2011 Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Lobby Day

It’s time to register for the 2011 Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Lobby Day at the Georgia Capitol with Street GRACE, A Future Not A Past, and Wellspring Living on February 1 from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Get ready to make a real difference in the lives of exploited children in our state. Thank your legislator with written notes, make your voice heard, and join together in an awareness-raising show of support for children victimized by CSEC. Registration is free and easy; simply go to streetgrace.org.

Flat Jesus

Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world … that’s the idea behind the Flat Jesus project.

The project was started several years ago at the church I served to help members of the congregation connect with the children who were attending the church. This was a congregation that wanted to welcome new people into their community, wanted to make a space for children, but were only able to connect with the way things had always been done. The facility had not been updated in many years, maybe 20?, and the furnishings had fallen into disrepair. But … the congregation wanted to make a difference in the lives of the children that were attending, and those who would come in the future.

So, a plan was born. The walls were given a fresh coat of paint. Murals were painted on the walls also. Cabinets were given a good cleaning and safety measures were taken. Old pieces of furniture that were broken or no longer safe were removed. New toys, games, crafts and age-appropriate activities were brought in, and the children were made to feel welcome. In 8 months the children’s ministry grew 260%!

This project was the next phase, if you will. It is geared to teach the children tolerance and acceptance of children from all walks of life and all cultural backgrounds. By involving the older adults in the project it is hoped that they will also accept people of all walks of life, all cultural backgrounds and all ages. It is sometimes difficult to welcome a crying baby in the sanctuary when you find it hard to hear. Or to make room for a family that doesn’t fit your model of what a family looks like. I am proud to have been a part of that small church with the big hearts. They showed me what it means when I remember the words …

Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so;
Little ones to Him belong,
They are weak but He is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Thank you church for teaching me how much Jesus really loves even me!

*For more information, or to participate in the Flat Jesus project, please go to: http://barefootpreachr.org/flat-jesus-project/

Today is a tough one

I’ve been doing a lot a reading and bunches of remembering. Not always a good combination for me this time of year. In my reading I have tried to find advice on learning to move on through my grief. Or so I thought. It seems that the more I read, the more I realize that what I want to do is actually forget my grief and not remember it. This is not possible I have discovered.

I’ve read accounts of amputees who have phantom pain in their missing limbs. It seems that is one way to describe what I feel. You see, a part of me is missing and I can still feel that part in my movements through the day and through my memories. When I make plans to go out shopping, I instinctively think about where my family members are and when they will be arriving home. Then the pain washes over me as I remember Matthew is not here.

Posted Jun 10, 2006 6:28pm

Yesterday we found out that the judge presiding over Matthew’s SSI claim for disability has made a ruling. We have not been told if it was in Matthew’s favor or not. The attorney believes it is. We should find out in a few more days, but it may take up to 2 weeks for us to be notified.

In the meantime, Kim and Pat went home last night to be with Stephanie and Zachary and to try to get some rest before this next difficult week. Today Zachary and Stephanie came to the hospital to spend some time with Matt. It was hard on all involved and many tears have been shed with the knowledge that many more will be shed as we begin the grief process.

Matthew has had his sedation medication reduced by half again today, but has not been able to wake up. His body is tired and fighting some major infections. If he is able to tolerate the reduction in the sedation again tomorrow, we will do that again. This is to help him be weaned from this med and the ventilation tube. After that, we hope to keep him comfortable with pain management medication until he and God decide it is time for him to go home.

We appreciate your prayers and love for each of us, and thank you for respecting this time we spend together as a family.

Now, let me share a few things with you. Please be kind enough to not offer me trite sayings that disguise themselves as words of comfort. Pray for me. Pray for all of us. But more importantly, if you knew Matthew – even for a day or a single moment – share your memory with me. Tell me about his laughter or his funny remark to you. Tell me about his stubborn refusal to do what you asked of him. Tell me about the blank stare he gave you during a conversation. But don’t pity me and give me words that make you more comfortable in moving on.

I hope you understand that I was blessed beyond measure to have been able to be Matthew’s mom and my heart is missing a piece while he is away from me. My comfort is found in hearing the memories that you have and knowing that he is not forgotten.

And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, O my soul cries out

My Soul cries out to You
My Soul cries out to You
to You, to You

Not on Sunday? How about Saturday school!

What do you think? Would this idea work in your community? If not, why?

Sarah Falter knew she had to make a change when her pastor mentioned Moses, and her young son had no idea who he was.

“I was feeling really disappointed in myself because my children didn’t know all the Bible stories I was brought up with and I knew at their age,” she said.

What her children needed, Falter decided, was Sunday school. However, her tiny country church in central Missouri did not have space for a children’s class on Sunday mornings.

Her pastor, the Rev. Karen Alden, offered a solution: Move it up a day.

