Ten Things I Like About You

The recent news about the death of the young actor Heath Ledger made me quite sad. I hate waste- especially wasted lives. By this, I simply mean that he was a talented actor and by his friends accounts, a wonderful father. I think that his death is something that his friends, family and the entertainment industry will long count as a huge and unnecessary loss. At this writing the cause of death is inconclusive, but many are speculating that it may be an accidental overdose of sleeping pills, as he had been having trouble sleeping for quite some time. Some have wondered if he had just taken the proper dosage according to the directions, that his tragic death could have been avoided.

Rules. We all have some we don’t like and don’t follow: speed limits, tax laws, and directional signs. I watched a video once that showed a dry painted wall with the sign that said, “Dry Paint- Please Do Not Touch.” Not very many people passed the sign without stopping, looking puzzled, and then with one finger touching the wall just to make sure that it actually was dry. We tend to think those rules are there for others, not for us. We think of those rules as hindrances’, not helps. Especially the “rules” given by God that we call the Ten Commandments.

Why would a benevolent God, who has given us free will tell us that we’re not supposed to kill, lie, or cheat, and that we should put Him first in all things (as well as the other items in the list). I can understand this better when I think way back to telling my six year old daughter she couldn’t play in the street. I didn’t do it to take her fun away, but to keep her safe. God is the ultimate loving parent who gives us rules so that we can avoid harm to ourselves and others. Sometimes, especially in our teenage years, we rebel against our parents, claiming that we aren’t children anymore and can make our own decisions.

One of my favorite movies is The Patriot, with Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger (I’m a history nut), and one of my favorite scenes is between the father, Benjamin (Gibson) and son, Gabriel (Ledger). After Gabriel has stumbled home wounded from a battle and then is healed enough to return to the battle, he prepares to leave the house, to his father’s great dismay. Benjamin tells his son that he is not allowed to go back into battle. “I’m not a child!” Gabriel yells at his father. Benjamin immediately, with a pained look in his eyes, yells back “But you’re MY child!” Because of his deep love, the father wanted to protect his child. Because of His deep love, God wants to protect His children. God calls out to us, "You're MY child!" Gabriel left anyway, and we sometimes do what we want anyway.

I don’t like being hemmed in by some of the rules, but I know that there is a reason for them. I am thankful that God has made a path for me that guides me to where I need to be and keeps me out of trouble… if I just listen to Him. So, I like the list of ten rules and am grateful that Jesus made those ten simpler to remember when He taught that we should first love God, and then love each other. Maybe when we adjust our understanding of God’s rules to His way (rather than the other way around) we just might find ourselves benefiting and thanking Him for His great love for us.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)

Resources on Christian and Methodist Beliefs

Links to the United Methodist Church website:

This link takes you to information on our Christian roots, Wesleyan Heritage and more.

This link takes you these documents: Doctrinal Standards and Our Theological Task, The Ministry of All Christians, and Social Principles.


Books on Methodist Doctrine and Wesleyan Theology:

Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials by Ted A. Campbell

Wesley for Armchair Theologians by William J. Abraham

What Do You Believe?

What do you believe? Ask any child about what Santa Claus does at Christmas and you will hear all about presents, elves, reindeer and a sleigh. Ask a football fanatic about the Superbowl and they will give you details about the players and all the stats leading up to the game. Ask a dance enthusiast about who won 2007’s Dancing With the Stars, and they will be able to describe intricate steps and beautiful costumes worn by the dancers. We get excited about the things that deeply interest us, and because we are excited about these things, we easily discuss them and make them a part of our life.

So, what do you believe? What is it that you wake up thinking about and ponder before you go to bed? How often do matters of faith emerge in your thoughts during the day? That’s a lot of questions but I hope you will stop a moment and take an inventory of the books you read and the shows you watch, and then look at how they influence your daily discussions with others. Perhaps you look at your Bible during the week or even do a daily devotional, even so, what do you believe?
When was the last time you shared your thoughts about Christ with someone? Some people are hesitant to discuss their faith because they aren’t sure of what they believe. Yes, many of us can recite the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostle's Creed, but when someone asks what it means to be a Christian, some Christians stumble after offering, “It means believing in Jesus” as their sole proclamation of faith.

I’m not suggesting that we should be prepared to give a complete theological account of Christian beliefs and Methodist doctrine at the drop of a hat. However Christians should have an understanding of why they call themselves “Christian”. If you have never read the book of John, take time to read it (or even read it again) and notice the journey of faith taken by the disciples. They followed, questioned, served, believed, doubted and then received restoration. They listened to the Risen Christ (Acts 1:8) and then went out to the ends of the earth to share what they personally knew about Christ and His saving grace.

I challenge you to read your Bible, to pray for understanding, and for the boldness to speak about what it is you believe, not as a street-corner shouter, but as a loving friend who cares enough to share what is important in your life.

