devotional

Siblings

“And so I am sure confident that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.”

- Philippians 1:6

When my wife and I became parents, we only considered two priorities most important, like most parents: 1. Keep them alive. 2. Squeeze them, kiss them and love them with all our hearts. Little did we know how they would develop, and with the addition of a sibling, be able to share that same love with each other that we poured into them.

The main thing I see going on between my boys (5 years old and 2 years old) is silly games which somehow lead to pushing, shoving and someone getting upset. However, the other night I witnessed something so special that was worth all the pushing, shoving and crying multiplied by ten. We had been working on the house all day and the boys were confused by our focus being in so many different areas that by bedtime they wanted to be with us, so we let them sleep in our bed. After some time, only my oldest son and I were still awake. I looked over at him and noticed he was staring at his sleeping brother’s face. This was no passing glance. He was studying him the way I know I have looked at their sleeping faces before. With so much love. I immediately said, “Hey, do you love your brother?”, and he looked at me and nodded so confidently that it left me speechless. The work God has been doing with their relationship had caught me off guard in the best way. As much as their mother and I try to teach them, there are values and cares they pick up when we are not around them that will only get stronger as they grow together under our roof.

I have witnessed other instances of this since that night, because I am looking for them I suppose. I like to think God is reminding me to keep up what we’re intentionally instilling in them, and to be ready for these nuggets of pure love that come from living your life devoted to other human beings. To share what Christ has done for us and to commit to a loving relationship with those around us is such a gift. I cherish the thought of the next instance I will get to witness.

Dear God, thank you for loving us and for allowing us to build relationships of love and kindness with others. It is a gift that continually fills our cups, and intensifies our joys as well as soothes our griefs.

Written By: Matt Morrison

Busyness

“Busyness. It completely baffles me how relatable that word seems to be amongst everyone I know right now. From my middle school students to my grandfather, the number of times I have heard the response “I’m just exhausted.” to the question “How are you?” is incalculable. After a whole year and a half of lockdown with the idea of “normal life” being inaccessible, I can’t say I’m surprised to have found all of us living in this new reality. Though COVID-19 is far from over, it is exciting to have glimpses of what life used to be like and everything it offered.”

Beauty

If you know me, you know my love and enjoyment of musical theater. That is my other job, teaching voice for the theater department at Texas Wesleyan University. You may have also heard that Broadway is back and opening up. So just get ready for my comments and dialogue about it. It has been way too long for the performing arts to be silent...and even more so for the performing artists who create magic on the Broadway stage, on the Concert Stage, and in Places of Worship to be silent. How much we have craved the magic of making music together, telling a story that only music can do, and enjoying and experiencing that as a group of people on the same journey towards the same goal.

Squirrel Theology

“This weekend, I woke up to a baby squirrel in my backyard. With four dogs and one cat, we can’t just leave little critters unattended. Our sweet ‘monsters’ could easily mistake him as a snack! I scooped him up to check him out. He appeared to be healthy. He wasn’t cold, had fur, but his eyes were still closed. Knowing that allowing his mother to come back for him would be the best case scenario for him, we put our animals away and set him out in the yard. Every few minutes he would cry and squeal, making a fuss! This was great! This could help his momma come back and find him.”

"The Sinner"

“The Pharisee looked on in judgment of Jesus for letting such a woman touch him. It wasn’t the way things were supposed to be done.

And maybe we would look on Jesus and this woman in judgment, too. Such attention given to the feet would be seen as quite odd in our modern context. But in this time of walking in sandals being the primary mode of transportation, to care for someone’s feet was a great sign of respect and hospitality. When you wash the feet of your guests, you communicate that you value their life and want them in your home.”

Say Yes

“One of my favorite questions to ask groups is pretty simple - “Where did you see God today?” It seems small and easy, but as a question on the spot it gets you thinking. When I’m being my best self, it’s something I ask myself daily. I believe that God lives and breathes in the big and small moments. God is in the webs of relationships, everyday random happenings, and the people I come across daily. Each affords an opportunity to see God and say “Yes”.

I believe that many of these “Yesses” are opportunities to be God’s light in the world.”

Curiosity

I am hopelessly obsessed with the TV show Ted Lasso, probably to the point that my friends, family, and co-workers are annoyed with me. By Friday afternoon I am texting people to ask if they have watched the newest episode yet so that we can talk about it. The premise of the show is pretty simple. An American college football coach gets hired to coach an English Premier League football (soccer) team in West London.

