What?

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Recently I had a conversation with someone about communication and how abbreviated our language has become.  Are we really communicating?  Do we understand what the other person is really saying?

It reminds me of a posting on Facebook, where the son was telling a story about his mother and learning to use modern abbreviations on text messages. She saw several people using lol.  Upon someone announcing the death of a family member, she responded with lol.  Her son said, "Mom, how rude!" The mother responding to her son said “why, I just responded with lol meaning lots of love.”  Her son said, “Mom it means Laughing Out Loud!”  How many times have you seen a response from someone and said: I wonder what that means? I usually goggle it to see what it means, I can’t keep up with all the new ones. There are several I don’t want to know what they mean or would ever use. 

Upon my first day at a postal distribution center, I was instructed by the supervisor to go help unload the scf from the bmc on to the 1070’s.  He was pointing to a direction which helped but the rest was unclear except that I was to unload something on to something. I responded with I am happy to do that; but I have no idea what you just said. He was a supervisor that spoke abbreviations for just about everything, and soon I understood what he was talking about, but it meant a lot of questions.  

Many conversation workshops tell you to listen, repeat what the person said, then ask for clarification to make sure you understood what they are actually saying. In my recent part-time work, I had a co-worker say something to me, I looked at them and said I am sorry I do not know what you said. They repeated it, and I still didn’t know what they said. It finally came down to someone else interpreting for us. We were both speaking English, but neither knew what the other was relaying. 

Emojis are another form of communication that leaves a lot to the interpretation of the person using it and the person receiving it. Is that smiley face crying a good thing or bad? Is it not bad enough we don’t all speak the same language, or have the same dialect but now we use pictures and abbreviations!   

Have you ever read the Bible and thought, I wonder what this is really saying to me? Or had someone tell you their interpretation of that passage. Thank goodness it is not all just pictures, abbreviations and emojis. Thank goodness we have a church where we can gather and learn of the meaning of the words in the Bible. Pastors to teach us what the Bible is saying to us. A place that we can gather and worship God in a better understanding. A place where we work at understanding each other and expressing our thoughts in words, music and praise to Jesus our Lord.

Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for the Pastors, the church staff, the musical directors, Sunday School teachers, and all those that help to put together a welcoming and open gathering place to worship our Lord. May we find more understanding of your messages. May we find more ways to open communication between the generations, the cultural differences and any other dividing differences. May we extend our hand to help others learn of your love.  In Jesus name, we pray. Amen

Lori Hood

Prayer

Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:42   

There is a scene in the movie Evan Almighty that I absolutely adore, Morgan Freeman (God) is explaining to Lauren Graham (Joan, Evan’s wife) that God doesn’t always clearly grant our prayers in the ways that we expect them to be granted. In this scene God says “Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?”

This is such a short burst in the film but it always stays with me and I love the way it ties to this verse – if you believe that you have received what you have prayed for, it will be yours. As humans, we think about our desires, and we pray for ourselves and those around us. We ask God to be in our lives, but we are frustrated when we have to admit that his power and will is greater than our own.   

As I reflected on this verse and this scene I thought back over times when I have asked God for something and he has delivered in ways that I would not have expected.  When I prayed that my son would receive an education that would make him successful and enriched, I wasn’t ready for him to move 640 miles away, but it has been such an amazing experience for him. Years ago, when I prayed for a very ill friend to have less suffering, I wasn’t ready for his death to be so sudden, but I know that he has been released from all the pain his body experienced on earth. As part of our spiritual and emotional growth we have to accept our gifts and make the most of them and we must have faith that God will continue to provide for us in ways that we could never have imagined. Especially in those moments were we don’t get what we ask for.    

Prayer: God who knows our deepest fears and hopes, please continue to help us grow. Continue to respond to prayers in ways that are better than we could have asked, and guide us on the path that you have always planned. Amen.     

Christi Moock   

“Wow!”, not “so what?”

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John 1:3

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Job 12:7-10

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Psalm 96:11-12

Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash?  Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge? Job 37:14-16

There is a quote from the movie The Color Purple that I’ll paraphrase here: “I think it angers God if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” (This movie was originally a book, and to read the whole unedited quote, go online.) I love this quote, because I imagine it to be true! God has created a beautiful world for us, and sometimes we take it for granted.

