Transitions and such...

My first Sunday at the church was a good one.  It was Vacation Bible School (VBS) Sunday, so we only had one service and we got to see what the kids had done during the week, sing silly songs, get up and dance, and even bounce beach balls around the sanctuary.  Needless to say, this was not a typical Sunday at the church- not even close!  Corey and I were introduced to the congregation, and we got to meet quite a few people.  They are having a welcome reception for us next Sunday, so that should be fun!  I just got done with my first office day, staff meeting, etc.  I'm really looking forward to everything, and I just found out that along with preaching on July 6, I also get to preside over and serve communion!

Corey and I are still getting unpacked, and my car is still stranded, but hopefully we're going to get it this weekend or sooner than that.  We've discovered that the dog across the street's name is Goofy (well, because he is, in fact, goofy!).  I think he may be getting used to us...or not!  Anyway, that's all that's going on here.  I've posted a picture of our house, because I know people are curious what it looks like!  

This is my first monthly pondering at the church for the month of July.  I thought I could post in on here for whoever reads this to see it:

Ecclesiastes 3 presents us with the idea that, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted…”  The list goes on, but the point is that everything on this earth happens in its own time, and we later learn from this passage that things happen in God’s time, and that God is constantly working for the good of things.  As the new associate pastor of Memorial UMC, I believe that God has called me here for a reason and that this has happened in this time for a reason.  My husband, Corey and I were “uprooted,” in a sense, from our lives in Atlanta as seminarians, from our friends there, from our churches there, and have been planted here.  New beginnings are never easy and sometimes scary, but they are always exciting and full of promise.  And with new beginnings in particular times in our lives, it is essential to put our faith and trust in the God who works for the good.  Our lives are a never ending journey of self-discovery, transition, change, saying goodbye to the old, and hello to the new. For each stepping stone along my journey, I strive to keep God at the center, and trust that God is working a new and good thing in its own time. Above all else, I continue to seek and find traces of God in my life, in others’ lives, and the life of the church and the world. I invite you, the people of Memorial United Methodist Church, to begin this journey with me, to seek God with me, and trust that God is working for the good in this time and in this place.  I am extremely excited that God has called me to this church, and I cannot wait to see what God is doing here at Memorial!

 

I leave you with this thought from Reverend Juris Rubenis, a Lutheran pastor from the country of Latvia:

Human beings do not have to seek the will of God.

The will of God is right beside them.

The will of God is in them if they seek God.

 

In Christ,

Jill