(reprinted from A Note From Valerie in Bellaire UMC's "The Vine" on 1/23/08)

The Joy of our Salvation

Today is my daughter’s birthday, and as a part of our tradition we make a point to retell the story of that very special day. When she was a young child, our tradition began when she came to me on her birthday and asked, “What happened the day I was born?” I then would pick her up and recount the joys of that day. As she grew older I would add more details, and as an adult she can now tell the story herself. We both find comfort in remembering the joy of that day. I enjoy our tradition, not to hold onto that image of her as a little baby, but to step back and look at her journey into becoming the person she is today.

Joy is an important part of the Christian faith. The “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10) delivered at Christ’s birth and the joy felt by the women at the tomb when delivering the news of Christ’s resurrection reveal the joy that surrounds the story of our faith. Yes there are hardships and struggles found in the life of faithful disciples, but we must be careful to remember the joy of our salvation. When was the last time you thought about the day your were baptized or confirmed? How often do you think back to that first time when you felt close to the Lord and truly loved by Him? I recently heard someone mention about how her family celebrated that act of confirmation as regularly as they celebrated birthdays.

We should remember those moments with joy, and then be renewed. We should allow the Holy Spirit to revive us out of our staid faith and remember a time when we were excited about becoming a part of the family of God. Numerous Psalms reiterate the celebration of Psalm 95:1-2. “Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD. Let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.” Sing! Shout! Worship God with everything you are and get excited! Yes, there is a time and a place for quiet contemplative worship, but too often we save our excitement for football games, cheering on the players instead of raising our hands to God, singing His praises and proclaiming His mighty works.

Take a moment today to sit in God’s lap and together remember the day of your salvation and the journey of your faith. Let Him remind you of His great love for you and allow yourself to respond to Him by growing up to become the person He created you to be.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. (3 John 1:4 NIV)

Rain or Shine

Yesterday, as I drove to visit my daughter’s church, I was welcomed into the day by a beautiful blue sky, the kind that reminds me of relaxing on a tropical beach. It was the perfect shade of blue that suggested God had carefully hand mixed the perfect hues early that very morning and spread them across the sky just to remind me of His continuing creative touch. The morning filled me with energy and an eagerness to see what the day would hold. It was especially easy to thank God for His goodness and adore Him for His handiwork. Worship that morning easily began long before I darkened the door of a church building.

Last week it rained. It was a long soaking rain that filled the day and the night with cool air and the continual sound of raindrops hitting the porch and foliage outside my windows. Some see the rain as a detriment and as the enemy of activity. It certainly stopped that day’s parade of walkers from their normal course on my street. It stops baseball games and barbeques, and is sometimes blamed as the reason people don’t go to church on Sunday. Although I have been known to pray for clear skies over an anticipated outside activity, I love the rain. I love hearing an evening thunderstorm beginning to boom in the distance and eventually move through the area. The sound of the rain on the window acts as a lullaby or becomes the background music for an evening of reading and reflection. I know that the wind clears out dead branches from my trees and the rain is regenerates the plants and nourishes all wildlife.

Today, expecting another blue sky, I opened the shades to see a gray sky. Gray days are usually “blah” days for me that make me work a little harder to get going and be productive. And when I fail to remember that the same hand that colored the sky that perfect shade of blue is the same hand that toned it down to gray, I miss out on celebrating the full range of God’s greatness. Psalm 135 begins by calling us to worship God, who “does whatever pleases him” (v.6) and “who sends lightning with the rain” (v.7). God is worthy of our worship on beautiful sunny days, restorative rainy days, and even dreary gray days, because He has something for us in each of those days. God is worthy of our praise on days that we feel joy, and on days when we feel surrounded by defeat, because He is there on all of those days, meeting us and offering us all that we need.

I hope you will see God in the good weather and the not-to-cherished weather. I hope you will find that He is there for you on your good days and not-so-great days, just waiting to connect with you and fill you with His love and grace. Can you find time to praise Him this week, rain or shine?

Happy (belated) New Year

Okay, so I let this blog slip through the Christmas holidays. The church is especially busy during that time of the year, what with all the Advent and Christmas activities and special worship services. Also, I took some time off after Christmas and in the new year, but now I’m ready to face 2008.

I’ve noticed that it is taking a bit of time for more people than just myself to get going in 2008. I don’t know why, although I suspect a mixture of the afore mentioned vacation days along with the cold and flu season that has affected more than just me. I guess I have felt like the train that flew down the mountainside, only to find itself losing steam halfway up the next mountain. The beginning of January is almost an ethereal time of year between recovering from the holidays and finally putting away all the Christmas decorations and moving on to “now what do we do?”

I was recently reading through the Gospels and noticed how many times and situations Jesus told someone to “get up” out of their infirmity, struggles, and even death. He called them from their place of hardship or their deathbed back into health and life. He called them from sorrow to joy. He called them from stillness into activity. In my own struggle to regain health and strength and motivation, I hear Him calling to me, “get up” and feel His encouragement to move forward. I hear “get up” and my mind stirs from the days of sleeping off the latest dose of cold medicine back toward a clear mind that desires to study scripture.

I truly enjoyed being at my church yesterday and back among the body of Christ after being away the previous week. And now I look forward to being a part of the disciples who are ready to begin a new year serving God and His church. Are you ready?