Guest Post: "It Takes An Army"

Saturday morning at 4:00, I was wide awake. In three hours, fifteen or so people were supposed to come and carry a bed, two desks, a dresser, a cabinet, a washer and a dryer, three bedside tables and well over one-hundred bags and boxes down a flight of stairs, drive them a mile down the road and up another flight. (These people, in my opinion, were either the most loyal of friends… or the craziest.) My mind wouldn’t turn off. Would they come? Would I have enough coffee and Munchkins for them? Would it rain? Would it be sweltering? Would someone get heat exhaustion, stung by a wasp, or trip going up (or heaven forbid, down) the stairs? Would someone decide I just wasn’t worth it and go home? Would I fall back asleep and miss all the excitement (unlikely). Would my cats hate me by the end of the day and scratch me to death? (Um…that kind of did happen.)

It was a lot of people coming together just to perform a service for someone who really didn’t deserve it. I found it humbling and was reminded that service is what we are called to do, and to do it joyfully. Although some friends were in a hurry to finish and get on with the day, I don’t recall anyone who wasn’t understandingly happy to help.

Mine was a small operation, but because I am so brilliant (note the sarcasm), two days after the move, this past Monday, we began Vacation Bible School here at Sardis, a slightly bigger event that requires the services of many. In between the running around (literally), emergency runs to the store, trying to be creative with supplies when quantities were off or projects didn’t work right, finding an extra “something” for “someone”, (when that something could have been located in the Fellowship Hall, Preschool or Sardis House but more likely in the closed-off Education Hall), and attempting to stay away from the sour cream ranch dip in the snack room, I noticed that it takes an army to make this week of teaching children about God run as smoothly as possible, AND be all for God’s glory.

VBS is about children… kind of. If you don’t have any (neither do I, actually), or yours are long out of preschool or elementary school, don’t tune out just yet, because in some ways, VBS isn’t about children. Those children will become youth, young adults and adults one day. They will be the Christians to carry on the global church. So what they learn today is what we’ll have tomorrow. There are many inheritances we can leave our children. How important should our faith be one of them? That’s the obvious way it’s “kind of” about children.

Beyond that, and more the point, VBS is also about people who are called to spread the word of God. As I sit here towards the end of Day 2, I realize that everyone here today and who will volunteer this week, has taken up that call. These are people you know, no matter who you are here at Sardis. Some are the parents of our 3-11 year olds. Some have well retired and have *never* had children. Some have just recently married and as yet have none. Some are grandparents of children. Some are youth who have recently passed beyond Elementary school. Some are members of Sardis. Some are not. Some are best friends who took their summer vacation to come help out (take a wild guess). There are people who are spread across all ages and stations in life.

But all… ALL have taken up the command given by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus didn’t leave us with a suggestion. It was an exhortation that we DO THIS: GO THEREFORE AND MAKE DISCIPLES OF ALL NATIONS. It takes an army… one much bigger than the small one that helped me move… to lead our church’s and the community’s children through childhood as they learn and grow in our faith in hopes that someday, they will do the same as they “go and tell all nations”. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all who were part of God’s army this week for VBS. 

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Heather Eddy is the Assistant Director of Christian Education. She is a guest post crowd favorite, and we look forward to hearing more from her. Heather is spending her summer recuperating from taking Sardis children through the wilderness of Vacation Bible School, continuing to take her college students through the wilderness of Pre-Nursing Anatomy and Physiology, and hoping that her legs recover from climbing the Statue of Liberty and moving to a new home a few days later. 

Guest Post: "Happy Anniversary"

I have a wedding anniversary coming up soon and it has led me to contemplate anniversaries in general. There are lots of anniversaries that we are made aware of by others. Companies celebrate anniversaries of the years serving their community.  Churches celebrate anniversaries of their establishment.  Employees celebrate their years with their employer.  Some events mark the number of years that particular event has occurred.  And, of course, there are wedding anniversaries and birthdays (which really marks the anniversary of our birth). We seem to want to know how long things exist and take pride in the growing numbers. There are some anniversaries that we fail to acknowledge or even are aware of. Today I received the following note in my email box:

Congratulations!

It’s your e-bay anniversary.

We want to say thanks and let you know how much we value having you as an eBay community member. All of us at eBay wish you the very best in the year to come.
Thank you!     (And it was signed by the President and CEO, eBay, Inc.)

