Listen

(At the home of Martha and Mary) She had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. Luke 10:39

Did you hear me? Or are you listening to me?  Two questions every mother or father or teacher has asked thousands of times.

My mom would say Did you hear me? Followed by, if you did, tell me what I said! She forgot the afterthought one time and I found myself doing every chore I could think of. When I returned, she was laughing so hard, she could hardly stand.  She had asked me to close the henhouse door and I had brought in wood, cobs, shut the doors and checked the water containers.

But are we listening when God speaks?  One of my favorite hymns, This Is My Father’s World has a phrase, "in the rustling grass, I hear him pass, he speaks to me everywhere."

Did you hear the bird call? Did you see the hawks ride the air currents? Did you watch the storm gather and the rain that came to revive our earth?

Did you hear the still small whisper of “I love you” from yesterday's child?  Did you see the half smile of a child or see an old man cry? God speaks to us but are we listening?

Prayer: Please, God, speak to us that we may listen, obey, and be better neighbors and Christians in our lives.

Carolyn Olsen (reprinted from 2021)

Prayer Shawl Ministry

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139: 13-17 

In 1998, Janet Bristow and Victoria Galo, graduates of the 1997 Women’s Leadership Institute at The Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, began a ministry as a result of their experience in this program. Their desire to extend compassion to others, and their love of knitting and crocheting, led them to combine the two into a prayerful ministry called the Shawl Ministry. The intent of this powerful outreach and spiritual practice was to reach out to those in need of comfort and solace along with those celebrating joy in their lives. The shawl maker begins each new mantle with prayers and blessings for the known or unknown recipient and these intentions are continued as the shawl takes form, is completed, and then is given away. (Source: The Prayer Shawl Ministry Homepage; http://www.shawlministry.com/)

 

Many years ago, a prayer shawl ministry was born at Eastridge Church with the hopes of continuing this special spiritual practice with our church family and beyond. This mission of compassion and love continues today with EPC members knitting, crocheting and quilting prayer shawls. Throughout the years, many shawls have been prayerfully completed and given away with the hope each recipient will feel the love and comfort of God, along with the prayers and blessings of a member of our church family, when they see their shawl or wrap it around their shoulders.  

Just as a butterfly develops slowly within its cocoon and emerges with its distinct characteristics or a baby develops slowly within the womb of her/his mother and is born a unique human being, so a shawl slowly develops too. With each tug of the yarn from the skein and the continual movement of the needle and fingers or the careful selection, cutting, placement and sewing of fabric occurring over time, each shawl takes on its own individual design with the blending of colors and stitches chosen carefully and loving by the maker. As I work on each shawl, I am constantly reminded of how God has chosen to create each of us with unique gifts and talents that allow us to be a reflection of God’s love and a blessing to others.

 

Prayer: Dear Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, we thank you for the gift of our hands and the ways in which they can be a blessing to others. We ask you to bless those who have felt your calling to knit, crochet and sew prayer shawls along with those who have received them. May these mantles be a perpetual reminder of the unfailing love and care you, and our church family, have for them. Amen.

Patty Niemann (reprinted from 2017)

Editor's note: Photo below of an Eastridge prayer shawl recipient in the hospital at Bryan West two years ago! 

Words from Psalm 150

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Psalm 150:6 

Words from Psalm 118

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 

Praise in Music

Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. James 5:13

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16

Music brings us together to share our joy and sorrow, to comfort us, to rouse our spirits, to celebrate, and to stir up memories. When we get together with friends of the same “era,” reminiscing about favorite tunes and lyrics tightens the bonds among us. I know a family of musicians who take their guitars and keyboards whenever they gather.  Every family reunion is ended with a bittersweet singing of Edelweiss - “May the Lord, mighty God, bless and keep us forever.”

Although solos can be beautiful, the community created when a group of musicians perform is a unique experience. Just like athletes who feel a surge of energy when their team successfully defeats an opponent, choir and orchestra members feel their spirits soar when the climax of the finale is perfect.  Individuals who previously had no connection come together to achieve a mutual goal.

Sacred music holds a special place in worship. Everyone has a specific hymn that is meaningful to them. When the initial notes rise from the piano or organ, the warmth of the familiar words and melody comfort us; we join in heartily and create a community of believers sending the message to God. Cantatas and oratorios pull us into the story they are telling. The opening chorus of Beethoven’s “Messiah” can send your heart beating in anticipation of the soaring solos and choruses to come. Whether it’s a traditional hymn written by John Wesley, a stirring gospel or spiritual, or a praise song sung with guitar accompaniment, the shared experience of joining with a congregation to sing affirms our membership in a community with shared beliefs.

