s supposed usefulness, I found this post written by Father David Ousley, a rector in Philadelphia. Here he reflects on how the practice of multi-tasking in everyday life affects our prayer life - and life in general. He writes:
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​The whole idea of multi-tasking as something good is based on the assumption that life is about getting things done. I admit that the world often operates as though this were the case (and when we are being worldly, we do too). But it is false. Human life, and Christian life, is more about love than about accomplishments.

How we deal with the mundane things – work, home, driving, etc. – affects what happens when we  come to prayer. If we cultivate distractedness, as, for example, by multi-tasking, then we will bring distractedness to our prayer. If, on the other hand, we cultivate attention, this will bear fruit at the time of prayer. I would suggest therefore that we renounce multi-tasking, and strive to do one thing at a time, so far as that is possible . . . .

This may mean that we put the cell phone aside and ignore the incoming texts so that we can attend to something else. It may mean turning off the television or radio which we have kept on in the background. It certainly means that we strive to attend to the one thing before us, and cultivate the discipline of single-tasking, so far a possible. This will be counter-cultural, and we must be prepared for being out of sync with the world around us. But this is often true for Christians, and we might as well get used to it.
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​I have definitely subscribed to the notion that multi-tasking is a good thing, and in my stubborn-ness it will be hard for me to pull myself out of that thinking. But I do acknowledge that I need to work towards single-tasking so I can give my best to any one thing at a time — God, my family, my work, or myself.

Matthew 6:6 The Message
Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simple and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

In His Name, Janet
2 Comments

A Reflection on my Favorite Scripture

4/12/2021

2 Comments

 
Recently, the staff was asked to provide their favorite scripture. It took no time for me to determine that I would send Jeremiah 29:11, “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” (NIV). I was left reflecting how my views of that scripture have changed over the past year. A year filled with uncertainty, 
Picture
Carley Walker
fear, and that nagging feeling that everything was just about ready to fall apart around me. I have found much peace in knowing that God does indeed know what is going on in my life. He knew exactly what 2020 was going to look like for each of us. And you know what, we made it! God’s promise is to give us hope, he wants us to prosper, he promises not to harm us. I don’t know about you, but that brings rest to my weary soul.

I found this prayer that I thought was so wonderfully written:
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“Heavenly Father,
May we who are merely inconvenienced - remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors - remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home - remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close - remember those who have no options.
May we who have to cancel our trips - remember those that have no place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market - remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for quarantine at home - remember those who have no home.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other, let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors.
We continue to pray for all those who need our prayers.
In Jesus Name we pray,
Amen”

(Author Unknown)
​

In His Name,
​Carley
2 Comments

Broken Fences

4/6/2021

6 Comments

 
On January 13, 2021 we were hit with a destructive windstorm in our area. All over the city there were trees on houses, trees blocking roads, broken power lines, and much of the city was without power for a few days. Thankfully the damage at my house consisted of a yard full of branches, and some broken fence panels.

When I bought my house, one of the features I was really happy about was the beautiful cedar privacy fence surrounding​
Picture
Bonnie Piovesan
the entire back yard. It was tidy, looked relatively new, and made the backyard feel like a private oasis. When I saw my pretty fence panels blown off their brackets and leaning on trees, my first thought was it would be a single days’ worth of work to hang the panels back up. However, when we went out to inspect the fence, we quickly realized we were in for a bigger project. Instead of being connected to proper posts with good hardware, our beautiful fence was more like an episode of the Red Green show. It looked good on the outside, but inside it was weak and poorly assembled. 

My fence reminds me of some of the relationships in our country right now. People running around blaming someone else for bad hardware, poor assembly, and all the while the fence panels are still laying on the ground. People are screaming everywhere to either rebuild the fence or burn the fence. It’s a backyard of chaos. 

As a believer, I often wonder what the right thing to do is. Should I grab a hammer to build or some matches to burn? What is most important? Once again God’s word comes to mind. 

 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 
Matthew 22:36-40
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So often God’s word brings clarity to the chaos. In this passage Jesus sums up the Old Testament in two sentences, and yet we could spend a lifetime learning how to live these two sentences out. When Jesus referred to the Law, the Jews listening understood he was talking about the Ten Commandments. God had given the Jewish community ten laws to live by, but over time they grew those ten laws into a complicated system of do’s and don’ts that left the community wondering what was most important. When we study the Ten Commandments, people will sometimes put them into two main categories. The first five teach us how to have a relationship with God. The second five teach us how to have a relationship with other people. Basic principles like don’t worship idols and don’t murder people seem to make sense to most believers. But what does that have to do with us who have been set free from the Law? I just wonder rather than building or burning what would happen if believers chose to do something different. What if we chose to seek out how to love God with all our heart, soul and mind better? What would happen if we studied how to love our neighbors as ourselves better? 

Many of the issues we are facing these days are not new, in fact some go back to the dawn of time. Humanity has been here before, it’s just a bit new to us. Injustice, just like Cain and Able. Corrupt societies just like the tower of Babel. Ruthless Kings, wars, ungodly people who seem to prosper, poor people being misused; the list could go on and on. The issues seem so complex but the answers are still the same, love God and love one another. 

If I ask myself how much time did I spend reading the Bible and praying compared to how much time I spent on my phone this past week would the answer show a love for God or my phone? If I ask myself how many ways I spent loving myself this past week, would there be any evidence that I even had neighbors? 

My backyard full of fence panels is relatively small damage and will cost me a few days of work, but the challenge to love better has left me to work on a much bigger project; me. 

In His Name, Bonnie
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6 Comments

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  • Home
    • Connect With Us >
      • Prayer Request
      • eNews Archive >
        • 2020 eNews Archive
  • Who We Are
    • Our Mission
    • Leadership & Staff >
      • Job Opportunities
      • Blogs >
        • Blog Archive 2021
        • Blog Archive 2020
    • Elders, Deacons & Ministry Teams >
      • Christmas Families
      • Annual Clothing Givewaway
    • History >
      • Past Ministers
    • What Presbyterians Believe
    • Annual Reports
  • Ministries
    • Children & Families
    • Youth
    • Missions
    • Serve >
      • Choir
      • Church Ministry Teams
      • Ecumenical Kitchen
      • Family Promise
      • Handbell Choir
      • Knitting for Warmth
      • Praise Team
      • Reception Team
    • Grow >
      • Book Studies
      • Men's Fellowship
      • Presbyterian Women
      • Sunday Bible Study
      • Women's Circles
    • Connect >
      • Dinners at 6-ish
      • Flying Solo
  • Sundays
    • Classic Worship
    • Contemplative Worship
    • Sermons
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