Wednesday May 18

This Sunday is Heritage Sunday as well as confirmation Sunday.  Heritage Sunday occurs on the Sunday closest to John Wesley’s Aldersgate experience.  For the non-Methodists, John Wesley, a priest in the Anglican church, struggled with feeling assured of his salvation.  He had been preaching mostly to the poor and also to the Native Americans.  When he returned from the colonies, he attended a class meeting at Aldersgate.  Someone was reading Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans and John felt “his heart strangely warmed.”  At that moment, he knew that Christ had died for him and that he was saved.

Since that time, Heritage Sunday has taken on differing meanings.  Often it is a time that we recognize those who have been a member of the United Methodist Church 50 or 70 years.  I do feel it is important to recognize the contributions of those who have been part of the church for a significant time.  I also believe that it is important to recognize all members regardless of years.  So this Sunday, we will confirm that confirmation class of 2011 who will become our newest professing members as well as our oldest member.  For we are all called into ministry the young and old, male and female.  The work of the church depends on the talents of all the gathered body of Christ.

We also need to remember that Heritage Sunday honors John Wesley who on May 24th received the assurance of his salvation.  May we also have the same assurance of God’s grace for each of us as we celebrate this Sunday.

here it is another Friday

It is hard to believe another week has gone by.  Nebraska is such a great state and especially with the weather the way it is.  We sent from almost 100 degrees to this morning being 37 degrees.  At least we got some needed rain.  I wanted to post some more graduation quotes as we prepare to honor our graduates.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Do not follow where the path may lead.  Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did.  So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor.  Catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore.  Dream.  Discover.  ~Attributed to Mark Twain, unconfirmed
Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.  ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.  ~Albert Einstein
If at first you don't succeed, do it like your mother told you.  ~Author Unknown

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  ~Dr. Seuss

The important thing is not to stop questioning.  ~Albert Einstein

During my second year of nursing school our professor gave us a quiz.  I breezed through the questions until I read the last one:  "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"  Surely this was a joke.  I had seen the cleaning woman several times, but how would I know her name?  I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.  Before the class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our grade.  "Absolutely," the professor said.  "In your careers, you will meet many people.  All are significant.  They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello."  I've never forgotten that lesson.  I also learned her name was Dorothy.  ~Joann C. Jones

My prayer for our graduates is that they never forget that they are children of God, that they are loved by not just their parents and friends but the entire community of faith.  They take the gifts they have and develop them, share them with others not just for their glory but the glory of God.  Pastor Eldon

Tuesday Thoughts

I thought I would include some more quotes about graduation.

The tassel's worth the hassle!  ~Author Unknown
The fireworks begin today.  Each diploma is a lighted match.  Each one of you is a fuse.  ~Edward Koch
All that stands between the graduate and the top of the ladder is the ladder.  ~Author Unknown
Graduation is only a concept.  In real life every day you graduate.  Graduation is a process that goes on  until the last day of your life.  If you can grasp that, you'll make a difference.  ~Arie Pencovici

Yet another Monday

Today being yet another Monday, I am in the preparation for graduation next Sunday.  I am planning on preaching from 1 Timothy 4:1-15.  I remember when I graduated from high school and when I graduated with my Master's degree both in Social Work and as well as Divinity the sense of having completed something and knowing that I was just beginning.

Graduation is like the sense of completing one thing just to be going onto the next.  Sometimes, it seems that we can lose sight of where we have been as we look forward to where we are going.  It is important to remember the foundation of growing years and not lose sight of what is really important.  It is easy to become enamored with the world.  It is also easy to be swayed by our experiences that we have when we leave home.  That is the time that we need to remember our values that we have learned, the gifts God has given, and to trust in that love of Christ.

Last week I quoted some articles about mothers.  This week I will be putting in some quotes about graduation.  Enjoy.

A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that "individuality" is the key to success.  ~Robert Orben
Just about a month from now I'm set adrift, with a diploma for a sail and lots of nerve for oars.  ~Richard Halliburton
There is a good reason they call these ceremonies "commencement exercises."  Graduation is not the end; it's the beginning.  ~Orrin Hatch
Your families are extremely proud of you.  You can't imagine the sense of relief they are experiencing.  This would be a most opportune time to ask for money.  ~Gary Bolding

Friday formations

Some more thoughts on Mother’s Day

Anna M. Jarvis (1864-1948) first suggested the national observance of an annual day honoring all mothers because she had loved her own mother so dearly. At a memorial service for her mother on May 10, 1908, Miss Jarvis gave a carnation (her mother’s favorite flower) to each person who attended. Within the next few years, the idea of a day to honor mothers gained popularity, and Mother’s Day was observed in a number of large cities in the U.S. On May 9, 1914, by an act of Congress.
President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. He established the day as a time for “public expression of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country.” By then it had become customary to wear white carnations to honor departed mothers and red to honor the living, a custom that continues to this day.

An ounce of mother is worth a ton of priest.
—Spanish proverb

No one is poor who has a godly mother.
—Abraham Lincoln

Wednesday wisdom

Yet another article on Mother’s Day.

Things Mom would never say:
“How on earth can you see the television sitting so far back?”
“Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too.”
“Just leave all the lights on. It makes the house look more cheery.”
“Let me smell that shirt. Yeah, it’s good for another week.”
“Go ahead and keep that stray dog, Honey. I’ll be glad to feed and walk him every day.”
“Well, if Timmy’s mom says it’s okay, that’s good enough for me.”
“The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It’s not like I’m running a prison around here.”
“I don’t have a tissue with me .... just use your sleeve.”

Tuesday thoughts

Here is more on Mother’s Day to reflect on this day.

A man stopped at a shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived 200 miles away. As he got out of his car, he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong, and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have 75¢, and a rose costs $2.”
The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers. As they were leaving, he offered to take the girl home.
She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.
The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the 200 miles to his mother’s house.

Remember that we need to make sure to say and do the things we can to honor our mothers now.

Monday morning in May

This Sunday is Mother’s day or as sometimes we look at Festival of the Christian home.  As I am planning the worship service, I thought I would share some illustrations as to Mothers.  Here is the first of the these.

Top Ten Quotes from Biblical Mothers:
10. Samson! Get your hand out of that lion. You don’t know where it’s been!
9. David! I told you not to play in the house with that sling! Go practice your harp. We pay good money for those lessons!
8. Abraham! Stop wandering around the countryside and get home for supper!
7. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! Leave those clothes outside, you smell like a dirty ol’ furnace!
6. Cain! Get off your brother! You’re going to kill him someday!
5. Noah! No, you can’t keep them! I told you, don’t bring home any more strays!
4. Gideon! Have you been hiding in that wine press again? Look at your clothes!
3. James and John! No more burping contests at the dinner table, please. People are going to call you the sons of thunder!
2. Judas! Have you been in my purse again?
1. Jesus! What do you think, you were born in a barn?

I have come across a YouTube video that I will be using at the early service about mothers.  One thing that I believe is important that a sense of humor is important in what we do and at the same time to be sure to honor our mother’s and all women who were important in our own life.  God bless all women, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, teachers, medical professionals, pastors, counselors.