UMW SUNDAYS...not the week after Easter, PLZ

I received a call last week that included a request for me to preach yet another UMW Sunday, later this month. I checked my calendar and replied to the caller in the positive. Yes, I would be happy to do your UMW Sunday. It's been my pleasure to give an inspirational Sunday talk, now and then. In my four years as Conference UMW President, my UMW Sunday travels took me from Canton to Sikeston,from Kimberling City to Rockport. In between, I have preached in Harper's Chapel(that's a story for another time), all over in Kansas City, in Columbia, and in St. Louis. I've even done a couple in the state of Kansas. ("I'm a Sunflower from the Sunflower State." you know.)
One thing, however, that I try NOT to do is preach a UMW Sermon on the Sunday after Easter. Come on Pastors. Do you think your old ladies just fell off of the turnip truck? I can just hear your comments now. "We'll give those old biddies the Sunday that is our lowest in attendance. Nobody is going to want to hear what they say anyway. And, while we're at it, I think I'll take that Sunday off. I need to get away. Mission, humbug."
Well, we made our Pledge to Mission, in Missouri, this year. Over $400,000 in Mission Giving. Hey, there are a whole lot of somebodies out there who care what we have to say.
So call on me girlfriends, I'll do your UMW Sundays, but not this week!

Dear Lord, we make our prayers and ask You to answer them. We forget that You are calling us to do Your will. Help us to really listen to Your requests and help us to be "doers of your word and not hearers only." Amen

One Month to Go

We are down to the last 30 Days before the Quandrennial Assembly of United Methodist Women in St. Louis. I wish I could say that all of the plans are made and that I feel settled about the event. But, I can't.
Plans from New York have changed and changed and changed. WE,the able volunteers, seem as clueless as we were a year ago. I keep telling myself not to worry. The professionals,on the East Coast, have been pulling these events off for decades now.
They should know what they are doing. Right?
Well, I can't help but worry. What if no one comes? What if I drop dead tomorrow? What if the hotels are bad? What if Marilyn leaves me stranded on I-70. What if it rains? What if the bakery forgets to bake the communion bread? What if? What if?
I get worked up about this stuff......usually in the middle of the night. Then I feel bad the next day.
Jesus has told us that worrying doesn't help. He is going to take care of all this stuff that I worry about. My mother used to tell me that "it isn't going to make any difference 100 years from now!" I am the quintessential "ye of little faith"

"Trust and Obey, for there's no other way,to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." Travel with me to St. Louis, Jesus. I need you.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

March in Missouri, and there is snow as far as the eye can see. It's everywhere. eight inches in the Northland, this weekend. Go figure. Must be Global Warming,oops I mean Climate Change. I went to a meeting this weekend that cautioned me about my Carbon Footprint. Guess I will have to quit breathing and quit growing any plants. Carbon emissions you know!
Anyway, the snowfall was quite a surprise. I understand that the older we get, the less we are to enjoy surprises. I think the opposite may be true. My children have all known, in advance, the gender of their children. They can make more decorating plans that way! And, everyone tries to make plans as far in advance as they can, these days. Plans for summer vacations are made in January. Plans for Christmas are made in July. When we want to visit anyone, we have to call way ahead to make sure they can see us. Holy Cow, what ever happened to spontaneity?
So, go on.....surprise me. I'll love it. What can it hurt?

Kind and loving Lord. Keep my life fresh and new. Help me to be eager to meet the challenges of everyday life. Lord, I am available to you.

Once was Lost, but now......

I found Jesus. Yes, I had lost him. The 20 foot tall metal Jesus statue that was standing on the west side of I35 between Kansas City and Liberty has been located.
The owners of Jesus,the statue, knew where he was all along, but I didn't have a clue. I'm happy to have found him once again.
The statue was commissioned, I was told, for an event held several years ago at Arrowhead Stadium. Jesus was made for a giant gathering of Roman Catholics, organized for a particular cause. The statue is of the "sacred heart type" and created quite a spectacle from its pedestal along I35. The owner placed it there temporarily, until a permanent place could be constructed. Then it disappeared. No sign. No indication of where he went. I was baffled.
But, I found him. Jesus is now overlooking a small pond just south of the intersection of Parvin Road and the I29-I35 Split, in Kansas City North. It is the centerpiece for a new development of senior housing, which will include Stations of the Cross and a crucifix garden.
In my opinion, the statue leaves a lot to be desired. In other words, I think it is artistically ugly and slightly off putting.On its temporary base it leaned too far forward and looked off balance. And, frankly, yet another long haired, white-man Jesus representation, offends the realist in me. But,I sincerely support and praise the owner's conviction to have his faith represented for all of us to see.
So, I am happy to announce that Jesus has reappeared.

