Courage

You know what courage feels like to me? The nice word for it is, “butterflies.” The more accurate description is a burn in your gut. Courage is the fire in your bones that won’t let you rest till you’ve taken that risk. Courage is the thrill of seeing your risk pay off. Courage is also the determination to get back up after a failure, not allowing a set back to define you.

Every year at this time, we begin Disciple Bible Study -- a 24 week journey through the scriptures. Students will spend time daily in the scriptures and in prayer. They join together weekly for the class meetings. Many of the students who sign up reflect a convicted courage. Some will tell me, “I’ve waited a long time to do this.” Others will tell me, “I don’t know anything about the bible and I’ve been scared to admit it until now.” At the beginning of Disciple, you don’t know what kind of experience you will have. You just know you have to bring your full self and stick to it in order to find whatever it is that God has for you. That’s courage.

In two weeks, we begin a new sermon series about courage. The video promo we’ve posted on Facebook will be a great way to “share” this with your friends. Go to our Facebook Page to find it, or just click here. Our small groups will engage in a parallel study by Rev. Tom Berlin. If you need help discovering a small group to join, email Pastor Heather. You can always join her Zoom group, meeting on Tuesday evenings or participate with Living Water UMC on Wednesdays, 6:30 pm. I’m really looking forward to boosting my courage with you, Faith.

If you have 6 minutes, I hope you’ll listen to the latest episode of my podcast. I had my first guest on the show, Macy Land. Her family recently joined our church and she has been bringing beautiful musical gifts to our praise team at the 11:00 service. Macy and I talked about how we experience worship. I thought it was a delightful conversation and I’d love for you to listen.

On this holiday weekend, pray for those who are sick, in the hospital, or caring for those who are sick. Pray for our schools, students, teachers and staff who are figuring out how to educate our kids when the situation changes daily. Pray for those who “labor” to bring us groceries on the shelf, packages to our doors, freshly cut grass when we arrive at church, someone to greet you at the store or restaurant you visit...the list could go on. This holiday has a deeper meaning when doing your job often means putting your health and safety (and that of your family) at risk. May we always be grateful for those who sacrifice to make sure we have what we need.

Peace,