19 4 / 2013
Where Is God Calling You to Serve?
By Peggy Wilson
“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” - Philippians 2:4-7
We can be called in subtle ways to be servants. We have so many opportunities to volunteer at our feet. One recurrent theme in volunteering is that we are more blessed by serving others than we are blessing others with our service. In being open to opportunities around us, we are given the privilege to serve. Just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, let us wash the feet of others in different ways. Often when we feel an obligation to serve, we find a calling that benefits us in ways in which we never dreamed.
Example at hand is helping with children’s Sunday school. I help Pam Wilson two Sundays of the month with the 4th and 5th grade 10:45 class. What a great group of kids with abounding energy and enthusiasm! In addition to learning from the kids, I also get to learn many lessons from the Old Testament that I didn’t know. I find myself looking forward to the weeks I help with this class rather than looking forward to having an extra hour to myself. My heart soars when one of the students tells me that they are happy I’m there. The blessings received from Pam and the kids are the high point of my week! I walk to my car feeling truly blessed. It will be with a great deal of pride that I watch the 5th graders go to the Confirmation class and I’ll look forward to seeing the 4th graders become 5th graders, and greet a new class of 4th graders at the end of August.
What other opportunities am I missing? It is a challenge to listen for God’s calling. Thank you Wylie UMC for such great opportunities!
09 4 / 2013
Sign Up Now for the UMW Spring Tea
Ladies of all ages…
25 3 / 2013
Comfort in Change
“All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purposes.” – Romans 8:28
By Betty King
As has become my habit, when I woke this morning I enjoyed the luxury of lying in bed, saying my prayers and doing a little meditating. The big thing for me is something I have talked about the past year and a half after my husband passed away and our home on about 1 1/2 acres that we built and moved into in 1979, became more upkeep than I wanted to do. My Son lives next door and helps, but he has his hands full without the upkeep and repairs on mine.
So, I’m making arrangements for my grandson to move into home and I move to an apartment. You can imagine what a big step this is for me. I have such mixed feelings. Yet, I keep moving forward with the plans. I have prayed about this. My family and friends have as well. I am 77 years old and was married 54 years. I am excited and scared!
I was having second thoughts a few days ago and looked out at my very big flower bed and the yard that already needs mowing and was assured I am excited and scared! Was having second thoughts a few days ago and looked out at my very big flower bed and the yard that already needs mowing and was assured I am doing the right thing.
Because I have prayed about this, I feel sure this is o.k. with God. In fact I feel that there would have been roadblocks that would have kept me right where I am had it not been o.k. with God. So, I am moving forward with the knowledge that it is his will and I am anxious to see what plans he has for me in my “new normal”.
21 3 / 2013
Trust in God’s Timing
A devotional by Peggy Wilson
Matthew 6: 33-34 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The Sermon on the Mount is a common part of the New Testament studied during the season of Lent. Studying Jesus’s teachings is so very comforting, as we see how they still apply to us today. One of my favorite parts is in the book of Matthew, Chapter 6, versus 26 -34 where Jesus reassures us that if God provides for the birds in the air and the flowers in the fields, He is going to take care of us.
Our faith needs to be directed toward Him as He knows our needs. We don’t need to plan for tomorrow because God has it under control! I think deep down, we know this, but it is so hard to give up the worry and the self control of timing. We want resolutions to problems and issues when we want it – not in God’s time.
This year has presented a perfect example of this situation for me. January 7th our department at work was told that our temporary position we had been working for the past two years was ending. We were told that it would be a matter of days – not weeks or months – in which we would receive information on what our new roles would be. Well, days did stretch into almost two months.
My great discovery was that in patiently waiting for our redeployment news, there was down time that I could use to get caught up on personal things and get some rest. The best part of the rest however, was the mental peace. Signs started indicating that we were valued and that it was just taking time to find the best opportunities for my co-workers and myself. The wait was worth it as God provided what seemed to be a miracle in keeping us together and in a similar location. God does provide for us, even when times are hard.
11 3 / 2013
Easter Bake Sale Needs Bakers
We are once again holding a bake sale on Easter Sunday, March 31 at Wylie UMC to benefit Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. If you recall the Christmas Cookie Caper last December, this bake sale will be laid out similarly. Our Munchies for Missions Circle is taking the lead this year to help bake and run the sale. They need your help though to donate other baked goods: cupcakes, cakes, breads, cookies, pies, bars, etc. Please drop off your donations in the church kitchen on Saturday, March 30 (any time that day) or on Sunday, March 31 (by 8:30am).
We’ll also be selling Relay for Life luminarias and UMC car decals at the bake sale. Please connect with Sandy Donovan (sanddretired@gmail.com) if you’d like to join our Relay for Life team.
Thanks in advance for your support! And now, the cutest Easter baking from Pinterest. May this inspire you!
