The prompt for today asked me to identify my favorite pastime… I am doing it: writing. Especially writing on my blog, but also writing text or e-mail messages to family and friends and sending greeting cards for all kinds of occasions ie: Birthdays, Anniversaries, Get Well, Thinking of you…
Writing poetry is another favorite activity. If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know I like to take sermon notes in church on Sundays. Sometimes they rhyme… but more often lately they are free verse. It’s my way of capturing the main message as I hear and understand it.
Rev. Mary Grace Reynolds used Matthew Chapter 5:13-16 as her springboard for today’s message. Here’s what the sermon said to me today:
Be Salt and Light
Salt preserves. As Christians, We, too, must preserve What is right in the world.
We must become Salt and Light. Salt that exists For a specific purpose.
Light that shines As a witness to Jesus. Salt that creates A thirst for what is Good.
Fight for each human’s Right to live in The light of Torchbearers – Lighting the way for others.
Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the peacemakers. Think first to help someone else. Be a light who blesses others.
Don’t lose your saltiness. Don’t cover your light. Create pathways to Wholeness in this world.
Amen? Amen!
Are you Salt for a specific purpose? Does that influence your choice of Favorite Pastime? Does your purpose shed Light on your pathway? Is it peaceful?
What is your favorite pastime? Don’t tell me you don’t have one!
Do you belong to a Writers’ Group? If not, is there one in your area? If not, how about starting one?
We had Writers of Madison County alive and well when Bob & I moved here back in 2006. I joined in 2007. We published an anthology each year.
Over the years members moved away or some of the older ones left this earth. By the time of the Pandemic, we were no longer publishing – and so the group disbanded.
Then this year a friend asked me, “Why don’t you start the group again?” I contacted our local bank where we’d been meeting and they graciously gave us their Fireside Room to use twice a month.
I contacted the local newspaper and they put our meetings in the news calendar every 1st & 3rd Friday. Our group is small (averaging 4 to 6), but we hope to grow… and we are enjoying the sharing.
Last week there were four of us. We began with a 15 minute “Free Write” on a topic suggested by a new member: “Getting Ready for Winter”
We wrote for 15 minutes and then shared orally what we had written. Feedback was spontaneous and encouraging. The others wrote fictional short stories or personal reflections. I wrote this poem:
Winter Comes Too Early
Winter comes too early And it lasts too long. When God created seasons, He got it all so wrong!
The seasons should be equal: Spring summer winter fall. Each has its own beauty. I really love them all.
But here in Montana Winter comes too soon. We barely get a summer When we see the autumn moon.
The leaves turn gorgeous golden. The wildflowers die on the vine. The frost kills the mosquitoes. But what joy is left is mine.
I take joy in getting ready For winter’s cold but glorious snow, Begging neighbors to be willing To plow us out, you know?
Winter boots and jackets Come forward in the space Where sandals and sundresses Once occupied that place.
Family in California Invite us to take a break. Prepare for winter travel. Call – and reservations make.
So, enjoy what little autumn We are fortunate to see, Because before you are ready, Winter’s here for you and me.
Sleigh bells ring and children gather Near the fireplace to hear Reindeer bells and Ho-ho-ho’s. Are you ready? Winter’s near!
… Jan Beekman, 9-20-2024
My friends complimented my ability to produce a poem in that brief fifteen minute period. But, for me, writing poetry is as easy (if not easier) than prose. I thank my mom for that. She loved poetry. Even though she didn’t write it, she collected it, memorized it, shared it. And I was the grateful, eager recipient.
Where did your love of writing originate? What kind of writing is most fun for you? Do you have a group with whom to share it? If so, good for you! If not, why not start a writers’ group in your neighborhood, town or city?
How shall we use our tongues? That was the question posed by James McGuire in today’s devotional in “These Days.”
These Days, Daily Devotionals for Living by Faith, published especially for Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
James 3:10 says, “From the same mouth comes a blessing and a curse. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so.“
Ah, my friends, t’is so true… we all are a combination of good and evil! Capable of great love and alas, of ugly hate. Which dog wins? The one we feed!
James McGuire elaborated on the subject. “The development of speech was a unique human accomplishment,” he wrote. “Other creatures communicate by grunts, growls, and touch. Humans use many languages.”
He went on to ask, “How shall we use our power of speech? Shall we bless others, or shall we curse? What shall we do with our ability to write?”
That last question brought me to my blog. Here I write with the purposes explained in my heading: I intend to spread “Love, joy, peace, faith and unity.” I believe there is too little of each of those in our world.
James McGuire asked, “What about the ideas that pour forth through television and videos?”
Here in the USA, this week more than 67 million people tuned in to the Harris-Trump debate. Lordy, Lordy, what a fiasco! What is this world coming to??