I do not believe I have received this letter in the past years. According to the attached certificate in the email, eBay says it is our fifth anniversary. (I have often told my husband that the anniversaries divisible by five deserve a little more emphasis – maybe eBay is in agreement.)  It did add to my wondering about the anniversaries we celebrate…and don’t celebrate. Are we celebrating years? Yes! But, we are really celebrating moments. A particular moment when an event occurs that makes a change in our lives. It may be the day we were ordained into ministry; the day we changed jobs or bought a new home. The moments that have been special to who we are. 

How do you determine what anniversaries to celebrate? What makes an event so important that you will mark it and remember it each year?  Is it a day when you declared your love for someone else in the presence of friends and God?  Is it the day that marks the death of a loved one?  We are the ones who decide if any particular moment is significant, important and notable. I wonder what dates were important to the men and women we find on the pages of Scripture. Did Abraham mark the date that God called him to leave Ur? Did Moses celebrate the date annually which marked the encounter with the burning bush? Did Mary yearly remember the day when an angel told her she was going to have a baby, a very special baby?  Surely, Paul remembered each year that blinding moment on the road to Damascus when he came face to face with Christ.

2014 Sardis Confirmation Class

Do you remember the date you declared your faith in Jesus Christ?  Do you remember the day you joined the church? Or even the date of your baptism? Is there an anniversary of a special call from God to a role you have answered?  Maybe you remember your confirmation or your first communion.   Is there any faith date you remember?

As I thought, I realized that I know when these events occurred, and with a few minutes to think about it, I can come up with a date for most of my faith events, but I am not celebrating any of them annually.  My faith and your faith largely defines what kind of a person we become. Our values and even our sense of who we are are largely defined by what we believe.  Our relationship with God should be of utmost importance to us.

So why am I not celebrating an anniversary date?

My relationship with God is so much more than a date on a calendar, and it is always changing. To be honest, was there ever a time when God was not in my life, even if I had not acknowledged it? How do I celebrate and mark one particular moment in that relationship?  I receive God’s grace every day. To me, this gift of unmerited love should be remembered daily, not just once a year. Maybe I should pick a faith event and celebrate it annually, but which one would I select? Every moment in my life is special and a gift to be acknowledged. As I celebrate living each day, I am celebrating another day with God and the blessings of that day. Today I have received more from God than I had yesterday, and I know that tomorrow, no matter what happens, God’s presence in my life will sustain and guide me.  

As I celebrate every other anniversary in life, I just need to remember that God’s hand was in each. As I approach a wedding anniversary, I believe that God had a part in me meeting and marrying my husband. We have kept God central in our marriage and family life.

Each wedding, birthday, children’s birthdays, etc. – are also a celebration of a moment where God is present in our lives; and each celebration in the future will be a celebration of his gifts. If we remember and acknowledge that in our lives, then we are marking anniversaries with God, and that is a daily anniversary we can celebrate!

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Renda Brinson is the Director of Christian Education. She lives in Matthews with her husband, Earl and dog, Daisy. Renda has four grown sons, and five grandchildren with one on the way! If you enjoy her writing, you should check out her blog at http://rendabrinson.wordpress.com/

Guest Post: "Freedom: Blessing or Curse?"

Sweet strawberries with cool whip, swimming until hands are pruned, and the color of red, white, blue blanket my aunt's lake house this exact same time every year. The Fourth of July is a time when my family celebrates the joys of freedom. This year I will be appreciating this holiday from afar as I have moved to the equator in Ecuador two months ago. Because I am not there to celebrate, the freedom I am feeling here has transformed into a completely different meaning. It is the kind that is centered on my freedom to choose.

This God given free will can be a curse or a blessing.  God guides us every day but as flawed people we have a choice for everything; for breakfast, our career, a spouse, and of course our outfits. Which sometimes fashion is our biggest mistake! I find myself wrestling with the choice of how am I going to spend my life? What am I meant to do to make this world better?  As a young twenty-nothing battling to find my place in the world, free will at times seems like a curse. This freedom is one that can be a monster in my dreams whispering “don’t make the wrong decision”, while other times it floats by in the form of a butterfly saying, “your opportunities are endless, go where you wish”, thus my move to Ecuador. This never-ending song seems to continue to play like the popular summer tune on the radio, over and over. Have I made the right choice to move? Have I made the right choice to be a science teacher? Am I making a difference?