A study reported in the Journal of Religion, Spirituality and Aging, found that adults who participated in religious music activities had a greater sense of purpose and meaning in life as well as reduced evidence of anxiety and depression than others who were not involved in spiritual music. Along with the spiritual benefits of music, it can improve our learning, concentration, memory, mental fitness, and reduce pain. The benefits of music affect people of all ages.  Involving and encouraging young children and teens to join a community of music lovers exposes them to the same benefits.

Prayer: Dear God, make us aware of opportunities to sing praise to you. As we join with the community of your believers, let us sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in our hearts to you.  Amen 

Carol McClain (reprinted from 2024)

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

I went to my collection of “Children’s Moments” books for an inspiration for a devotion and found one to adapt for today. Visualize two books in a bookstore, one book has a colorful cover and is blank inside. The other book has a plain cover and is colorful inside. If you saw these two books, which one would you choose to bring home and read? People are just like the two books. Our outside appearance does not always show what is inside. Sometimes people that are beautiful on the outside are not so nice on the inside and sometimes people who are not so beautiful on the outside might be very nice. You cannot judge a book by the cover and you can’t tell what someone is like on the inside by looking at their outside. God cares about the way we are on the inside—character, if we are mirthful and full of love. God does not care what kind of clothes we wear or how we fix our hair. What matters is how beautiful we are on the inside. We should not be worried about how people look but getting to know how they really are on the inside.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us to not judge others by appearance, but look at their heart and character. Amen.

Susan Taylor (reprinted from the Eastridge Daily Devotional Book, 2008)

Wisdom

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.  Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Proverbs 19:20-21

This spring marks five years since I completed graduate school. It feels like just yesterday I was spending hours every week pouring over textbooks, writing papers and finishing class projects. In those five years I have come to learn (sometimes the hard way) that it is good to ask for directions from those who have been down the path before you. As a project manager, I am responsible for working with a team to determine what work will be done, develop a plan to complete the work, and then carry out the plan and introduce the new technology. There are important lessons learned on each project and this is a job that definitely teaches a team about the dangers of making assumptions. Sometimes during a meeting, I know that the team will be annoyed or frustrated because I will ask the same question in different ways, but this is part of the wisdom that has been shared with me by my peers. From time to time, we work on plans and think that we have come up with a foolproof way to make something work, only to have it fall apart in testing. 

I always think that the second part of this verse matches with the often-seen sign, “We plan, God laughs”. I know that is meant to be tongue in cheek, but there are so many times that we plan and plan because we want something to be perfect. Sometimes we are close to what God has planned for us, other times, he needs to share his wisdom to get us back on the right path, still other times we are completely off course and God lets us learn a lesson so that next time we won’t make the same mistakes. These lessons, give us wisdom to carry forward on our own to accept instruction and also helps us to share our experience with others. While we don’t want to “wallow” in the past, it is good to know what we won’t do again and to have a plan to repeat things that have been successful.

As I was writing this devotion I reflected on the lessons I have learned throughout life and the times that I refused direction and wisdom and insisted on forging my own path. While I have certainly learned a lot, I have grown to have a lot more respect for wisdom and guidance and the need to slow down and pay attention in moments where my plan and God’s plan are not aligned.

Prayer: God who has guided us in all our lessons, help us to know when to ask for advice and wisdom, when to recognize that a lesson has been learned and to place value on those things that work well and are worth repeating.    

Christi Moock (reprinted from 2019)

Words from Romans

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. Romans 12:6

 

Follow Me

As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him. Mark 1:16-20 

As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax-collection station, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. Mark 2:14 

Recently I helped lead an adult class in an intergenerational Bible School at my grandson's church in Iowa. We talked about the disciples of Jesus and one of questions we asked was, "What if Jesus ran a want ad in the local paper to find his disciples?"  What would it say? Their responses were the following: 

• Wanted persons willing to make a 3 year or longer commitment to follow me.
• Wanted persons willing to participate in personal spiritual growth.
• Wanted persons willing to travel long distances by foot.
• Wanted persons willing to learn about the kingdom of heaven.
• Wanted persons willing to participate with the Rabbi (teacher) working long hours with multitudes of people. 
• Wanted persons who believe in miracles. 
• Wanted persons who are willing to do my bidding.
• Wanted persons who believe in me. 
• Wanted persons who are willing to take risks and hardships to be one of my disciples.  

