United Methodist Rural Advocates
UMRA
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Our Values
    • Our Legislation
    • UMRA Bylaws
    • Board Job Description
    • Certified Lay Ministers
    • Links
    • Partnerships
    • Resources
  • GC Legislation
    • 2020 Legislation
    • NFAMLP 2020 Legislation
  • Prayers
  • Events
    • UMRA Webinar
    • MINISTRY AWARD RECIPIENTS
    • Hon. Life Membership and Citation of Merit
    • GC 2016
  • UMRA Membership
    • JOIN UMRA
    • Donations
  • News

Resurrection comes

3/31/2015

0 Comments

 
0 Comments

in the moment

3/11/2015

0 Comments

 
One of the things I admire about Jesus, based on the stories we have, is his ability to be in the moment.  It seems as though whoever he was dealing with, whatever the interaction, that person felt in that moment as though they were the most important person in his life.  He would be in the middle of something and a messenger would come with some dire news.  There is not one account of him dropping everything to go take care of something else.  Even when the news is of a friend's impending death, he takes care of business before moving out. 


My life right now is chaos.  Well, not as chaotic as it has been at other times, but busy enough that I'm tied to my calendar again.  When I'm working on one thing I'm thinking about another.  I have a terrible time being in the moment.  People can tell when you're speaking with them if your mind is someplace else.  Being in the moment is a skill/quality I want to cultivate.  I want people to know how much I value them and our interaction.  It's something I'm going to have to work on.




God of love, our lives are important to you.  The lives of others are important to us, but sometimes we become so busy that we fail to let them know that.  Computers, phones, televisions intrude on our space.  Requests for our time and events pile up on top of each other.  Sometimes we need to re-learn the value of saying "no".  Always we need to remember that whatever is going on with the person with whom we are conversing is important enough to them that they are sharing it with us.  Help us to treat those interactions, and the people involved, with the care and respect they deserve............
0 Comments

home

3/2/2015

1 Comment

 
"And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’"

Sometime this summer we will sell my parents' house.  They have lived there since 1968.  My dad was in the Air Force, so we moved a fair amount before they settled into this house.  None of us expected they would live there for 40+ years, but they did.  Since I left their house I have been a vagabond, but always had that house to anchor me.  "Where are you from?" was always a tough question to answer, but I could confidently say, "My parents live outside of Dayton, Ohio" and that would normally satisfy the questioner.  Now, there will be no anchor, no sense of place that is mine.  I feel more deeply for the problem my children have with this issue.




Scholars say it is possible that Jesus had a house in Capernaum for at least part of his ministry, but for the most part he was itinerant.  I think that may be a part of why he spent time alone and away from the rest of the people now and then: he needed a grounding.  He had no grounding of place, which meant his grounding in God became more important.  Somehow it gives me comfort to know that even in this, Jesus has walked this lonesome valley before me.










Loving God, we thank you that whatever trial or tribulation we must face has already been faced by you.  We thank you that you go before us to lower the mountains, raise the valleys, and make the paths straight.  We thank you that you go with us so that we do not have to cope with struggle on our own.  And we thank you that you bring us to the other side and help us find not only our rest in you, but our joy of living once again..................

1 Comment

     Author

    Peggy Jeffries

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Archives

    December 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.