Thank God for our extended family

Recently our daughter, Jennifer, her fiance, David and his parents flew into Atlanta from California for a whirlwind visit. The purpose of this visit was to introduce David and his parents to our many relatives in south Alabama and a few long-standing friends here in Atlanta.

After a short rest Thursday night, we awoke to a southern breakfast of biscuits, gravy, grits, bacon and eggs. Then we loaded our stuffed selves into the minivan and headed for Orange Beach on the Gulf of Mexico. On Saturday about seventy five or so of Jennifer’s aunts, uncles and cousins gathered to celebrate her engagement, check out David, and enjoy a delicious gulf coast lunch (David won them over with a strategically placed Roll Tide yell).

There was a lot of southern style fellowship. Jennifer’s future mother-in-law said she had never witnessed so much hugging. The hugging is my favorite part. One consistent thing in my huge extended dysfunctional family has been the supportive hugs. As a clergy family in North Georgia, we have lived away from relatives for over forty years. I have missed a lot of family hug fests.

In the beginning, being away from relatives was difficult, especially on special occasions and holidays. We wanted our children to experience the Sunday lunch gatherings and the large Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas get-togethers. The problem was how to do this when we lived hundreds of miles away and needed to be at the churches Jamie was called to serve.

We decided if we could not be with the ones we love, we would love the ones we were with. We started by inviting families over for lunch after church on Sundays. Hard work but well worth it. Most of these people also lived away from relatives and floundered on holidays and special occasions. This helped develop friendships that have been as close as relatives and a loving supportive network for our children. While loading the dishwasher this past Easter one friend asked me how many holidays we had spent together. My answer was well over thirty--a lot more than we have been able to spend with the relatives in Mobile, Alabama. 

This attitude of loving the ones you are with has made life much more enjoyable. We love our children and grandchildren very much. It would be wonderful if they all lived close enough to hug every day but they don’t. Some of them live far away. We see and talk with them weekly via Skype and have long visits with the grandchildren during the summer and at Christmas. It’s not perfect, but it works.

Our new neighbors have a ten year old son. Darren comes over to visit us occasionally. Recently he asked if I would play a game with him. He chose Monopoly. I hate Monopoly, but I agreed. While we were playing, I thought how much I would love to be playing this game with our grandchildren, nine year-old Jamie or 6 year-old Felicia. Another thought came just as quickly, “If you can’t be with the ones you love, love the ones you are with.”  I made a deliberate decision to enjoy this game with Darren. We played on for two hours of fun.

We can choose to focus on what we have or what we don’t have. We can emphasize our losses or our gains. Thank God for all our many blessings and especially for our “extended family.”

Lena Jenkins, North GA Ann Conf

God Is Still in Control!

Miss Lladale Carey
Web Content Producer
www.umcgiving.org
lcarey@umcom.org

Easter People

1 John 5: 1-5, The Message Every person who believes that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah, is God-begotten. If we love the One who conceives the child, we'll surely love the child who was conceived. The reality test on whether or not we love God's children is this: Do we love God? Do we keep his commands? The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome. Every God-begotten person conquers the world's ways. The conquering power that brings the world to its knees is our faith. The person who wins out over the world's ways is simply the one who believes Jesus is the Son of God. During the 50 days between Easter and Pentecost, many Christians celebrate the season of Eastertide. Fifty days of worship and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The hymn Easter People Raise Your Voices reminds us in the 3rd verse: Every day to us is Easter With its resurrection song To our God who rights the wrong. The power of God transcends all Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we no longer have the need to fear death – nor be hindered by the challenges and crises of the human condition. Jesus revealed, time after time, the power of God's love which transcends the lack of material resources like food and shelter…it transcends disease. The power of God's love is greater than social marginalization, discrimination and isolation. The power of God's love is even greater than death. In our world today, it is good to have reason to celebrate. Lack of civility, other forms of violence, overextending ourselves, fear and economic challenges can make it difficult to recognize the incredible power of God's love and the great gift of receiving that love. Every day the resurrection power of God is available to us. This means that human beings have the potential to transcend the multitude of virtual realities that cause us to become confused about who we are. Our humanness helps us to evolve spiritually We are children--offspring of God. We are spiritual beings, as they say, having a human experience. My granddaughter told me about a book that was part of the discussion in her Sunday school class. The book was about a little boy who had died and came back to life. His testimony is that heaven is real! Her question to me was: “So why are we here? Why didn’t God just make it so we could skip this human experience part and just stay with God?” I told her, “We don’t know for sure but I believe it has something to do with the evolution of the human soul.” There is something about the spiritual growth that comes from learning to live with and love other human beings that we would miss if we skipped this part. As Martin Luther King, Jr. and others have said, none of us is free until we are all free. As Easter people, we celebrate our freedom through Jesus Christ. That freedom allows us to meet life and death with assurance, joy and peace. We are indeed Easter people every day of our lives. Because he lives, we face tomorrow, Because he lives, all fear is gone! Life is worth living, celebrating and sharing with others! What do you celebrate about Jesus' resurrection today? --Bishop Linda Lee, WI Ann Conf God is Still In Control! Miss Lladale Carey Web Content Producer www.umcgiving.org lcarey@umcom.org

The Gift of Touch: A Love that Keeps on Growing

We seldom think about the importance of human touch. If we get enough of it, we tend to take it for granted. If we've never had enough, we don't know what we're lacking. Jesus included touch as a part of His ministry to folks.

"Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man (a leper)" (Matthew 8:3). "He touched her hand," (Peter's mother-in-law in Matthew 8:15). "He touched their eyes (two blind men) and said, 'According to your faith will it be done to you'" (Matthew 9:29). "Jesus came and touched them (Peter, James and John)." (Matthew 17:7) "Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man (an untouchable leper)" (Mark 1:41). "People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them" (Mark 10:13). "He touched the man's ear and healed him (The man whose ear Peter cut off)." (Luke 22:51).  

It's wondrous what a hug can do;
A hug can cheer you when you're blue.
A hug can say, "I love you so,"
or "Oh, I hate to see you go."
A hug is, "Welcome back again!"
And "Great to see you!"
Or "Where have you been?"
A hug can soothe a small child's pain
And bring a rainbow after rain.
The hug! There's just no doubt about it,
We scarcely could survive without it.
A hug delights and warms and charms.
It must be why God gave us arms.
Hugs are great for fathers and mothers,
Sweet for sisters, swell for brothers,
And chances are some favorite aunts
Love them more than potted plants.
Kittens crave them. Puppies love them.
Heads of state are not above them.
A hug can break the language barrier,
And make the dullest day seem merrier.
No need to fret about the store of 'em,
The more you give, the more there are of 'em.
So stretch those arms without delay,
And give someone a hug today.  

---Author Unknown

--excerpt from an email article by Beverly Caruso

God Is Still In Control!

Miss Lladale Carey

Web Content Producer

www.umcgiving.org

lcarey@umcom.org 

A Risk of Faith

Mark 5: 25-28, New Living Translation And there was a woman in the crowd who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors through the years and had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she was worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched the fringe of his robe. For she thought to herself, "If I can just tough his clothing, I will be healed." I was recently reminded of this scripture as I prepared to make a journey to Africa. The trip itself was a blessing. I was able to attend and participate in the African United Methodist Clergywomen's Consultation at Africa University in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe last month. I saw firsthand the powerful Christian witness the University itself represents, and met young people from across the continent, across language groups and across cultural groups. All were brought together to be educated and to be ambassadors of mutual respect, peace and excellence in leadership. The clergywomen who participated in the consultation represented some of the finest leadership in our connection. And they were led with gentle but undeniable power by Bishop Joaquina Nhanala – the first African woman elected as a Bishop in the continent of Africa. Women of the world face special risks But my trip also reminded me of something very sad. In preparation for this event, I researched issues facing women in Africa, and it became clear that the same challenges faced by other women around the globe do indeed continue to affect and impact women everywhere who serve God in the Church.  Although men experience some of the same difficulties – there are some crimes which particularly devastate women and children. Take the risk to reach out and help heal others We celebrate the places God has made it possible for the gifts of women to be shared with our nations and our world. But we have a long way to go to end domestic violence, human trafficking, sexism, and poverty in our state and nation, as well as around the globe. It is our faith that empowers us to take the risk to reach out for healing, wholeness, and shalom for ourselves and all persons. As we continue to try to help others, let us look in the places we have not yet gone – finding ways to participate in creating safe environments where those who are vulnerable can find God’s love through our care. Jesus said to her, "Daughter, you took a risk of faith, and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague." (Mark 5: 34, The Message) Where can we create safe environments for the vulnerable right here in Wisconsin? ---Bishop Linda Lee, Wisconsin AC God Is Still In Control! Miss Lladale Carey Web Content Producer www.umcgiving.org lcarey@umcom.org

Giving—It’s What We Do

Approximately 600 participants from the Wisconsin Annual Conference, including 150 pastors and 450 lay people, responded to a giving survey developed by the Generosity Task Force. The Generosity Task Force was formed at the invitation of Bishop Linda Lee to support and promote the theme of Extravagant Generosity, and to explore ways that local congregations might be better resourced and served in the area of financial stewardship.

To summarize the results of the survey in a single sentence: “It is extremely important that Christians give generously as an expression of gratitude and joy for all we have received from God.” Giving is not an option; it isn’t simply something we do, it is an expression of who we are.

Two primary forces motivate the giving of Wisconsin United Methodists: joy and duty. Forty-six percent of the respondents identified “responsibility, discipline, or obligation” as the primary reason for their giving, while forty-four percent named “joy, generosity, or desire to share with others” as their top reasons. For those responding to the survey, supporting the ministry of their local church and sharing responsibility for the church’s ministry were the most important motivations to making a financial commitment to the church.

