​The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore. Psalm 121:8
 
Labor Day! According to Wikipedia, “Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.”
 
As a child, I thought it odd that the one day of the year when we honor hard work is a day we don’t do any work. When I became a teenager, I learned that wasn’t quite true. Labor Day is a day that parents take the day off while encouraging (insisting) the children enjoy a day of hard work in the yard!
 
As a young adult, I smiled to think that Labor Day is when I felt the first pangs indicating our daughter was about to be born. I certainly worked that day and believed Labor Day was aptly named! (Personal note: Happy 26th birthday, baby girl!)
 
These days as I have aged a few more years, I’m simply thankful to have the day off regardless of what we call it.
 
I wonder what I’ll think of Labor Day as I continue to grow. As I come and go throughout my work, my ministry, my life, will I become weary of the endless to-do lists? Will I look forward to a day off – a day to rest from chaos and simply be thankful for the work I am called to do on other days? Or will this become a labor of love day – a day when I seek out chores that have been neglected or kept on the back burner for too long?
 
I suspect that each year might hold a bit of each. Just as I did today, I’ll spend some time being thankful for my work and the work available to others. I’ll thank God for the route drivers and shelf stockers where I find my food. I’ll pray for the teachers and custodians who enrich the lives of our children. I’ll seek blessings for our church staff and family. Then, before the day is over, I may find myself outside enjoying a little yard work that needs my attention.
 
As I come and go throughout the upcoming Labor Days, I am already thankful that I never journey alone. The promise of Psalm 121:8 is that no matter what we face or where our work takes us, God keeps us safe and guards our paths.
 
Thank you, God, for your never-ending labor of Love!

​Owe no one anything, except to love one another. Romans 13:8
 
Yesterday was my wedding anniversary, and not one single day has passed that I haven’t loved him. I’m pretty sure I loved him the first time I saw him… even if he was with that other girl. I was really glad to find out later that she was just a friend of his. Once I got to know him, there was no denying it and ten months after that first sight we were married.
 
My mother asked me if it felt like he and I have been married twenty-seven years. Nope, it sort of seems like I just met him. All these years have passed, and I still get butterflies when I know he’s coming home from a trip or sometimes when he’s just coming to take me to lunch.
 
That’s not to say the entire twenty-seven years have been perfect. We have certainly had our fair share of bad decisions, disagreements, and turmoil. It’s just that I have never stopped loving him. In the middle of messes, I still love him. When he makes mistakes, I love him. When I make mistakes, I love him. When we argue, I love him. When life is good, I love him.
 
I love him because he is truly a part of me. His heart speaks to my heart. He makes me want to be a better person, and I want to share the best of life with him.
 
As much as I love my husband, though, he is not the love of my life. That spot is reserved for Jesus, the one who teaches me to love in the first place. The one whose love IS perfect. The one who loves me in spite of me.
 
Paul talks about how we love in his letter to the Romans. Paul has a way of explaining Jesus that just helps me understand. Owe no one anything, except to love one another. What he means is that we are to pay off everything we can – whether that be our debts, our promises, even the giving of our respect – but we can never pay off love because love can never be allowed to end.
 
Thank you, Jesus, for being the model of Love. Thank you gifting us with your love that never ends and our love that wants to follow your example. Thank you for Paul who helps to make things clear; and thank you for twenty-seven years of learning more about love every day. Amen.   
 
With love,
Pastor Beth

​Praise the Lord! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful. Psalm 149:1
 
As I approached the final block of my neighborhood before turning right onto my street, I noticed some unusual activity at the edge of my yard. Slowing down and straining my eyes to see in the dusk, I realized that my neighbor had pulled his pickup truck onto the grass and was standing in the truck bed with his two young daughters. They were eagerly reaching into the overgrowth hanging there by the creek. I lowered my window, applied my brake, and yelled across the street as my neighbor dismounted his truck.
 
“What are you finding?”
 
Striding toward my open window with a happy smile, his answer surprised me. That’s interesting, I thought. I’ve lived here nearly six years and never noticed his find. Now that he pointed it out, I realized I’ve looked right at this hundreds of times and just never paid attention. Not only that, but this wasn’t the only spot. My yard is bursting with this surprise find.
 
When he continued his answer, I moved from surprised to shocked. “Your husband showed me and said we could get some.”
 
What did he mean my husband showed him? My husband never mentioned this to me! How long has he known? He should have said something especially since he would know I would be interested.
 
“I’d be happy to get some for you,” my neighbor offered. No, thank you. I have fifteen pounds of these in my refrigerator right now that I went somewhere else to get.
 