It was a good discussion. Then I thought about this list and how it might pertain to today's Christians. Review the list and consider how you would answer the want ad to be a disciple of Christ.  

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for challenging us to be one of your disciples. Thank you for your invitation to "follow me". Help us to live up to the high standards of your call for discipleship. Amen 

Nancy Hall 

Service

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind...In humility, count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:1 - 11

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:25

I have been dismayed at how much time and energy I have had to put into the simple act of changing cell phone service providers because I have been given a phone that is not one used by my current provider.

There are so many large and complicated issues in our daily lives; sometimes we must meet draining challenges in our work, and other times our loved ones might need our help in addressing overwhelming obstacles.  Our own personal situations often lead us to have to sort out issues in areas where we are called to make big changes. 

I find myself in all three categories at the moment, and alongside those issues my focus is drawn daily to the upheavals our country and the world are experiencing.  Times like these require more effort to connect to God's heart and to be God's vehicle to the world he created. 

My communications with my current cell provider have been frustrating.  The customer service is truly customer disservice.  The company has done everything it can to frustrate the customer looking for essential information, and to keep the customer powerless and ostracized. 

The situation has made me realize that frustration with worldly things is a distraction from my life with God.  I am anxious to solve this problem because I don't like what it is doing to my mind.

The one successful thing I did might not have helped to advance my request, but it helped me not to lose myself in this mess:  I wrote a letter describing how Harry Potter might need to wrestle the information I need, and filled it with references to the stories I love so much.  Who knows? Perhaps the person pushing the button of the automated email response got a chuckle out of reading my email.  Anyway, I tried to make the best of a communication that was intended to convey the resistance I was sensing by the company that supposedly is set up to "serve" customers. 

It is illuminating to note the times each day when something worldly tries to distract me from my real purpose.  Praying for blessings on each person driving alongside me on the commute to work is more important than anything except driving safely.  It is something I can do to serve the God and the people in God's world. It is small, but mighty.  Like most prayers, the power is in how it changes the feed of human consciousness, and how it changes me. 

It must be so frustrating to work in the service industry when the company you represent will not allow you to truly serve and relate to your customers.  I can recall so many instances of helpful people on the other end of a phone call or email recently, and I hope I have indicated my gratitude sufficiently to those who have served so well.  In my own work, I find that when people understand that I am ready and willing to be of service to them we accomplish great things.  We connect and we engage our gifts. 

Service is for some people their complete mission, their utter joy.  I have not been guided to that kind of purity yet in my life, but I do know how right it feels sometimes to join the forces of those who feel complete in themselves and at the same time feel completed by the service they can offer to others. 

Prayer: God who calls us to celebrate our being simply by being the gifts we can be for one another, teach me to focus on the beauty of serving you and my brothers and sisters rather than by wasting energy on things that pull me away from you. Help us all to remember these words: (1 Peter 4:10-11:) As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies - in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Mollie Manner (reprinted from 2017)

Kindness is Essential

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Galatians 6:10 ESV

This past week, the weather has been hot, humid and unbearable. My calendar has been too full for my liking, and I have not been in a happy frame of mind.   

As my mind went in the direction of frustration, the words of a Glen Campbell song from the early 70’s came to mind, “Try a Little Kindness.”  That thought was followed by a phrase I had heard expressed several times while I listened to tales of mail order brides during the settling of the west. Those male/female pairings were of two people who had never met before promising to marry out of necessity, not love. The brides often asking the same question, “Will you be kind?”

In the late afternoon on Wednesday, the gentleman who was to give me an estimate on the removal of a dead tree in my backyard arrived. After settling on a price and a date for removal of the tree next week, he prepared to leave. I told him I’d been baking cookies while waiting for him and asked if he would like some. He said he would really like to take a few to his 4-man crew who had been working in the heat all day. So I sent a dozen cookies with him thinking his crew might need a break at that time in the afternoon. It was just a simple gesture of kindness and it made me feel better as well. 

A little over an hour later, I heard the sound of powerful equipment and I went to see where the sound was coming from. The tree removal crew was in my backyard, the tree was already on the ground and they were preparing to take it away. It was almost 6 pm when my doorbell rang. One of the young crew members was at my front door. I asked if he wanted me to write a check. He replied, “Oh, no, I just wanted to know if you were happy with the work that had been done.”