A majority of people identified “hearing sound preaching and teaching on giving in their church” as important (37.5%) or extremely important (28.6%), though a number of people lament that money and giving is not talked about much in their local congregation. Seventy-four percent of those responding say that giving is important or extremely important as a means of growing in the Christian faith. It is evident that people believe that faith and giving are in a dynamic relationship—some people give more as they grow in their faith, while others learn to grow through giving more.

Eighty-seven percent feel that the local church is the most important place to give— and that the majority of their gifts should support the ministry of the local church. Only about half (51%) feel that supporting Conference ministries is as important as supporting local church ministries.

Nine-out-of-ten givers want to know that their giving is making a difference. If a person gives a dollar, they are very interested in exactly how that dollar is used and what value that dollar produces. In both local churches and Annual Conferences, where it is unclear how money is being spent and what the money actually pays for, givers are less motivated to give. The better job we do showing people how their gifts serve God and touch lives, the more motivated people are to give.

Clergy responses were slightly higher in all categories—giving, whether from a sense of obligation or joy, is essential to our  development as Christian disciples. Supporting the work of the local congregation is extremely important, but so is supporting the work of the larger church. On average, “important” and “extremely important” responses were approximately 7% higher from clergy.

For all people in the survey, giving to help others, giving to bring comfort and aid, and giving  that improves lives are the most important kinds of giving. We love to support our missions, and to do all the good we can through the financial gifts we have to share. 


--By Dan Dick, WI AC


God Is Still In Control!


Miss Lladale Carey
Web Content Producer
www.umcgiving.org
lcarey@umcom.org

Hearing God’s word amid the silence

“Silence is more eloquent than words,” according to the Scottish writer and historian Thomas Carlyle.
Where does one go where silence and quietness is valued and practiced? One place is the Monastery of the Holy Spirit just a few miles away in Conyers. GA.

The monastery has a Guest House for anyone to come for personal or group retreats. Guests are invited to participate with the monks in the various times of prayer and meditation. Although I did not make the 4:00 a.m. Vigils, my spirit was refreshed through the other shared times of prayer and by the beauty and the tranquility of the place.

During two days of retreat for myself, with only two or three minor exceptions, I did not speak and no one spoke to me. Other retreatants and I greeted each other with a smile and a nod of the head. Words were not necessary.

The words of the Psalms and prayers in the Abbey church were mainly all the spoken language that I heard for 48 hours. But I engaged in significant holy conversation with God and myself through silence. I was amazed at how many hymns, praise choruses, and scripture that sprang up from my sub-conscious. I worshipped God silently but genuinely.

I believe that God is present with us at all times and in all places. I also know that there are times when the noise around me prevents me from hearing God speaking to me. I need to find God in my everyday and it is difficult to hear God in noise and restlessness. It is not necessary to go away for a period, but it is important to create opportunities in the regular routines to enable the voice of God to be heard.

I need to hear and heed the words of the psalmist, “Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10).”

excerpt from a devotion by Jamie Jenkins, North GA, AC
jjenkins@ngumc.org

God Is Still in Control!

Miss Lladale Carey
Web Content Producer
www.umcgiving.org
www.umc.org
lcarey@umcom.org

Anything worth doing is worth doing well

"I did my best but I guess my best wasn’t good enough." These words have been spoken many times by countless people.

The rich voice of soul singer James Ingram repeats these words in the song "Just Once" that he recorded in 1981. It was his first recording, and it reached number seventeen on the pop charts.
The lyrics written by Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil detail the struggle of someone trying to understand why a relationship kept going sour. The question is asked, “Can’t we figure out what we have been doing wrong?”

Have you ever felt that way?

Whether crafting a sermon or developing a lesson plan; running your daily delivery route or honing your athletic skills; selling a product or performing a delicate surgical procedure; writing a computer program or a school term paper; creating an architectural design or parenting children. There are times when we are not sure that our best is good enough. We have made a good effort but think maybe it could have been more. The results could have been better.
 
There are many explanations for why we are uncomfortable with the outcome of our efforts. Whether it is a relationship or some project that we are working on, often there is the feeling that something more or something different would have produced better results.

An old proverb suggests that all God expects is that we do the best we can with what we have, now. We may try and fail but we must try.

There is no excuse for deliberately doing less than our best. When we do, we can expect the end results to reflect the level of our efforts. Anything worth doing is worth doing well.

When we have used our resources and skills to the best of our ability we can expect good results. I am not suggesting that the results will always be excellent but we should not worry about it. There may be imperfections but our goal is not to be perfect. Our goal is to do our best.

If the cause is consistent with God’s character and purpose, I believe God wants us to succeed. After we have done our best, then we need to turn it over to God. Even when our “best isn’t good enough,” God has the ability to transform it into something special.


--Jamie Jenkins, North GA Ann Conf


God Is Still In Control!




Miss Lladale Carey
Web Content Producer
www.umcgiving.org
lcarey@umcom.org