Crumbs for the Journey

Happy Birthday, Church! Today is the day the Christian Church celebrates Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is the day the disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit. After Jesus was crucified, died, and buried, he rose again. For 40 days, the resurrected Jesus walked among his disciples, teaching and preparing them for something more powerful to come. Jesus then ascended into Heaven, and ten days later, while his followers were gathered together for the Feast of Harvest, the Holy Spirit, “filled the whole house where they were sitting.” In Acts 2, the Apostle Luke describes that moment as: “And suddenly from Heaven, there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” This strange event started to draw a large crow...

‘‘Tis the season to be watching Hallmark, Lifetime, and ABC Family Christmas movies. The “Countdown to Christmas” has already begun.  The book of Ruth is only four chapters that read much like a Hallmark Christmas movie.   With no money and no future, a widowed young woman leaves her home to begin a new life in a foreign land.   Knowing only one person in town, Ruth must find a way to not only survive, but to take care of her bitter mother-in-law Naomi too. In return, Naomi will try to play matchmaker and help Ruth find a new love with a promising future. Will Naomi help Ruth win the heart of  Boaz? Will there be a wedding? Is a child in their future? Don’t miss this better than Hallmark Christmas Movie Story.  Like almost all Hallmark Christmas Movies, there is a family trauma, an economic decline, major setbacks, the death of a spouse or two or three, someone feeling lost, lonely, hopeless and in need of some Christmas spirit and cheer. After ...

This Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and once again the Mississippi Gulf Coast is overshadowed by New Orleans. All Mississippians remember where they were and what they did during and after the storm hit. Though the spotlight moved west, then and even now, Mississippi remains strong and proves we know how to take care of each other. Recovery is still happening and we continue to "remember" and "never forget" how God provides and how the Body of Christ is more powerful than any storm named or unnamed that rearranges our lives. Though I have moved from the Magnolia State, I am proud to have called Mississippi my home for 20 years and I am so very thankful to have seen the beauty of the Body of Christ at work 10 years ago and counting. #katrina10 #mississippistrong #umc

"The Buried Life" is an 1852 poem about how we get so caught up in day-to-day busywork that we forget to "spend our fire and restless force in tracking out our true, original course." In that spirit, a couple of Canadian brothers put together a "100 Things To Do Before We Die" list, with items such as "Compete in a krump contest," "Play basketball with President Obama," "Make a toast at a stranger's wedding," and 97 more. Jonnie and Duncan Penn took two weeks off work, borrowed an RV, and tackled the list. They shared the adventure with friends Dave and Ben, and their project is almost like a combination of the  movie the Bucket List and the television shows My Name is Earl and Road Rules (another MTV reality series). Last year as I began watching this project unfold on the internet and now on television, I began to think about students making and setting goals for their lives.   I was tempted to be skeptical of the who...

Those who have abandoned themselves to God always lead mysterious lives and receive from him exceptional and miraculous gifts by means of the ordinary, natural and chance experiences in which there appears to be nothing unusual. The simplest sermon, the most banal conversations, the least erudite books become a source of knowledge and wisdom to these souls by virtue of God's purpose. This is why they carefully pick up the crumbs which clever minds tread under foot, for to them everything is precious and a source of enrichment. - Jean-Pierre De Caussade

The lives of most teenagers are very focused on self and the opinions of their peers. Daily routines in the summer usually reflect material values, and summer jobs and hanging out with friends seem to revolve around entertainment. A mission trip breaks students away from what could be a completely self-absorbed summer. Foreign Mission Opportunities allow each participant to take a journey to the top of the “mountain” where the air is clean and where they can suddenly see for miles, figuratively and at times literally. Students quickly realize that they don't live their lives in isolation. There are people around the world who don't have the benefit of education, three square meals a day, a steady job, or even a loving home.  Local Mission Opportunities allow them to see others that live in "their backyard" in a different light.  Yet it often is not until students have those experiences away from their "backyard" before they begin to notice the places in whi...