I told him I was very happy and I was grateful as well because I would no longer have to worry about that dead tree falling on a neighbor’s house during a storm. I told him that I also appreciated how they had cleaned up the mess. Then I said, “Tell the rest of the crew I said thanks for coming so quickly and for their hard work. He said, “I will and by the way your cookies were delicious. They all said so.”

Was it the gift of cookies or the little act of kindness I’d shown them that caused the crew to come so quickly? I’ll never know.    

“Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor.” Proverbs 21:32 ESV

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your words that never fail us. They remind us to do as Jesus taught when He said to be kind and to love one another the way He loves us. Amen

Judy Welch

Words from Galatians

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 

Sweden

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2

Whoever loves his own life will lose it. John 11:25

I, at first, thinking of myself rather than my father, said “No” to his request. He kept mentioning the request that he would like to visit Sweden. His forefathers had come from there and he wished to see where they lived. He did not have information about them but did have a name or two.

Finally, I realized he was in his late 80s, and I was the only opportunity he had to help him travel across the ocean to see Sweden. Many opportunities had taken me to Europe so it would be easiest for me, his oldest daughter, to help him travel. We had lost my mother to brittle diabetes (she had been one of the first diabetics in Nebraska to have an insulin pump); so, I agreed and started planning the trip.

Our connection to Sweden came from Sixten Loftgren. My father, LaVern H. Johnson, had met Sixten when he was in Phelps County Nebraska at the Court House looking for his deceased brother’s farm. The worker who was helping Sixten saw my father in the room and said this man knows Phelps County very well and can show you where your land is located. LaVern and Sixten became very good friends and continued to communicate. When we told Sixten we were coming to Sweden he invited us to his home first and made us reindeer stew which was delicious.

Bryce Hastings and I were dating long distance because he was still running his Hastings and Chivetta architectural firm in St. Louis. When he heard I was taking my father to Sweden, he decided to take a vacation and join us. This was a blessing to me. Another addition came when I thought I wanted to take my oldest granddaughter, Allison, with us. Her parents were agreeable, so we became a foursome. It was easy for me to share a bedroom with Allison, but more of a struggle for the two men. Bryce was wonderful as he cared for my father.

Sixten took us to the archives of Swedish people and helped us find our relatives in Sweden. It was unbelievable that when he called them, speaking in Swedish, they wanted us to come visit right away. We drove in rain for a few hours and then the sun began to shine. As we pulled close to the relatives’ home, we saw a dozen people and cars in the road blocking it so we wouldn’t miss the relatives. It was awesome.

We have since had several of the families visit Nebraska and stay with us. My brothers and sister have had the opportunity to meet these Swedish family members and helped us show them LaVern and Pauline’s farm home.

For thou art my rock and my fortress: therefore for thy name’s sake lead me, and guide me. Psalm 31:3. I am so happy I quit thinking of myself and did what my father asked of me.

Sandra Hilsabeck

Words from John 10

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. John 10:27-28 

Our Wonderful World

 

How many are your works, Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small.  Psalm 104:24-25

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?” Psalm 8:3-4

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” Romans 1:20

The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. Psalm 104:12

I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. Psalm 50:11

"Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.” Matthew 13:32

"Something about the very essence of birds seems impossible. They are ethereal creatures of the earth and air, unimaginably refined and complex, yet so common as to be the first animal we usually see when looking through a window or hear when stepping through a door" (from Creature: Paintings, Drawings, and Reflections by Shaun Tan). Birds are both ordinary and miraculous. How wonderful that God has chosen this incredible creature to be in so many places for us to enjoy, and to sing for us to know they're there! I agree with Shaun and have found myself in awe of the simple fact of birds when I’m out “in the field” photographing them. A creature that can fly! Truly amazing. And the fact that many of them migrate thousands of miles each spring and fall...incredible.

My intention here is to draw attention to what we take for granted, the seemingly everyday that is miraculous, God’s hand at work. I think wonder goes hand in hand with gratitude in making us realize God’s love for us and the awe-inspiring features of the world in which we live. In that vein, I would encourage you to take a walk in your neighborhood, a nearby trail, or just explore your backyard.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the miracles of our natural world. Help us to keep an open eye to the wondrous world you have created. Thank you for your bounteous beauty! Amen.

Donna Gustafson

(photos by Donna, from top: cedar waxwing, yellow-rumped warbler, common loon, indigo bunting, belted kingfisher, blue-gray gnatcatcher, female cardinal, meadowlark. Click on each photo to view larger.)