28 2 / 2013
Praying for Strangers
By Beverly Lenoir
One of the most interesting books I have read from the UMW Reading Program list is Praying for Strangers: An Adventure of the Human Spirit. River Jordan, the author, describes her experiences with her resolution to pray for a stranger each day. Often, she would tell the person that he or she was her “stranger for the day.” Almost always, the person responded with gratefulness that someone had singled them out for good thoughts, blessings, and prayer. Ms. Jordan says, “I believe we greatly underestimate our power to pray, to affect someone’s story in a positive way. For that one word, one touch to be something that they carry home with them and hold steady in their hearts.”
Now and then, she would do a little more – help an elderly person, hold a crying baby, give a little money to someone who was struggling financially, or share lunch with a lonely person. But most of the time, she simply thought about the person, promised to pray for them, and followed through on that promise. She wonders about the impact if perhaps she was the last person in their lives who talked to them or prayed for them. She thinks about the future of the baby who was about to be given up by his mother and be adopted by someone. She hopes she can help out an elderly person (similar to her mother in another state) whose family cannot see them often. Maybe she was able to throw a lifeline to someone who was at the end of her rope and contemplating suicide.
Ms. Jordan believes this exercise helped her grow. While she may have made important differences in the lives of her strangers each day, she learned to pay more attention to those around her, to be attentive to their needs, to come out of her shell, and to become a better human being; and she learned the importance of human contact and communication with God through intercessory prayer for people.
I love books that give me ideas of ways that I can make a difference. While I haven’t yet committed to praying for a stranger each day and telling them that I’m praying for them, I’m thinking about it. And I have found myself noticing strangers in my daily life and saying a prayer for them. I encourage everyone to read this book. Just think of the impact we could make if many of us started praying each day for the strangers we meet. (In fact, even those who are mostly homebound can pray for people they read about in the newspaper or on the Internet!) Our prayers could make differences in the lives of those for whom we pray, but my guess is that we will see huge differences in our own lives!
Ms. Jordan closes with: “I’m beginning to see that the part of me that reaches out to the homeless and the well-to-do, the young and the aged, the broken and lost, is the one that matters most. My heart has opened up so much further than I ever dreamed possible. These strangers, this adventure, are making me a better person in spite of myself. Once an internal recluse, I’m more open to not only meeting people, but opening myself up to truly caring what happens in their lives. I’m more patient to listen on my better days. And it must be obvious in some way. They find me on the streets, in libraries, and on street corners. They even find me in my dreams. Just last night, a face I would have thought long forgotten was suddenly there speaking her soft, simple requests. … I said another prayer for her, one more hopeful blessing for a soul I had encountered many, many months ago. … We don’t come into this world separate, or belonging to a select few, but we’re a part of the human race. All of us amazingly the same in spite of our differences. This is the real thing. We belong to each other. We always have. And in the process of my understanding this, of walking out this resolution, I’ve lost my regret and instead have counted it lost if I don’t touch a life, offer a smile, a prayer, a pause along the way. So every day I continue to do this one tiny thing. This one tiny, incredible thing.”
Are you willing to give it a try?
27 2 / 2013
Take Part in Wylie’s Relay for Life
By Sandy Donovan
Our yearly event provides a unique opportunity to celebrate cancer survivors, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against cancer.
The event takes place on Friday, May 10, at 6pm at Shaffer Stadium. All are welcome to spend the entire night with us or if you choose, come to walk a lap or two or help us sell popcorn at our “campsite”.
A very special event is the Luminaria Ceremony, with hundreds of illuminated paper bags lining the track. These bags can be purchased for $10 to honor or to remember our loved ones.
Wylie UMW has supported the Relay For Life for all 5 years it has been held in Wylie. Please prayerfully consider joining our team. Call me at 214-477-2613 or email me at sanddretired@gmail.com for more information.
Help us fight back against cancer! Every dollar you collect, every person you tell and every step you take helps in the fight against cancer. Please take this chance to make a difference!!
PS If you care to make a donation to the American Cancer Society, you can do so online at www.relayforlife.org/wylietx and go to our Wylie United Methodist Church team.
26 2 / 2013
All or Nothing: Why You Can’t Have It Both Ways
By Robyn Brown
Last month I started committng much of my free time to helping my parents organize their house and storage spaces. They have lived in the same house for 27 years and in that time have accumulated an enormous amount of stuff. Dad collects electronics and music, including records, CDs, cassettes and even a-tracks. Mom collects craft supplies that someone might need for Girl Scouts at a later time. Why I always wonder is it so hard for them to part with these things that just sit on shelves and are often forgotten? I’m not different really; I love spending money on books even though my bookshelf is brimming with ones I haven’t yet read.
We all have our own weaknesses for stockpiling more and more. In our consumer-driven world, it’s almost of badge of honor to show what your money can buy. My dad once told me that he worked damn hard to be able to buy what he wants. He never had it as good as a kid, and we should be more grateful. Like my parents, most people are running out of space in their homes for their material possessions and rent out storage unit space. Yet, we often forget how little others have and how precious the basic necessities of life are for people not only in third-world countries but in our own communities.
The early Christians understood this. In the years following Christ’s resurrection, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32) During this time, Christians lived in God’s powerful grace by serving those in need. In fact, several who were well off sold their land and houses, bringing the money to the apostles to be distributed to the poor. Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, sold a field he owned, for example, and gave the money to the apostles.
