If Huntington is too far away, the choir will be at the Clay Center in Charleston tonight (7:30), St Paul's UMC on Friday (Parkersburg, 7:30pm), Lewisburg UMC, 2:30pm and Beckley Temple UMC, 7:30pm on Sunday. For more information, go to http://www.wvumc.org/.
Lectionary Scriptures: 1Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 19-23, 32-49; Psalm 9: 9-20; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4: 35-41
“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10.
My first job after college was as a house-parent at Burlington Home for Children and Youth. I will never forget the instructions my husband and I received at one of the first training sessions. Rev. Andy Agnew, the administrator, was sharing about some of the attitudes and background we could expect from the children and teens who lived in this community. He related that we should not be too quick to “preach” our beliefs, especially religious ones, as the kids frequently did not have the background or framework to understand. He stressed that we needed to be “living examples” of how to live and relate to others. As a way of giving us examples of what to say or not say he related an exchange he had had with one of the teens. The teen had asked what God was like. Rev. Andy explained that God was like a father who provided and cared for us. The teen responded that if God was like his “ole man”, he didn’t want anything to do with him. Fortunately, Rev. Andy related, he was able to “back-up” and re-form an answer about the nature of God that the teen could eventually accept. Rev. Andy’s life and actions also matched what he said so that the teen was eventually able to accept a relationship with God in his life.
God is made real to us in and through the lives of others—we can find our way on the path by following the light of those who let God’s light shine through them. God can use all his followers to be blessings to others, but we have to sometimes be willing to leave our comfort zones to answer the call.
This Father’s Day weekend, I have been remembering the lessons I have learned from Rev. Andy and some of the other Godly men that I have been privileged to know and love. I hope you will join me in celebrating all the men who serve God so faithfully
Thank God for men who:
- serve Him without regret or embarrassment
- cook and or serve meals for the needy
- assist people to keep their appointments
- wash dishes and clean up after a church meal
- faithfully bring their families to church and stay to worship with them
- open their wallets for the needy and support the church and other worthy projects
- sing with abandon and joy
- pray with us and for us
- teach Sunday School classes
- love their wives and children and nieces and nephews and in-laws, etc. without counting the cost
- freely share smiles, hugs and support when needed
- serve the church as called on committees and other projects
- are not afraid to share their emotions to express what God means to them
- allow God to shine through their lives in any number of ways
I know I could go on and on—but the sentiment is “THANKS!!” for all the large and small ways that each of you serve God. Every time you are faithful, the universe changes for the good. May your lives continue to be led by His Word and may you always know that God holds you in a warm embrace and is thankful for your stewardship. In the same way your friends give thanks for you, God rejoices in you and “calls you by name” and joins me and a host of others in an anthem of thankfulness.
Chyrl Budd
Note: For more information about Burlington United Methodist Family Services, go to: http://www.bumfs.org/.
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