First Day of School

“Recently my Facebook feed has been filled with “first day of school pics”. I love seeing the hope and excitement of beginning a new school year. There is everything ranging from “1st Day of Preschool” to “1st Day of Middle School” to “1st Day of College”. Parents post those pictures proudly. Their child has achieved a new grade, beginning a new set of adventures and learning.”

Confidence in Hope

“I was in a meeting recently and the speaker’s words regarding “hope” resonated with me.

As people of God, we choose to live in hope. We are blessed to have the free will to make a decision to believe in a risen savior. The Savior chose us and we chose to accept his call to follow him. Through faith in Jesus Christ, we can be confident in the hope that Christ has brought to those who believe.

Hope is not something we long for.
Why would we long for hope when it has been granted us through our faith? If we are longing for hope in our lives, are we truly trusting in God?”

Your Business

“When my husband and I decided to start eating a plant-based diet last summer, I started to follow a lot of plant-based accounts on Instagram that share good tid-bits on things like meal prepping and how to make produce last longer. I also started to follow accounts of influencers who are plant-based so that I could feel like I was becoming a part of the plant-based community and could be encouraged to continue on my own journey to healthier eating. Tabitha Brown (@iamtabithabrown) is someone I followed because she regularly posts yummy looking plant-based recipes, but after following her for quite some time now, quick recipes are no longer what I appreciate most about Tabitha’s social media content.”

Diabetes

“If you’ve raised a tween (double-digits but not yet a teenager), you know the struggle is real. In addition to tween struggles, our younger two children settled into public school for the first time, and not one, but two new churches in the midst of a global pandemic. Our daughter, Marion, had to learn some hard lessons in the area of academics, friend groups, and being a “dog mom.”
Our entrance into parenting a tween girl has reminded me of Marion’s entrance into the world.”

Heart

Someone asked me the other day, “What has God been telling you lately?” and I cannot stop thinking about it. Every time I do, I keep coming back to one thing. Time. How much of it I have spent on this Earth. What I have done and not done with that time. How much time do I have left here? There is no way a day is 24 hours long when you are home with a sick child in the middle of summer.

Yes to VBC!

I just completed my 25th year of directing Vacation Bible Camp. It is one of my favorites weeks of the year. I picked out the curriculum in February and began to plan. It was so exciting to be able to welcome children from our own church plus children from the community back inside the church building to learn about Jesus and be together. Registration opened and we had almost 100 children signed up in the first two weeks. This was going to be a great year! Then the hard part set in - finding adults to help.

We've a Story to Tell to the Nations

When I was about seven or eight years old, I remember waking up on Sunday mornings and watching “The Hour of Power” with Robert Schuler before actually going to church. I loved seeing the glorious choir and the magnificent organ being played to its full capacity. Being exposed to that kind of music at that age probably had a lasting impression on my choice of occupation!

Sleep + Alarm Clocks

Waking up at six o’clock in the morning and not going to sleep until one o’clock that night can be extremely difficult, especially for 7 days in a row, any other week than mission trip week.

This past week Student Ministry went on a mission trip to serve and love food-insecure families surrounding Oklahoma City. This was different than any other mission trip we’ve done before. Usually, we serve families on with construction related needs. However this year, we were able to work with children and families directly and watch our students’ love and smiles affect the children they were hugging on throughout the week.

With the Help of God

Monday night I attended the Ordination Service for the Central Texas Conference to support a friend being ordained as an Elder in the UMC. It’s known for being a long service - similar to a graduation. In addition to a sermon and the laying on of hands on each of the candidates, there are songs, scripture, and liturgy read. And to be honest, liturgy is not my favorite part of church. For whatever reason, I never quite connect to it.

Community

“Sometimes we think that our communities exist outside of ourselves, and I guess in a way they do. It isn’t as though that if we stop showing up, the community will cease to exist; that they would pack it all up and say, “Wait! Richard isn’t coming any more. Then what is the point of even going on!” But in another equally true way, communities are only made up of individuals. The culture of a community, the feel of a community, the resources of a community are all dependent upon and shaped by the individuals that show up for the community.”

Ebenezer

It’s raining today. And it’s been raining for several weeks (it seems to me.) Our Communications Director, Rachel Moraw, occasionally assigns the church staff to write a devotion. And it’s my turn. And its gray outside, and sopping wet, and . . . well, you get the idea. I confessed to Pastor Chris that I didn’t have a holy thought in my head (or heart) today to share with you. He mentioned the rain and said that some of you may share my feelings of gloom.

And the words of “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing” came to my mind. The lyrics were written by Robert Robinson in 1758 based on 1 Samuel 7:12. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.

 

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