As constant as this tune may be, God has been even more present, even in the middle of the world. He has found ways to settle me when I am anxious, calm me when I am angry, and lift me to new heights when I am ready. He has given me strong individuals to surround myself with that give me perspective when my family can’t wipe away the tears from my cheeks. He has shown me beautiful sunsets and allowed me to taste delicious cuisine. I am pretty sure God speaks Spanish and does it way better than I ever will! I have found that he doesn’t say if I am making the right choice, but rather gives me the strength to continue on my journey. Maybe there is no “right choice” but rather “my” choice and he is there to support me with whatever I decide. He created me in his own image and that is good enough for him. In theory this sounds wonderful, but to release the stress of being “right” is a weight that I have been carrying since I graduated college. I know that I need to turn this over to him as we all should do, but this is easier said then done.

So today I will choose to smile at all who pass by my morning bus stop. I will choose to continue working hard for my students. I will even choose to remember the mouth-watering watermelon to be eaten with friends and family while floating in the refreshing lake water every July 4th. And everyday I will thank God for the freedom to choose “my” journey. Freedom in the states is fought for, while Gods gift is given so let us all choose him.  Lets choose to do his work no matter what shape that may take.  Because we as people of Christ have one life too live and I hope with God by my side I will choose to live life to the fullest on “my” journey.

Psalm 119:45 “And I’ll stride freely through wide open spaces as I look for your truth and your wisdom.”

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Alison Crossley has been a member of Sardis since 2010. She has been a high-school youth advisor up until she left for Ecuador this past April. Alison is now a 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th grade science teacher at Colegio Menor in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Check out her blog about her adventure through Ecuador:
http://letsmeethalfway.weebly.com/

 

Guest Post: "Before You Were Born"

Have you ever, or had someone share with you, their first ultrasound picture in their pregnancy?  One came to me this week with much excitement.  If you haven’t seen them, they usually have an arrow pointing to a ‘peanut’ like shape and the word 'BABY' typed by it. It is one more verification for the parents-to-be that indeed they are going to have a baby.  While it is later when they can determine the gender of the baby, this picture is treasured by parents. 

I am planning to teach a class in the fall that includes an overview of the prophet Jeremiah. I have always loved the fifth verse in the first chapter.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you...

 Before you were born I set you apart…"

God knew us, (note that it is past tense, as is formed) as he did Jeremiah, before we were born or the tiny ‘peanut-like’ shape of a modern ultrasound picture. Actually, God says in this verse that he knew us before we were conceived. He knew us before we were in the womb.This is amazing grace.  The child in the womb has done nothing to deserve this attention by God, or so we would think. Yet God knows it and plans for it.  Later in Jeremiah, we do learn that God has plans for us.

As I have meditated on this verse this week, I felt the realization that for all that God knows about me, I know so much less about God.  While it will be impossible for me to ever know God as well as he knows me, I should strive to know him better than I do. How can I measure if my relationship with him has grown from the first days when I was aware of God, or even when I declared Christ to be my Lord and Savior?

The other part of this verse is that God set Jeremiah apart for a particular role, for Jeremiah, to be a prophet. If God knows us, then it follows that he has a purpose for our lives, a purpose for us alone to fulfill. That makes knowing God even more important. Being set apart means that God has sanctified us. We are set by God and for God.

As we enjoy the quieter schedule of the summer, it is a good time to think about how well I know God and his purpose for my life.  It can be a time of evaluating our spirituality. Am I spending enough time getting to know our God that knows me completely? How can I allow more time to develop my relationship with God?  Does it mean I need to give up something in order to have time to work on this relationship?  In God’s wisdom and grace, I have been selected by Him. The question is, how am I responding to that calling, that blessing, and that trust?

Back to the ‘peanut’ in the ultrasound picture.  We do not know anything about this little one. We do not know anything about what it will grow up to be (God knows its gender, just not anyone else). But we can be assured that as a child of God, it is chosen and set apart by God and for God.  This truth should give us great comfort in this world.  “If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31).

So with this knowledge we wait for all those children who will come to us. And we will celebrate as a Church family each birth and baptism.  May we all continue to grow in our knowledge, love and understanding of the God who has always known us and called us.

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Renda Brinson is the Director of Christian Education. She lives in Matthews with her husband, Earl and dog, Daisy. Renda has four grown sons, and five grandchildren with one on the way! If you enjoy her writing, you should check out her blog at http://rendabrinson.wordpress.com/