Gratitude is the Sign of a Changed Heart

   "Gratitude is the sign of a changed heart." That was the thought for the day on today's Upper Room devotional. We talk about being grateful fairly often in the church - not just at Thanksgiving. We talk about being thankful in the face of adversity and when things are going right, when we are lonely and when we are happier than we have ever been. But most of the time, when we talk about gratitude, it is in spite of our circumstances. We try to get around our troubles by counting our blessings and thanking God for them. But do we ever think that maybe we should be thanking God for our troubles and pains?
   This summer I had the joy and privilege of working for Urban Ministry in Birmingham. I took youth groups around the West End and painted houses for people who were in need. I met so many people there who had less material possessions than I but way more faith. They praised God in all that they did. Ms. Vera was one lady in particular who inspired me. She wasn't even one of our homeowners who we were helping. She called out to us from her house down the street, so I walked down with one of the youth chaperones to talk to her. She lived alone in a house that had been her grandparents'. She told us that her calling in life was to take care of other people. She had nursed everyone in her family who was failing in health. She took care of her parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles until they "passed on." Now that most of her family was gone - she had no children - Ms. Vera was left alone with no one to care for her in her later days. She started telling us about her health problems, one at a time, going (unnecessarily, I thought) into a lot of detail about her conditions. I was prepared to sympathize and tell her that God was with her, but before I could say a word, I realized that this wouldn't be necessary. Every time Ms. Vera told us about another health problem she was going through, she said "thank you Jesus, I'm so blessed." In the same breath as her statement of pain, she showed gratitude and praised the Lord. How many of us can say that about ourselves?
Life is not always fun. But God is always good. And thanking God should not be an afterthought; instead, it should be something that we do with every thought and action, in good times and in bad.
Thanks, God, for being. Amen.

Soon and very soon...

...I am going to post about my summer at Urban Ministry and my new job! But not right now. Have a super happy day!

I am strong! ...who knew?

Wouldn't it be awesome if there was some force that magically came into the world and endowed each person with special powers that will make him or her specifically equipped for a unique world-changing purpose? Well, good news - there is! His name is God (aka Jehovah, Yahweh, etc.), and he loves you so much that he has given you a special combination of strengths. These gifts, when used to the fullest, can make you happier and more productive in growing His kingdom here on earth. Isn't that sweet and brilliant of him?!
This summer I have been learning about and exploring my own strengths. The United Methodist Church has started using a test by Gallup to identify a person's strengths. I took the long assessment and was fascinated by the results! I wasn't very surprised by my top five strengths, but I have loved unpacking them and exploring what they will mean in my life and ministry.
My top five strengths are:
1. Positivity
2. Adaptability
3. Connectedness
4. Includer
5. Empathy

After the jump I talk a little more about my strengths. I also have a few questions you can answer about me that will help me use my strengths to their fullest!  (just click "read more" below)

Jesus is Alive!

Holy Week has never really been a huge thing for me, even though I knew it should be. But I had an experience this week that opened my eyes to the wonder and joy of Easter. So I thought I would share...

   Here's a little background info: I teach enrichment classes for the three and four year olds at the preschool where I work. On Thursdays we have chapel time. I usually read them a bible story and talk to them about it, then we say our memory verse and sing a song. Often I tell them about Jesus and how much He loves them. There is a little boy in one of my four year old classes that is sort of a behavior problem. The teachers have come to expect him to act up, and so he does. He has become convinced that he is a "bad boy," and it breaks my heart. I'm going to call him Matthew for the purposes of my story.

   This Thursday, since it was holy week, I decided to read the crucifixion and resurrection stories out of the illustrated kids' bible. I skipped the Pontius Pilate stuff and started right at "They nailed Jesus' hands and feet to the cross, and he died." When I read those words, Matthew stared at me, eyes wide, and said "He DIED? Jesus DIED? In real life?" I said, "yes, Matthew, it was real life, but it was a long time ago." He got very upset and said he didn't like sad stories. I told him to wait a little while and see if it got better.
   I went on to read about how sad the disciples were after Jesus died, and Matthew just got more and more upset. He said "I am not going to listen to this story anymore! It is too sad!" When we got to the part where Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb and finds it empty, Matthew stood up in his chair and said "Ms. Rachel, WHERE IS JESUS?!" He looked as if he was about to cry. I said "it's ok, Matthew, just wait. The story is going to get better." He didn't believe me.
   I finally arrived at the part in the story where Jesus appears to the disciples in a locked room. The story we were reading had the words "Jesus is alive. Jesus is really alive. Jesus is risen from the dead!" As soon as I read those words, Matthew's frown turned into a huge smile! He pumped his fists and shouted "YES!" By this time the rest of the class had picked up on Matthew's emotions. They were as engrossed in the story as he was. When they realized that Jesus had come back to life, all ten four-year-olds started dancing around the room chanting "Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!" I thought, now this is what Easter is supposed to be like!
 
   I wanted to capture that childlike sadness and joy and keep it through Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I have never felt the crushing sadness of Jesus' death and the extreme joy of His resurrection like I did this week. Those children blessed me so much in those ten minutes, and I will always cherish the memory. I hope I will use it in the future when the world is bringing me down and I need to remember what is really important.

Holy Week Confusion

My church is ending tomorrow.

On Palm Sunday.

I will be sad.


I get a new church next week.

On Easter Sunday.

I will be happy.


Today, I'm sort of confused.

Scary Story

This Sunday I was on the way home from Camp Sumatanga and Young Adult Chrysalis #66. It had been a wonderful weekend and I felt God's presence so much. I was driving home, and somewhere between Oneonta and Hartselle I started feeling scared. I knew that so much good had been done in the name of Jesus over the weekend that the devil had to be mad about it. I could suddenly feel the evil around me almost as strongly as I had felt the Good just moments before. I was driving through the woods, total darkness and looming trees all around me. I am always paranoid that a deer is about to come hit me when I am driving alone at night (it's happened before), and I just knew that something bad was about to happen. I called out to God, "Father, save me from this evil. Or, if I need to die tonight to fulfill some higher purpose, I am fine with that too. I am happy with the good I did this weekend and can't wait to go to Heaven and be with You." I know this sounds melodramatic, but I had this overwhelming feeling that I was about to die. This was a totally new experience for me. I have never felt evil before, and I have certainly never told anyone about it. After I finished praying, I felt God's peace enter me and I knew that He was with me. I tensely gripped my steering wheel and stared as hard as I could at the road, just waiting for the big deer that was about to cross my path. Not even thirty seconds later, something did run in front of my car.


It was a cat.

I slammed on my brakes and let the cat pass in front of my car. I took a deep breath, and burst into laughter. My God has such power, and such a sense of humor! Instead of just banishing the evil and letting me think I was crazy, he sent me a message to make me smile! I love Him so.

About as Emo as I Get

I am not a sad person by nature. I could probably count on one hand the number of times in my life that I have felt "depressed." This week has been one of those times. It's probably a combination of a lot of things going on in my life right now. Things are changing. I have some tough decisions to make regarding my future. The earthquakes in Haiti really shook me up. And then a friend passed away unexpectedly. I know that my life is so blessed. I don't usually have much to be sad about. I am kind of taking this opportunity to have a new experience. By allowing myself to feel sad, I hope I will be able to use the memory to relate to people who are hurting. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."