James McGuire ended his devotional with this prayer: “Holy God, forgive us when we misuse our tongues. Teach us to choose words wisely as we communicate with each other and the world.”
Like Old Testament proverbs, the Letter of James offers wise teachings for Christians of every age. We who write (and speak publicly), teach, and lead have a particular responsibility for our use of language. We who read and who listen to public speakers must be attuned to the Holy Spirit as we read and hear others.
“Moreover,” James McGuire and James reminded us, “we must be wise in choosing what we view on big and little screens.”
Words, words, words! They are so important!! A BLESSING OR A CURSE? Do both come out of your mouth? “My brothers and sisters, this ought not be so.”
Join me, won’t you? Let’s try to use our tongues and our arms and our lives to spread Only Love.
Happy September 1st to you! The word for the month is Devoted. The question for the month is, “To what or to whom are you devoted?”
Some might answer, “I am devoted to earning money” while others might say, “I’m devoted to spending money… Put on my gravestone: Being of sound mind, I spent it all!”
Some are devoted to coffee, getting their daily dose at Starbucks, while others are devoted to gardening or to reading or to raising their families.
What’s your answer?
Some of the things that capture our devotion are worth the time and trouble. Others are not.
“Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” Ezra 7:10
The word devotion means “earnest affection for a person or cause.” It’s a better word than commitment. We can be committed to a cause out of sheer duty; but to be devoted implies commitment plus affection.
September connotates “Back to School” for me. As a retired educator, I never tire of teaching. My children are grown and my grandchildren are not close by, so my teaching audience has changed. I am devoted to teaching the seniors in “The Manor.” It is our local nursing home. The people there are delightful!
Because I am devoted to teaching, I agree with the commentary I read recently on the Ezra 7:10 scripture above: “As our children head back to school, it’s time for us to don our backpacks and enroll in the Ezra School of Bible Study – devoting ourselves to the study and observance of God’s Word and to teaching it to others.”
The people that garner your devotion and the causes to which you are devoted help to define who you are. The word for September is “Devoted.” How do you define yours?
Today I am passing on a message about Tragic, Divisive Politics in the USA from a pastor in North Carolina. He said it better than I could. I am weighing in because, I fear that this election season will only become more hostile unless we all do something. Don’t just sit back and wring your hands and shake your head. Pray!And speak up! Reach out in love and understanding. It is my prayer that we, as Christians, of any political belief, can stand firm as an antidote to that violence and hostility.
Pastor Ben Marsh wrote:
“I am sure some of you are shaken by the news of the attempted assassination of the former President Trump. These times are not unprecedented in American history. Some in our church can recall the attempt on President Reagan or the death of President Kennedy. We know that political violence always waits around the corner like the crouching lion of sin that Cain did not resist.
What marks our uniquely Christian response right now is the following, which I hope you will practice in the coming days and months:
1. A commitment to peace. The people of God uniquely understand that human kingdoms rise and fall but the Kingdom of Heaven alone is eternal. Knowing this, we are called to be a unique people of peace, filled with trust in the Lord’s plans. As our Lord said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Violent rhetoric is inseparable from violent actions, so I urge you to be a people whose language is seasoned with peace.
2. A focus on the Kingdom of heaven. Our citizenship is in heaven, which means our partisan commitments (as Democrats or Republicans or Libertarians or…) always take a backseat to our identification as followers of Jesus. Jesus had no political party and has no rivals for power in his kingdom! He alone is seated on the throne. To him alone will we swear allegiance for all eternity and from him alone will come all blessings.
3. A recommitment to the gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ alone is our Hope in this life and the next. No policy or politician can satisfy eternal or temporal needs. In Christ alone is our hope and sure salvation. He alone gives us his Holy Spirit by which we live day to day. He is the just Judge and the righteous sacrifice. He alone has defeated death. The Church has seen political violence from the first days. They saw emperors assassinated and they saw political parties come and go. They saw kingdoms rise and fall. Still for 2,000 years they have held forth the reality that Jesus is our Savior and our hope. He alone is our peace. I urge you to speak the name of Jesus before the name of anyone else and to lift up all your cares and concerns in these days to Jesus.
Beloved, I’m grateful that this assassination attempt was unsuccessful. I do not think it will be the last time we see that sort of violence in American politics, at least not as long as partisans and tv talking heads carry on in their mission to whip people into fear and anxiety. I urge you to resist that same crouching lion that faced Cain, and to hear the word of the Lord to Cain who said “if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” In Christ we have conquered sin and death itself. Stand firm then brothers and sisters in the unshakable hope of the glorious Majesty of Jesus Christ.
