Dana’s Blog

Have you ever got lost in thought wondering about the future? I do often and really have to catch myself not to move forward and to forget the present. We are called to live in the present and to do all we can to make this moment the best possible moment for all concerned. Scripture tells us to give no thought for tomorrow because it is not here yet, and that it may not be ours to give thought to. Yet, I confess I often think of the future.

I wonder will I still have my hair and will it all be grey? Will I be as physically able as I am today? (No comment from the volleyball team!!) I wonder what my children will be doing and will they be happy and blessed? I wonder will my wife still be putting up with me? I wonder about the future. And if I’m honest I get stressed out by it at times. (yet another thing to worry about).

But a lot of my wondering about the future is not so way out there but very close to today. I wonder will the church of Christ really embrace the changes that need to be made in order to survive in this era. I wonder if we will continue to grow for Christ or if we will become comfortable and stay right where we are for ourselves. I wonder will there ever be a day when people will long to be in church; in the fellowship of the family of God or will we be begging people to fill a pew. I wonder as I gaze into the future will we be found faithful or faithless.

The future can be scary due to all the uncertainty but I have to remember that the God I serve is a God of the past, the present, and the future. I trust that the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob is the God of Dana and Chris and Debbie, and McDonough First UMC and that God is the God of tomorrow. As scary as my mind will make tomorrow I believe it belongs to God and that God is already getting it ready for me and for you.

My crystal ball hasn’t worked in years so instead of worrying I’m gonna try and trust more and more in God’s providence and God’s future. My task is to be faithful today for tomorrow; faithful in my praying, in my reading of God’s Word, in my celebrating of Holy Communion, in my fasting (in one of many ways), in my giving to God’s ministries, in my serving my brothers and sisters TODAY.

Faithfulness today will take care of the future tomorrow,

I’m just saying ….

Dana

There is an old story from Italy that goes something like this …

There was once a holy shrine created in a small Italian village to resemble the stations of the cross and Christ last day. One only had to take the path of the shrine and they could relive the walk of Christ to Calvary. Many people would gather at Holy Week to walk the shrine. In fact hundreds would come each year to pray and sing and cry at the foot of the cross.

One year a man came and followed the route stopped and prayed at every station of the cross and finally arrived at the Cross of Calvary shrine itself. He knelt and prayed and he sought the power of God. As he lifted his head he noticed and overgrown path behind the cross. It appeared to be a unused road that lead to something he could not see. He began to beat back the brush with a stick and make his way to the paths end. At the end stood another shrine … unforgotten and seldom thought of; it was the shrine of the Empty Tomb.

So often we get so consumed by the cross; and rightly so but we forget that it was not the end. The empty tomb lays a head of us and we must never forget that the story doesn’t end on Good Friday … it begins! On Easter Sunday we celebrate a hole in the ground. We celebrate because our despair — no matter how deep is moved to hope.

Yes we are crazy people … celebrating a hole in the ground but what a reason to celebrate, because for us crazy people He lives!

Grace and peace

It’s that time when candidates for ordination in the United Methodist Church get to meet their presenters who will take them before the Board of Ordained Ministry in April. It is time for reading tons of theology papers, for listening to sermons, for looking at report and lots of praying for direction.

It’s that time to begin worrying about appointments in the North Georgia Conference. It is time to consider if one’s ministry is complete and it is time to move or to invest in another year at the same church. It is time for looking at the Journal to see what churches might be opening and it is time to listen to the grapevine and see where everyone else thinks you are going. It is time to pray and seek God’s direction in our ministries

It’s that time to move through the most holiest week of the year and follow in the footsteps of Jesus to the cross and to the empty tomb! It is time to reflect on our spiritual life and to seek renewal as we grow in our discipleship. It is time to get the new outfit for Easter to wear it proudly proclaiming new life. It is time to pray that resurrection will happen to us again … right now this Easter

It’s that time to consider another year of our life … wow half a century. It is time to think about “Just for Men” and One A Day Vitamins. It is time for those fun test from the doctor and his assistants. It is time to pray that God isn’t finished with me yet but has more for me.

It’s that time. The one connecting theme I have found with this time is the theme of … it is time to pray. Prayer is one of the most under used avenues of communication with the lover of our soul. Prayer has become trait and flippant for most, (Oh here comes Bob, I told him I would pray for him … “Lord, help Bob please,” Hey Bob been praying for you!)

It is that time to pray to spend time being still and knowing God. It is time to open myself to God and listen instead of talk. It is time to communicate with the One I say I love. It is time…thank goodness there is time!

Grace and peace,

Dana

“Feelings, nothing more than feelings,
Trying to forget my feelings of ….”

I just finished watching The Bachelor — yes I know I’m a sick man; but I’m also a mad man because I feel for Tenley. I know she is singing this song from days gone by,  Feelings, nothing more than feelings, Trying to forget my feelings of love. Jake chose someone other than her and she is crushed and her feelings for him only bring her pain (or at least that is what Hollywood wants us to know but I’m a sucker for romance).

Feelings they mess us up so much or do they? I’ve been experiencing a host of feeling over the last few weeks with all that is going in the world, in our town, in the church, in my own family. These feeling are driving me crazy at times because I don’t know how to deal with the situation or what to do with to help or make better. The feelings are overwhelming me and I’m finding I’m quite useless in many areas.

It is at these times I have to stop and return to my Creator … to the moment of my first love as some say and ask for help. So many times I have tried to do all this on my own and in so doing have limited success and much failure. When I allow my feelings to overwhelm me I can’t even move. I take this time to ask God to redeem me AGAIN and set me on a firm foundation, to clear my mind and to give me direction.

