Archive for July, 2009
Devotion Time Ensures it Will Be a Good Day
Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Yesterday I went back to the gym for the first time since we moved into our new house. Before we moved, my gym time was the first thing I did each weekday morning. Not only was my workout good for my body, the time I spent with my workout friends afterwards was good for my soul. There is a group of five or six of us who work out together and then, over a cup of coffee, share our lives — what is going well, what is upsetting us, what is driving us crazy, and why we weren’t there the week before. For me, the discipline of working out each day and having friends holding me accountable for that time has been an incredible blessing. And I’ve really missed it!
Today, sore from yesterday, I went back to the gym. It felt good to be there and see my friends. It felt good to have people look forward to seeing me and let me know that they missed me. And even the soreness is my muscles felt good.
Driving home a little while ago, I mulled over how my time at the gym is closely related to my devotional time. The few minutes that I spend reading the Bible and my devotional reading each morning, ground me spiritually for the entire day. Some days the reading is comforting, other days it is challenging, but it is always filling.
The devotional book that I’m using this year is called “Disciplines; A Book of Daily Devotions 2009.” It is published by the Upper Room and mostly uses the Lectionary. But each week is a little bit different. One author writes the devotions for the entire week. Some hang together over the whole week. Others are different day by day. On Monday of each week, I get acquainted with the author of the week. The book publisher gives the reader a one sentence biography of the author. This week the author is Leona Ellis, director of Children’s Ministry at Windsor Village United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas. How cool is that?
The authors are clergy and lay folk and they are not all Methodist. Last week, the author was an ordained minister in the Disciples of Christ Church. I like knowing just a snippet of information about the person who is writing to me. The insights that each writer has into a scripture, even if it is a scripture I’ve read many times before, is different than what I see myself. Many mornings, I’m still thinking about that interpretation late into the day. Each day’s writing ends with a short prayer although occasionally it is an action the author leaves with me. Today Ms. Ellis said, “Being a Christian means making daily choices between good and bad, between obedience and sin. Today, be aware of God’s presence in the strength of the Holy Spirit to guide you.”
Isn’t that a great thought? Today, I’m trying to take that to heart. As I’ve gone about my day, as I’ve talked on the phone and organized the rest of my week, I’m aware of God’s presence in the strength of the Holy Spirit. With that thought foremost in my mind, I’m armed for anything.
Showers of Blessings,
Leah Taylor
P.S. Let me know if you have thoughts or comments. I’d love to hear from you — tayleah@comcast.net.
Invitation to Sunday School
Monday, July 20th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Tom and I belong to the same Sunday School class we joined in 1995. That is when Mary Beth started kindergarten and we decided that she could sit through church and go to Sunday School. Our initial plan was to visit several classes before we made a decision where we would best “fit,” but when we visited the “New Beginnings” class they were studying the Crusades and we were hooked.
In the past 15 years, we have found a place of comfort and care in our class. The membership has grown and changed, but many of the members have been in the class longer than we have. We’ve been through three senior pastors and countless schedule changes together. At one point, the class split because we went to two Sunday School hours to accommodate the growth in our church membership.
Together we have experienced the full array of life’s ups and downs. We’ve celebrated new babies, graduations, Eagle Scout awards, weddings and even grand babies. We’ve lifted each other up in hard times like job losses, serious illnesses and deaths.
Sitting in class yesterday, my mind was flipping through a photo album of images of our shared experiences. I could see faces of our Sunday School friends at our annual Chili Cook-off, I saw us laughing together over outrageous “gifts” when we have our Epiphany white elephant gift exchange. There were snapshots of us driving go-karts and playing fuzz ball when our kids were younger. And I saw us sharing lunch on the lawn of home we were painting on a PSI workday.
When me moved in May, several members of our class donated boxes collected at their jobs or left over from their own last move. Others offered help in many different ways. Some even came over and helped us load and unload.
Since we moved many people have asked us if we are looking for a new church home. Tom and I have talked about that. There are several wonderful Methodist churches which are much closer to us than St. Peter’s. My answer has generally been that while Mary Beth is still coming home, we will stay at St. Peter’s. But yesterday, sitting in our classroom, I realized that our attachment to St. Peter’s goes much deeper than Mary Beth’s continued involvement.
Our spiritual roots, our lifetime experiences, are bound up in the very substance that is St. Peter’s! And I don’t mean the building. I mean the people. The people who have lifted us up and prayed for us in times of need – those same people who have celebrated with us in times of great happiness. Those are the people with whom we have grieved and rejoiced. These people have called us to account for our commitment to God and our spiritual practices. And we have done that for them – at least I hope we have.
One of the best things about this Blog is that it makes me reflect on my life, my relationship with God, and how it might have any implication for anyone else. So today, in setting these thoughts down to share with you, I realized that it has been too long since I invited someone new to our church to come and visit my Sunday School class. For there, in the relative security of a small group of folks, I have found God in real, tangible ways. And I have found people who keep me faithful to my vow to serve God and my community.
Next Sunday, I’m going to find someone who I don’t know, introduce myself and invite them to come with me to Sunday School. And, I hope you will, too!