Now, under Falter’s leadership, Rader United Methodist Church holds “Saturday School” from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. once a month, usually in the sanctuary. The school attracts eight or nine youngsters, ranging in age from 4 to the young teens.

Saturday School is the kind of innovation more United Methodist congregations should consider, said retired Bishop Richard B. Wilke, the creator of the Disciple Bible Study program.

“The way you reach people today — children, youth and adults — is in intimate relationships studying the Scriptures,” Wilke said. “Sunday is no longer a holy day. Study life has to take place where people are.”

And that can be any place on any day of the week.
Declining biblical literacy

One thing is certain: Biblical instruction needs to be more widespread, Wilke said.

In recent years, talk show host Jay Leno has made sport of Americans who can name the four Beatles but not the four Gospels, and comic Stephen Colbert has teased members of Congress who want publicly to display the Ten Commandments but cannot name them.

Wilke started the Disciple Bible Study more than 20 years ago because he saw a thirst for more Christian education, especially among adults. The program now has more than 2 million graduates in 10,000 congregations in 30 denominations.

He said most successful groups usually consist of eight to 10 people, and like the early Christians, the groups often meet in people’s homes.

“People thought it would be a fad,” said Wilke, now the bishop-in-residence at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan. “What people are finding is that the Bible doesn’t have a fade-out time and the small-group format doesn’t have a fade-out time.”
Multi-generational learning

Alden, pastor of Rader United Methodist Church, said Saturday School has been a hit with all ages in her congregation.

The church, with a weekly attendance of about 35, has started attracting young families in recent years. One reason Alden wanted to move religious instruction to Saturday was so she would not disturb the fellowship of older members who gather in the church an hour before worship at 9 a.m. each Sunday morning.

“I think it’s a really important part of their week to have that social time because many live alone,” Alden said.

Now many of those older members volunteer each month to provide lunch after the Bible lessons. The church does not have a kitchen so members bring meals in slow cookers from home.

Ordith Skouby, a retired teacher and one of the volunteers, said she was eager to help.

“The kids seem to enjoy it, and they’re the lifeblood of the church — the church’s future,” she said.

The church held its first Saturday class in December with lessons and activities based around Jesus’ nativity. In March, Falter taught the youngsters how to tell the story of Easter with “resurrection eggs” — plastic eggs containing symbols of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection such as toothpicks for the crown of thorns and a pebble for the rock that was rolled away from the tomb.

Since April, Falter has decided to cover the Bible from the beginning, starting with the story of creation, and moving on to Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel.

Falter said her 6-year-old son, Isaac, and her 8-year-old daughter, Faith, now tell their grandmas about the Bible lessons they have learned. Faith also has been inviting her friends to join the class.

“They haven’t been able to make it yet, but she’s gung ho that her cousin needs to come and her friend down the street needs to come because it’s a lot of fun,” Falter said. “She’s pretty pumped.”

And so is the church.

The most important part about studying Scripture is that it leads people to Christ, Wilke said.

“We study the whole Bible to find the Savior,” he said.

Nightmares and Second Guesses

“Posted May 27, 2006 6:52pm:

Kim and Stephanie are at the emergency room with Matthew right
now. His heart rate was 147 and his blood pressure was 38/78. The
on-call hematologist thinks this is due to low red cell count so
Matthew may need a blood transfusion tonight.”

I have been reflecting on the decisions we made surrounding Matthew’s illness and the treatment he received. This entry (above) was made the day after he graduated from high school. Our household had company from out-of-state that had come up to celebrate that very special occasion and to spend some time with Matthew now that he was home from the hospital. Kim & I had spent a few hours visiting with another family friend who had also just graduated high school. As I sit here trying to communicate the situation we were in and the feelings that were going through my head, the memories are so vivid that they threaten to overwhelm me.

Questions have run around in my head since that time. Questions such as, “Why did I have Stephanie go with Kim & Matthew instead of me?” Was it my own laziness, or was it that I just didn’t want to deal with the hospital stress again? Did the sense of obligation to be a “good” daughter and to entertain our company color my judgment in taking care of my son? So many questions. And no possible way for me to find the answers.

I feel so much guilt and shame. I want to go back in time and change the way I did things, reevaluate my decisions, and have another chance to be the kind of mom I want to be to my children. I can’t do any of that for Matthew. So now, I just second guess myself.

And that’s where the nightmares start.
(To read more, go to: barefootpreachr.wordpress.com)

What’s in YOUR tupperware?

Lately I have been feeling overwhelmed with all my “to-do” stuff so I decided I needed a break from doing what I’ve been doing and I would do something else. I thought it might be a good idea to clean the pantry and get organized. Looking into the pantry, I figured it might be a half-hour to 45 minute diversion from my crazy routine.

The first step to getting myself organized was to figure out what needed to be thrown away. That was easy. There was nothing that needed to be thrown away since my hubby and college-age son had already perused the pantry and that was why it needed to be organized. This step took me only one minute. It looked like I would have enough time to brew myself a cup of tea when I was through!