As I slowly pulled away, I turned to my son beside me. “Wonder why Dad didn’t say something?” Turns out, he just noticed yesterday and simply hadn’t mentioned it to me yet.
 
Six years… and neither of us knew. Six years… passing by countless times every single day… and never seeing. Six years… I’d missed the amazing gift right in my own yard. Precious, tasty, glorious muscadine grapes free for the picking.
 
Praise the Lord!  the psalmist writes. Sing to the Lord a new song. While most of the psalms incorporate a trouble, a lament or a plea, the final five psalms are simply about praise and singing – and not just any singing. Psalm 149 pushes me to sing to God a NEW song. This calls me to recognize everything around me and find newness each day. Freshness which moves me to singing, praising and thanksgiving.
 
The psalmist doesn’t stop there. Sing God’s praise in the assembly of the faithful. Yes, singing praise to God all by myself is lovely, but how much richer and marvelous when God’s people join their voices together for no other reason than to sing praise?!
 
I wonder how many gifts, how many occasions to be amazed, how many opportunities to sing praise to God I have squandered because I’ve been too busy focusing on other things. I’ll bet if I pay attention, my life will provide all kinds of tasty treats worthy of praise. I hope we will do that singing together.
 
Singing new songs,
Pastor Beth

​Call out “Peace be with you!” to any good Methodist, and you will most likely hear the response: “And also with you!” I love that as our go-to response, but I wonder if we even think about what that means. Where did it come from? Is it just a way for us to wish people a calm day? Do we say it to everyone? Should we?
 
When Jesus sent the disciples out to spread the gospel message, he told them that they were to begin with the standard greeting of their time: Peace be unto you. Those words of welcome had become as their prayer. The disciples were asking the peace of God to rest on every person they met. Everywhere they went, they prayed that God’s Kingdom was available to each one.
 
“As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” (Matthew 10:12-14, NIV)
 
I find it interesting that they were given permission to receive that peace back. The disciples were to offer the Kingdom to all but were not held accountable for the actions of others. No one wants to bless inappropriate behavior, but that wasn’t a judgment call for the disciples to make. Offer God’s peace to everyone, then allow God to determine who benefits from the blessing. If a household was deemed unworthy by God, then “no harm – no foul” on the disciples’ part. The blessing would be returned to them.
 
Matthew Henry wrote: “It becomes us to judge charitably of all, to pray heartily for all, and to conduct ourselves courteously to all, for that is our part, and then to leave it with God to determine what effect it shall have upon them, for that is his part.”
 
How about that? Treat others well, and then trust God for anything further. That concept works. Just as the directive was given a couple of thousand years ago, it works really well in today’s climate, too. I can’t change people’s hearts; Jesus never delegated his authority in that way. Jesus simply sends his people out to tell others about the Love of God. If folks listen, great. If not, move along. God’s got this.
 
Peace,
Pastor Beth

On Monday mornings, I try to check the news stories regarding COVID-19. I find that keeping my information intake to once or twice a week provides me with a more reliable picture than attempting to work out all the details several times a day. Also, I have a personal assistant who keeps me notified if something huge is announced. (Thanks, Mom.)
 
As for my own checking, here is what I learned this morning:
The numbers of sick people are increasing unless the numbers are decreasing. Hospitalizations are at record highs for every single day this past week, excluding that one day when the numbers went down again. Percentages are holding steady, but sometimes they fluctuate. Facemasks are required except in places where they are not.
 
Maybe I’m just slow to understand, but I feel a little perplexed. I know for sure that this virus is quite serious, and I know I will be making good decisions that keep me and my family safe. Beyond that, I’m not really sure of the truth. Watching cable news isn’t providing information that is easy to understand. Reading the internet stories is baffling. Sometimes I think I can just about find whatever details I want. Facts are not supposed to be complicated and blurred. Truth is straightforward, not wonky. In the midst of all this confusion, where is the truth? How am I supposed to remain healthy if I don’t recognize the truth?
 
Unfortunately, viruses and news stories are not the only places where truth can appear skewed for the world is thick with deceitful teachings and moves us in unhealthy directions. In the Bible, the four Gospels, several of Paul’s letters and John’s Revelation all mention distortions of truth and all warn us to stay away. Even the Old Testament prophets warn against false prophets.
 
The good news for us, then, is that we have precise teachings strong enough to wipe out the confusion. Truth is not a counterweight to false teachings; we are not looking for a balance. Truth is an absolute – an unconditional, unqualified, unmovable, unlimited, unchangeable, unmodified, unadulterated, unquestionable certainty with no room for duplicity or deceit.
 