Dear Lord, many of us profess to be your children. It's too bad that more of us don't actually follow you and act like Christians. Help me to be more outwardly Christian, today and everyday. Help me to get my faith right out there!

We are marching in the light of God....

The 38th Annual Missouri UMW Legislative Event was this past week. "What?"you say. You mean you didn't know that the UMW (those crazy little old irrelevant ladies) had a Legislative Event? "Did it involve a bake sale?"you ask?????
Actually, the First Lady of Missouri was in attendance and a Missouri Supreme Court Justice was our keynote speaker. We were stylin', readers. And, our "Breakfast with the Legislature" was well attended. Congratulations,event committee, for a job well done. Can't wait for #39.
I have just been told by yet another preacher that United Methodist Women might not be in the future of a certain brand new United Methodist Church. I'm beginning to think this is a broken record. People,UMW is the best and of course the most "road tested" of all women's ministries. Lord, the General Church has just given Mission Agencies BACK to UMW, because they couldn't do it right. Local Churches, get with the program.
Get a clue, Missouri Pastors. If you want a mission effort in your congregation,not just a bunch of "vacationers" with hammers and nails, get your women involved in UMW. We have the resources, the history, the numbers and the passion to get it done.
So, do you really want to know what I think about congregations without UMW? Read your Discipline, pastors.
Okay, I know I am preaching to the choir, here. You all know where my passion lies.

Fairest Lord Jesus, you know that we work for better lives for all of your children. Be with us as we strive to improve the lives of the "least" in our world. These things we ask in your name. Amen.

When I'm Sixty-Four....to SMK

In 1963, I fell in love with Paul McCartney. He wasn't "Sir Paul" back then. He was a famous young man appearing on my parents 21' RCA Victor console, and I was a 16 year old girl screeching at his image.
In 1964, I fell in love with Scott Kincaid. He wasn't on my TV screen, he was in my geometry class in high school. Regardless of his lack of celebrity, he made my heart flutter.
Now, 45 years later, my husband and I are living the Beatles' lyrics, "When I'm Sixty Four". It is actually "many years from now". And yes, we are still sending each other Valentines, having birthday parties and an occasional bottle of wine. Grandchildren "Vera, Chuck and Dave" have appeared in the form of Nina, Alex and Sophia, plus a couple more. Over the years, we have had to "scrimp and save".
Much has been written about young love. It is fresh, hot and romantic. Everything is new and exciting. Growing old together is the furthest thing from young lovers' minds.
We have attended several weddings lately. As I sit there watching the young brides, I hope and pray that their unions will be as firm and lasting as mine. Realistically, I have become skeptical. Most of our young relatives have changed relationships so often that I no longer enter their names and addresses permanently, in ink, in my address book. I write them in pencil.
These days "mine forever more" doesn't seem to mean much. Mine until someone better comes along, or mine until the going gets too tough, seems to ring truer.
There is a statue on the Country Club Plaza on another "Sir", Sir Winston Churchill and his wife, that is called "Married Love". It depicts the old guy and his equally mature spouse. You can tell they've been through a lot. When you look at her you get the feeling that she has probably "knit a sweater (or two) by the fireside" and we know he led Great Britain, through WW II. But, they certainly appear to be content and comfortable, sitting there side by side.
Mature love is like a soft old sweatshirt. It's comfortable and wearable. Couples that stay together while surviving childbirth, Little League, teenage angst, and ever widening waist lines, deserve our admiration. So when my "lights have gone", I'm going to count on my spouse of 44 years to "mend my fuse". Yes, I'll "still need" you. Yes, I'll "still feed" you, when you're sixty-four.
Happy 64th Birthday,sweetheart.

"Oh the weather outside is frightful...."

Well, not really. Last night it certainly was. Yesterday morning it was. But, now the sun is making the ice and snow glisten. PTL.
I am up to my chin in Prayer Shawls and baby blankets. Women's Division is planning a huge display of these handcrafted items at the April Assembly in St. Louis. The powers that be (Women's Division, in NYC) want me to locate places to distribute the amassed articles in Missouri. I'm creating a list. Could be that there will be up to 10,000 items.Let me know if I can add your non-profit or Church to the list.
A couple of years ago, when I was in the throws of chemotherapy and couldn't hold my head up off the couch, I received several prayer shawls. My friend, 'nother Nancy, sent me one. I received a beautiful pink one, and the ladies at Liberty UMC, gave me a handcrafted quilt. Each one is a treasure. The prayers and love sent to me, through those items, were a big factor in my recovery.
At our last church home, there were several of us who regularly hand knitted or crocheted shawls for the congregation's needs. If you have the skills, it's a blessing to be a part of a Prayer Shawl Ministry.
We never know how we will touch others. Prayer is powerful and God is good.