Showers of Blessings,
Leah Taylor
Visiting A Welcoming Church
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Sunday morning, I had the opportunity to preach at First United Methodist Church Wharton. The pastor, Rev. Polly Standing, is directing a UM ARMY Camp at Friendswood this week and she was already there getting ready for the arrival of all of her campers.
As I drove into town, I saw the “Welcome to Wharton” sign and then, just a little bit farther down the road, the Cross and Flame with information about FUMC! It made me feel at home before I ever found the church.
When I arrived at the church, signs on the buildings facing the parking lot directed me to the Sanctuary where an usher opened the door for me and greeted me. As I stood in the greeting area of the church, a volunteer who was working at a table advertising Vacation Bible Study needs, recognized that I needed help. She took me where I needed to go and made sure that I was in good hands before returning to her table.
As I got myself and my stuff situated, another church member introduced himself and asked me if there is anything I needed. I asked for a cup for water and off he went. It was almost like my wish was his command!
As I figured out what to do and where to go, the two acolytes came and asked me what to do. The toughest part of that job was finding someone with a lighter or matches so that they could light the candles on the altar.
After the service while I was driving home, several thoughts kept recurring in my mind. First, I thought how much at home I felt in Wharton! The sense of familiarity and feeling of connection reduced my sense of anxiety. I was anxious at being in a new place where I didn’t know anyone, as well as the feeling of anxiety at bringing a message which might not be well received to those who were there to hear it. And, of course, there was my ever-present concern that there would be anyone there to even hear the message — much less receive it!
Sometimes when I go to a church to speak or participate in worship, the night before I dream that I’ll stand up in the front of the sanctuary and the pews will be empty. It is sort of an off-shoot of that college-era nightmare where I find myself going to take a final exam for a class I didn’t realize I was supposed to be taking!
Second, I thought about the hospitality which I had received. It occurred to me that I had no trouble finding the church and then, when I got there, I found the sanctuary easily. I don’t know if FUMC Wharton is one of the Transformation Churches, but they certainly have checked many of the items for becoming a “Welcoming Congregation” off the list.
Finally, the closer I got to home, the more tired I became. I started working on the sermon more than a week before. By Wednesday of last week I had it written and then I started “living” with it. Reading it aloud, I made revisions. I practiced. I made Tom listen to me. I stood in front of an imaginary congregation, making sure that the phrases I’d crafted weren’t too difficult to say out loud.
And, then Friday afternoon, my mom and Tom’s parents arrived to visit us in our new home for the first time. Many meals later, they left on Sunday morning mere moments before I jumped in my car to drive to Wharton.
When I got home Sunday afternoon, I could barely drag myself into the house before I laid down on my bed and crashed! Tom and Mary Beth came in from church, lunch and errands and I never heard them. The dogs must have gone in and out of the house a dozen times and I never heard a thing. I really don’t know how our preachers do this each and every week and still manage to bring us messages that are pertinent to our daily lives but resound in scripture.
As Conference Lay Leader, I spend lots of time with clergy. In the last few years, I have had the opportunity to get to know many of the pastors in our Annual Conference quite well, not just at church. In the last couple years I have come to believe that as lay people, we have an amazing opportunity with and obligation to our church and our clergy friends. Some of you have heard me say this before and after filling Polly’s pulpit on Sunday, I believe it even more strongly. We must stand up and take responsibility for the United Methodist Church! Attractive signs as you drive into town are a step in the right direction. Signs that are easy to follow once someone arrives on the church campus are great. But who is it that is going to get those people onto the church grounds to begin with? It’s us, friends. No one else can do it!
Showers of Blessings,
Leah Taylor
Unpack God’s Gifts and Share Them with Others
Monday, July 6th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
At our new house we have a veranda with ceiling fans that looks into our back yard. It is the perfect place to sit in the morning with my first cup of tea, do my devotional and plan my day. Some days it feels like it was just yesterday when the moving van pulled up and deposited the contents of our lives into this new house. Over the past weeks, boxes have been unpacked, pictures hung on the walls and furniture has found its place. Each time I need something and remember where I put it this house it begins to feel a little more like home. And in the evenings when we sit down to dinner together, I am reminded that it is not the place that matters so much as it is the people and the time together.
This morning it struck me that my faith journey has been a little bit like moving into a new house. At first it was very exciting – feeling God’s grace surround me like a protective shield. After a while, as I unpacked many boxes, I became overwhelmed. Each time a new box spilled out its contents, I had to find something to do with every item, every gift, that emerged. Many things I unpacked were lessons I could use in my daily life, decorations for my home! But at some point I realized that there was just too much for me to “own” it all by myself. That’s when I realized that God’s love is not just for me – I shouldn’t hold it close – I have to open my arms and let it spill out. I have to share it, in some way, with everyone around me.
Yesterday in my devotional reading, the author (Barbara J. Lindgren, a Methodist clergywoman from Prairie, Minnesota) explained it like this. She said;
The gospel message is simple, yet not everyone is ready to hear it. It cannot be forced into hard hearts. But we are to continue offering that message. Even if our message seems not to be heard, we can move on, praying that we have left a seed of good news that will one day sprout into a transformed life!
So, this week, as you unpack your boxes, remember to give those blessings away! Share them abundantly with your words and your actions. As we each give God’s love away, our houses will be furnished with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we will all truly be at home!
Showers of blessings!
Leah Taylor