Okay, next step. I thought it would be helpful to put all the items I use for baking on one shelf, all the canned goods on another shelf in rows according to to size and dates they would expire, all of the snack foods on another shelf, and so on … and so on. I began pulling these things out of the pantry and making little stacks and piles. Some of the piles were getting a bit larger than others, but two shelves were cleaned off so I could begin putting things away. Fifteen minutes into this step I began to realize that this was not as easy as step one in my plan.

First of all, not all of the baking goods would fit on one shelf. Guess I would have a few “smaller” steps to create that perfect fit. (Now this is where I started to get into real trouble.) In my mind’s eye I had a vision of what my home, pantry and kitchen looked like when my children where very young. Everything in my kitchen was color coded with those wonderful Tupperware Modular Mates, the childrens toys all fit into the largest containers and were stacked perfectly when not in use. Even the bathroom toilet tissue, q-tips, cotton balls and feminine products were in color coded containers and organized. Oh, it was heaven!

It was time to sort the tupperware cabinet and gather my supplies. I dove in. I evaluated my options. I began to sort through the array of pieces and parts. Then I began to try to fit the pieces and parts together with the assortment of items from the pantry. Things were not going the way I had planned. In fact, I felt like I was putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle with no edge pieces and all in black and white. This might take a little longer than I had expected.

Forty-five minutes (yes, I know that was the planned time allotment, but I was on a roll!) into the moving, stacking, sorting, and piecing together of bowls, modular mates, flour, cereal, and bagged pretzels – I conceded defeat of the battle. The pantry has won for the time being while I step back and regroup my defenses.

In the meantime, I had a bit of a mess to clean up. First, the food stuffs since the cats in the household were taking a particular interest in the various bags of chips and boxes of open cereal. I must admit it did not take as long to throw (I mean, place) the food back into the pantry as it did to take it out and sort it in the first place. It was important to get everything balanced correctly though so as to not have anything fall on hubby’s head when he opens the door to rummage for his evening snack tonight. Having created a perfect balance in the pantry, I moved on to my final step in this organization project – returning the tupperware pieces and parts back into the cabinet from whence they came.

Remember the jigsaw puzzle? That was simple compared to this task!

It seems that while I was putting the pantry into perfect balance, those pieces and parts had been multiplying and rearranging themselves. Now that it was time to go back into that cabinet there were twice as much as what had come out! Although it took several minutes, let’s say, 40 minutes give or take 2, I won this battle. Everything went back into the cabinet and life is once again restored to a place of harmony and perfect balance!

Next time I think it’s a good idea to organize the pantry I think it’s the hubby’s turn to do it!

Hands …

I returned yesterday from a conference geared towards childrens pastors and the people who work in our churches with our youngest disciples. I learned a few new methods for communicating the gospel to our children, tweeners and youth. I learned just how dedicated most of these gifted people are. I also learned just how cRAzY they have to be to continue their work for so many years. ;)

During my time away I was also able to spend time in worship and reflection and prayer. As I process and discern those thoughts and begin to understand what God is saying to me, I’ll share more on that later.

For now, let me share a story I found several years ago.

THE HAND

At first it sounded like a thanksgiving story, but the more I reflected on it, the more appropriate it seemed for any time of the year. The way I heard it, the story went like this: Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment — to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful. Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student’s art. And they were. But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy.

As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes. Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand. His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be? One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went — until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s yours, teacher.” She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.” Or, “Let me how you how to hold your pencil.” Or, “Let’s do this together.”

Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand. Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.

The story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship, and how much it means to the Douglas’s of the world. They might not always say thanks. But they’ll remember the hand that reaches out.

By Steve Goodier © 2001 (reprinted)

What can I possibly add to this story? How about, “thank you”, to all of the men and women of God who love the little children, the tweeners, the youth and their families. Thank you for being the hand of God to each of us!

“As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.” ~ John 17:18-19

JUSTICE and MERCY IMPACT Ministry Expo

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
James 2: 17
Explore ways you can “Rethink Church” – by putting our faith in Jesus Christ into action as we serve and minister to one another and to those outside of our local church. On Sunday evening,
October 18, 2009, from 6:00PM to 8:00PM, various ministries that serve victims of crime, help inmates reenter society, visit detention facilities for worship services, sponsor children for summer camp or mentor a child, pray for the victims, the families and offer care and restoration of victims, offenders, criminal justice officials, and the community as a whole will gather to highlight their programs. St Andrew UMC in Marietta will host this expo in the fellowship hall.

Come find out more about a particular ministry that interests you or come and see what ministry areas are available. Ministry representatives will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. If you volunteer with a particular ministry or would like your ministry to participate, email barefootpreachr@gmail.com and complete an Expo Registration Form.

We (you and I) are the hands and feet of Jesus Christ and God has a place of service for each one of us through these programs. See you October 18th!