The good news is that God is faithful — feeling or not; and will pick me up again and give me what I need to make it though the season. God love me that is the one sure thing in life and doesn’t require a feeling. Yes, feeling is involved but it is not primary. And the love of God puts all feelings in perspective. It also reminds us that feelings are a gift from God. To be in fellowship with our brothers and sisters; to care about the neighbor; to have a heart for the least, the last and the lost; to be moved by the plight of another are all gifts from God that center around the heart … the feeling heart. We have a great gift. We feel because God feels and we are made in the image of God. Gifts are great but sometimes require grace to carry.

I’m rambling something bad today … just more thoughts of a wondering preacher. I do know I love you and that too is a feeling but also fact that is embraced by God’s grace.

Later

There is a lot of fear going around these days.

There is fear about tomorrow, about grades, about homes, about jobs, about the future and some fear overshadows all those and then some for some people. The nation is in crisis and nobody can seem to find a way to help us out of it. We are running scared in the world … all because of the power of money.

Don’t get me wrong, I like money and I can find so many uses for it; enough uses in fact to run out of it before I know it. Yet how we view money and the power we give money has been the issue for us in this country and the world. We have allowed money to right next to God (sometimes higher than God). I shared in my Sunday sermon that our life is not measured by the amount of our possession. This is not my word but the words of Jesus. That puts a whole new spin on the power of money.

We do not need to stand in fear but instead to stand in faith. We need to let our faith conquer not only our fear but our issues with money and how it has taken control of our lives. Faith finds ways where money says … sorry we are in a recession … sorry we have cut the budget …. sorry you have lost you job but there is not enough money to go around …. sorry we are forclosing on your home – faith say, my life is not measured in the amount of my procession.

In those moments we in faith turn to the faith community to our brothers and sisters and say, please help. We belong to a community of the compassionate and committee. This community of faith cares for each other and the entire world. We are the hands and feet and heart of Jesus.

That being the case we stomp out fear and offer faith, even in the darkest of times Never forget no matter how fearful it seems … God is still God and God still loves you and me and will provide a way.

Keep the faith!

I have been at this preaching business for over 25 years. I have been ordained only 23 of those years but if you count the many times I preached to my stuffed animals as a child who knows how long I’ve been at this task of preaching the Word?

You might think that after so many years I would have all the answers as well as have all the questions, but this is not true. I am a struggler on the way. I struggle with the big issues of faith and with the little issues of daily living. I struggle because I’m far from having all the answers. That is why I keep on preaching and keep on teaching. As I preach and teach I find that God speaks to me. So when ever you say that the sermon spoke to you … sorry I was speaking to myself, preaching to my own needs, because I’m struggling.

The good news for me is that I don’t think I’m struggling alone. I see so many people struggling with the easy and the hard issues of the faith. I see people with smiles on their faces but questions in their eyes. I feel the desire among so many to become the man or woman the God desires us to become but not knowing how to always get there.
So I preach to myself and to each of you with the love of God flowing in my heart.

Sometimes my sermons may seem sweet, sometimes harsh, sometimes my sermons are challenging and other time affirming. But know these are my words coming from my struggle with the scriptures and the great theologians and others. I give all these words to God and ask that I not waste your time with my own stuff but that I help God speak to you through me in the midst of my struggle. Sometimes we will disagree and I hope many times we will agree but … each time I hope we grow and move through the struggle even if just a little bit.

I thank you if you have ever listened to even one of my sermons. I thank you for being daring enough to sit and listen. I pray that my words covered by the power of the Holy Spirit might have helped you in your struggles. I know they have me at times as well as your words back to me.

Thanks for struggling and allowing this short United Methodist pastor to struggle with you.

Last week the poorest nation in the world experienced yet another kick in the teeth, an earthquake. This earthquake was reported to be 7 on the scale! The people of Haiti are facing not just days and months but years of hardship and trouble. Is your heart broken for them?

It is easy to forget about the needs of others as we sit here worrying about our own economy and hoping to get our 401K back up to its past glory. It is easy to close our eyes and ears to the media coverage of the needs of these homeless men and women and children when we have to find our own job or trying  to sell our home without to much of a loss due to the economy. It is easy for our heart to focus on ourselves and our needs in a tough day.

But my friends, these are our brothers and sisters we are hearing about, seeing torn asunder, these are OUR children left without family or food or home or clothing. These people of Haiti are not the enemy but the broken and the poor in need of a loving heart. Is your heart broken yet?

My heart breaks not only for the lose of the people of Haiti but for the loss of many who were there to bring hope and love to them. I think of the president of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) who died while in a meeting to stop poverty in Haiti. I think of Courtney Hayes, a grandchild of my members Zack and Laura Hinton there to help as a medical personal who is still missing in the rubble of the Hotel Montana. You see it isn’t something far away and happening to others; it is happening to all we love and care about. Is your heart broken yet?

I invite you to a season of praying for the heart of the people of Haiti. I invite you to cry tears of love for our sisters and brothers and seek God’s face on their behalf. I invite you to send a donation to UMCOR (100% of your gift will go to the people of Haiti and to the rebuilding of their lives). These people that the UMCOR president and Courtney care so much about are who we will be helping.

Is your heart broken? Mine is and I hope you will join me in reaching out in love to our brothers and sisters with love.

May the God of hope - give you a sense of His presence always

May the God of peace – give you a calm assurance

May the God of joy – give you heart a skip and a jump of laughter

May the God of love – give you His greatest gift — Jesus to complete your life.

Merry Christmas to all and to all my love!

Dana