“Teach me your way, Lord, so that I can walk in your truth. Make my heart focused only on honoring your name. I give thanks to you, my Lord, my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify your name forever, because your faithful love toward me is awesome and because you’ve rescued my life from the lowest part of hell.” (Psalm 86:11-13, CEB) The psalmist nailed it this time crying out to God for truth, only truth, and promising to glorify God’s name forever. With our hearts focused on the Love of God, Truth becomes our way of life. The result is order, stability, harmony… perfection!
 
John Wesley taught that perfection is our goal. He didn’t mean we would never make mistakes. Wesley was talking about being filled with Christian Love. Jesus invited us into that kind of spiritual maturity so perfect love is certainly possible. (see Matthew 5) For me, I think I’ll continue to use scripture as my main news source.
 
Staying informed,
Pastor Beth
 
 
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Fridays have been my day off for many, many years. I am supposed to take off Friday as my personal sabbath and Saturday as my family day, but somehow life doesn’t always work that way. On this particular Friday, as I head into a very busy weekend of worship planning and leading, my hope is to actually take off this entire day. With heavy rain expected, I’m thinking this will be a great day to just do nothing. It’s been a very demanding week, and storms make for good sleeping background noise. Maybe a nap is in order.  Whenever I feel like I need a day off, I try to remember the apostles during those first days after Pentecost. The Book of Acts is filled with stories of their plights and triumphs. As they diligently put every effort into telling about their journey with Jesus, they are faced with unhappy officials. Killing Jesus was supposed to be the end of all this. How can these men, knowing how Jesus had been crucified, continue to teach about new life? Aren’t they afraid? The religious leaders wonder how they can feel justified teaching in the Temple. I wonder how they can feel safe. Either way, the disciples continue their work.  “The high priest, together with his allies, the Sadducees, was overcome with jealousy. They seized the apostles and made a public show of putting them in prison. An angel from the Lord opened the prison doors during the night and led them out. The angel told them, “Go, take your place in the temple, and tell the people everything about this new life.” Early in the morning, they went into the temple as they had been told and began to teach.” (Acts 5:17-21 CEB) Obedient. The apostles were nothing if not obedient. Even after being thrown in jail, they returned to the Temple. Yes, the instruction had come from God’s messenger, but I still wonder if I would have had that kind of courage. The high priest was super resentful and was looking for reasons to get them out of the way. Already they had been imprisoned, and crucifixion was always a possibility. Still, when God’s hand released them from their captivity, they headed straight back into the storm. Taking a day off wasn’t an option. No time for a nap. Telling people about Jesus took over everything else they faced.  I do love a good day off complete with naps, and I am thankful for the moments of quiet I get to enjoy. I’m more thankful for the blessing of serving the One whose umbrella of Love shelters me through life’s storms.  Covered,Pastor Beth  ​

Whoosh! That’s the sound of my week getting away from me. Is it really Wednesday? Wasn’t it just Sunday a few hours ago? What happened to Monday and Tuesday? This is happening much too often these days.
 
When we were first instructed to work from home, I had grand designs on my time. At the beginning of the week, I would awaken early to get a fresh and invigorated start. My energy would be abundant since I wouldn’t have the interruptions I’ve come to expect in a day at the office. I would work awhile at my neatly arranged workspace, go for a walk around the block with the dog, work a bit more, get some housework done, work, cook fabulous meals, wrap up work, take another walk, and then relax at a decent hour of the evening before heading to bed amazed and satisfied at the amount I had accomplished throughout the day.  With the number of walks through the neighborhood coupled with my marvelous home-cooked feasts (healthy selections perfectly balanced and rich with flavor), I surely would enjoy a drop in calories. Yes, in the beginning, I had a plan.
 
That plan lasted less time than it took to type the previous paragraph. Days are disappearing faster than you can say “didn’t-get-that-done.” The blog entry I started first thing this morning is in its infancy – nowhere near publishing to the website – and it’s now after midnight. Wait! That means it’s tomorrow! Whoosh! There goes another one.
 
When life throws curve balls and I become discouraged with the amount of interruptions, I’m always drawn to the psalms. The beauty of the poetry and the consistent returning to God in praise reminds me of which path to take. “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day.” (Proverbs 4:18, NRSV) Oh right, I remember now. I’m not called to success; I’m called to faithfulness.
 
As tomorrow becomes today, I’m looking forward to the brightness of the day and the fullness of praise. Looks like I have a new plan.
 
Faithfully,
Pastor Beth
 
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