When I was a child, I had a book that showed a photograph of a fetus in the amniotic sac at around 4 months gestation. Today, we can go to our computers and search online for photographs like this and find hundreds. In the late 60s-early 70s, this was somewhat of a novelty. I had this book along once while visiting my grandmother in the hospital. My brothers and I spent many long hours in the waiting room back when children were not allowed in the patient rooms, so we spent that time reading and running around the hospital grounds. On one such day I was reading the above-mentioned book, and commented to my brother on how amazing the photo was. Another young girl in the waiting area noticed, took a cursory glance at the photo, and dismissed it, saying "So what?" As a child I was so shocked at her response that I couldn’t say a word. Shame followed; shame that I was in awe of something that was evidently mundane to others.

Today I think just the opposite: how sad that there are people in this world who don’t notice the details and beauty of the world we live in. Miracles abound! I’m going to try my best to keep a childlike wonder at my surroundings…whether it’s the way the fading sunlight shines on the fall leaves or the delicate little bird landing on my windowsill, or the miraculous human body…I want to appreciate it.  

It’s sometimes easy to become absorbed in our own dramas and issues when things aren’t going well; we have a harder time noticing life around us. During those times we need to be reminded that gratitude goes hand-in-hand with an observant nature.

Don’t be a “so what?” person; be a “wow!” person!

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the beautiful world you have created. Help us notice it, and in doing so, give the glory to you! Amen.

Donna Gustafson

Chaos

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14

On Sunday, I worshipped in a place of chaos. Surrounded by small children, I found it hard to concentrate on the sermon or to worship in my usual way. About to become irritated, I suddenly realized that I was lucky enough to be able to worship in the midst of the future of Eastridge church. That random thought made worship so much easier and I grinned at the small child and laughed as I thought of the burp from the preceding Sunday.

Instead of gray heads, I was surrounded by young thriving children and their parents. Dressed for whatever might come their way, they bowed their heads, listened to their children sing, and generally tried to pay attention. They were especially interested in the music and children’s moment when the time came. I remembered the passage in the Bible where Jesus says, “suffer little children to come unto me for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.”

It is so good to check on these little folk, their names never stay with me long for after all I am old. But they report on chapter books, tell me about school, stop to tie grandmother’s shoe. When my oldest child was little, she sang a song which had a phrase, “I don’t want to wait until I am grownup to be like Jesus wants me to be. I can read the Bible and pray, do a loving kindness today.” I do not remember who wrote the song or what the title was, for that was nearly 50 years ago, but I do remember a small child really believing it. Yes, the church service was nearly in chaos but the future of our church looks bright and that is still another item to be thankful for in this time of giving thanks to God for all we have.

Prayer: Thank you God for little folks, for old folks and those in between. Thank you, God, for giving us all that we need and time to enjoy it all. Thank you, God, for patience and love exhibited in young parents and grandparents and help us all to appreciate what we have. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Carolyn Olsen

Gratitude

I love the Lord because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Psalm 116: 1

Isn’t it wonderful that our God not only hears our prayers of gratitude for all that He has done for us, but he also hears our prayers when we ask for His help. Sometimes when I am troubled by a problem and know that I need lots of help from God, I may forget to thank Him for all the wonderful blessings that he has given to me and immediately begin my prayer by asking for His help. Do you sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty falling to sleep again? It is at these times that I pray to God thanking Him for all the many blessings that he has given me and asking Him for his help for the day that will be dawning soon. These prayers help me relax and fall to sleep again.  When I awaken in the morning, I feel that God is with me and that he will be with me throughout the day guiding me in all that I do and say.

Prayer: Our Heavenly Father, thank you for all the many blessings that you have given us. You are with us every second of every day watching over us as your children. Help us to always do your will and to be a witness for you in everything that we do and in everything that we say. In Your name we pray.   Amen.

Linda Douglas (reprinted from the Eastridge Daily Devotion book, published in 2008)

Giving Thanks

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 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. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

Thanksgiving Day

What are you thankful for? Make a list...start a gratitude journal! 

“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For his mercy endures forever.” I Chronicles 16:34 

“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks! For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near.” Psalm 75:1

“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4

“Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:8

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