For Such A Time As This 050120 – Karen Haldeman
o the Good Folk of the Palmyra Church of the Brethren,
Happy May Day to All! Today has been an especially beautiful day in Palmyra!
Sunday Worship Service:
Sunday morning, around 8am, you will receive an email with a link to this Sunday's Worship service. Our worship times in May will hopefully remind, challenge and encourage us as we continue this journey through a COVID-19 world. This Sunday I will be preaching on the topic “We’ve Been Here Before.” The service includes some great music, a time of sharing, and prayers. Please join us as we gather in spirit through our virtual worship service.
Joys and Concerns
If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text or email it to me. If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with me that week by Friday morning.
Thank You:
To all who call others to check in on them and share our emails and devotions.
Today’s Devotion:
I am thankful to Karen Haldeman for providing today’s devotion. Karen offers us some sage advice for putting all our challenges into perspective. If you wish to respond to Karen directly, her email address is kbhaldeman@verizon.net.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture - Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Thoughts:
We have a lot on our minds these days. How do I keep my kids schooled and entertained while we are cooped up? What if I get sick? Will I have enough money to pay my housing and food bills? Are my elderly parents doing OK? Where can I find hand sanitizer and paper towels? When will we return to normal? What will “normal” look like? There are so many things to think about and worry about!
The apostle Paul probably wrote this letter to his friends in the town of Philippi while he himself was in prison. In these verses, Paul encourages his friends to pay attention to what they fill their minds with. He knew what psychologists and mindfulness teachers tell us today: what we repeatedly tell ourselves matters. That’s not to say we should bury our heads in the sand and avoid thinking about difficult challenges. But maybe we can limit the amount of news we watch each day, or be on the lookout for acts of kindness we see others doing or that we can do, or listen to music that reminds us of beauty. Choosing what we fill our minds with impacts our perspective on our life and on the world around us.
What is on your mind today?
Prayer:
Gracious God, help us to fill our minds with things that are true, reputable, gracious, beautiful, and praiseworthy so that we will know your peace.
Happy May Day to All! Today has been an especially beautiful day in Palmyra!
Sunday Worship Service:
Sunday morning, around 8am, you will receive an email with a link to this Sunday's Worship service. Our worship times in May will hopefully remind, challenge and encourage us as we continue this journey through a COVID-19 world. This Sunday I will be preaching on the topic “We’ve Been Here Before.” The service includes some great music, a time of sharing, and prayers. Please join us as we gather in spirit through our virtual worship service.
Joys and Concerns
If you have a joy or concern you would like us to share and pray about, please call, text or email it to me. If you would like it included in our Sunday Worship sharing and prayer time, please share it with me that week by Friday morning.
Thank You:
To all who call others to check in on them and share our emails and devotions.
Today’s Devotion:
I am thankful to Karen Haldeman for providing today’s devotion. Karen offers us some sage advice for putting all our challenges into perspective. If you wish to respond to Karen directly, her email address is kbhaldeman@verizon.net.
Shalom,
Dennis
Scripture - Philippians 4:8-9 (The Message)
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Thoughts:
We have a lot on our minds these days. How do I keep my kids schooled and entertained while we are cooped up? What if I get sick? Will I have enough money to pay my housing and food bills? Are my elderly parents doing OK? Where can I find hand sanitizer and paper towels? When will we return to normal? What will “normal” look like? There are so many things to think about and worry about!
The apostle Paul probably wrote this letter to his friends in the town of Philippi while he himself was in prison. In these verses, Paul encourages his friends to pay attention to what they fill their minds with. He knew what psychologists and mindfulness teachers tell us today: what we repeatedly tell ourselves matters. That’s not to say we should bury our heads in the sand and avoid thinking about difficult challenges. But maybe we can limit the amount of news we watch each day, or be on the lookout for acts of kindness we see others doing or that we can do, or listen to music that reminds us of beauty. Choosing what we fill our minds with impacts our perspective on our life and on the world around us.
What is on your mind today?
Prayer:
Gracious God, help us to fill our minds with things that are true, reputable, gracious, beautiful, and praiseworthy so that we will know your peace.
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