Weekly E-votional

This week the E-votional comes from Pastor Amanda

WORD Matthew 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the kingdom of heaven."

THOUGHT This familiar passage of scripture has been used in many ways over the years. In Power of a Focused Heart author Mary Lou Redding suggests that this passage be read to emphasize our dependence on God for everything. If we are poor in spirit, we have no place to turn but to God, which will help us glimpse the kingdom of heaven.

I struggle with this. I've had several reminders over the last few weeks that I need to trust God more. When do you forget to trust God?

PRAYER Holy One, help me to remember that it is through your work in me that I accomplish all I do. Give me the wisdom to know when to turn to you for help, in the simplest of tasks to the most complex of decisions. Allow me shed myself of "me" and live more fully in you.

Help me God, to trust you in the ways that lead to your kingdom. Help me to live as your beloved child. Amen.

Weekly E-Votional

Hi! This week's E-Votional comes from Pastor Mike.

WORD Psalm 63:1-2 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.

THOUGHT People ask em how I come up with the sermon illustrations I come up with from time to time. Unfortunately, the stories I use for sermons are true. I do not have to make them up, I have lived through them. My life has been very interesting, but it reads more like a cartoon than a novel.

How would you retell you life's story? Is your story a drama, novel, action story or a cartoon? Where does God fit into your story? No matter what happens in my life, the story is only complete when God is a strong supporting character.

PRAYER I do thirst for you each day, O God. In the midst of the hurried pace of life, I long to rest beside you. When I am overwhelmed with important work, I seek your support.

When life becomes too serious, allow me to find a moment filled with humor. When I feel thirsty and dry, let me be filled with your love. During a busy week, let me be found resting in your sanctuary. Most of all, allow me to see you in each page of the story of my life.

Mike Wuehler

3 Cups Study

Hi all,

I'm on vacation this week. Stay tuned next week for more musings on 3 Cups of Tea!

In the meantime check out our summer reading programs.

3 Cups of Tea: Chapters 5-6

Welcome to the third post of my summer book study, on Three Cups of Tea. I hope you enjoy participating. You can leave comments by clicking on "comment" at the bottom of each post. I encourage you to comment on each other's comments, so we are able to have some good dialogue throughout the summer.

As a self-proclaimed tea snob, I am loving the role of tea in this book. Tea is a place for negotiation, silence, respect, sustenance, and hospitality. In chapters 5-6, tea plays a big role in negotiating. At one shop he had "five thimbleful cups of green tea" before they started in on anything resembling business. Tea is the first order of the day, everyday, while Greg is in larger towns, purchasing supplies. Do you have anything like that? I've begun reading the book for the United Methodist Women School of Christian Mission, "Faith and Food." Both 3 Cups and F&F emphasize how eating and drinking are some of our most important ways of practicing hospitality. Unfortunately, to be honest, I can't remember offering a person a drink when they came to my home for a surprise visit. Can you?

Chapter 5 looks at Greg's fund raising efforts. I ached when he hand typed so many letters, before learning to use a computer. It also made me think about the church. His fund raising didn't really take off until he found someone who made a big gift-- based on the donor's interest in Greg's particular project. While in the church we really, really do appreciate gifts of any size (as do most charities), sometimes a special gift can really help others catch onto the dream. Often these special gifts are memorials. Part of our new church van was memorials. (The other part was millions of cans, saved over 12 years and faithfully recycled for bits of money- that added up!)

I was really struck at how frugally he lived while he was trying to raise money-- even living in his car! Then, the last thing he did was sell his car. He gave up everything to do this. I can't think of a more powerful example of Luke 12:32-34 than Greg even selling off his climbing supplies. I think about a member of our congregation who is preparing to leave for Guatemala for two years of service. She's going to sell her car too, I think. Have you ever made a big sacrifice like this? What would it take for you to do so?

Weekly E-votional

This week's e-votional comes from Pastor Mike.

WORD 2 Samuel 9:1 David asked, "Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I may show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"

THOUGHT King David had made a promise to Jonathan to show him unfailing kindness. David remembered his promise and is trying to live into the promise by showing kindness to all of the decedents of Jonathan.

Do you remember our Lenten study? The second rule from the “Three Simple Rules, is to do good. Who much would our worlds change if we first tried to do good in the lives of the people around us? How much better would we feel if we showed unfailing kindness on a daily basis?

PRAYER I only pass through this life once, O God. Help me to make the most of it. Lead me to show kindness rather than hurt. Teach me to speak the words that you would say in difficult moments.

Show me how to embrace life in such a way that I become a fountain of joy for those around me. Let kindness spring forth from my lips and good deeds from my hands. Through my efforts, allow the world to become a better place for all people

Mike Wuehler

Three Cups of Tea Study: Chapters 3 and 4

Welcome to the second post of my summer book study, on Three Cups of Tea. I hope you enjoy participating. You can leave comments by clicking on "comment" at the bottom of each post. I encourage you to comment on each other's comments, so we are able to have some good dialogue throughout the summer.

In chapter three we read of the last days of Greg's time on K-2. In chapter four, we learn what brought him there in the first place-his wanderings and the loss of his sister Christa. Much of chapter three deals with Greg's shock at learning how part of the world lives. As a one of the children of missionary parents, he had experienced poverty before. He noted extreme kindness-- a family in the mountains had covered him in their finest possession, a quilt (e-edition, loc 568). What really struck him was the "school" he visited. About 90 children, gathered on a rock (no building), with a teacher only three days a week. The children wanted to learn so much they came everyday, just to quietly review thier lessons. The teacher is paid $1 a day.

We had a similar experience in Guatemala last winter. We were helping build a fence outside of the local elementary school. It seemed like there were more important things we could be doing. We later learned that the fence helped the 8 or so teachers manage the 500 or so students. Can you imagine how hard it would be to learn under those circumstances?

Greg's late sister had some disabilities and he loved her with a fierce passion. He had gone to climb K-2 to place a necklace she'd worn at the top. He never made it. If you think back to last week's post, it seems that was his destination. Along the journey he met the people who lived on the mountain. The journey brought him to the realization that his real destination was to build a school. I imagine as the book continues there will be new destinations laid before him, discovered along his journey.

Who actually knows when his journey began? He describes how his parents, though missionaries, "wore thier faith lightly" and thier home "became more of a community than a religious center." (e-edition, loc. 705) What his parents might have known is that part of helping people understand faith is helping them hope. By building a hospital in Africa, Greg's parents helped the African people realize what they --the people-- could accomplish. (loc. 750)It wasn't about saying "look what we've done for you." Rather it was about saying "look what you've done for yourselves." How has hope shaped your faith?

A final question. Greg reviews the ideas of some of the older writers who'd written about these mountain people. He found himself wondering, if it's "better to live in ignorace of everything" than to know what you are missing. (e-edition loc. 606) Do you agree? Would you rather know what you don't have or not know what you don't have?

Weekly E-votional

This week the E-votional comes from Pastor Mike.

WORD Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God:

THOUGHT Be still! This may be the most difficult thing in life for me to accomplish. In yoga we are taught to be still and focus or meditate on certain thoughts. Other thoughts creep in and take over our thoughts. We are to just let them go and refocus.

When life becomes difficult, where do you turn? Is your mind filled with chaotic thoughts trying to determine the best solution to your problem? Or do you quiet yourself and listen to that still small voice of God. I find that becoming quiet is a very difficult task. But once I am quiet, I often find the voice of God.

PRAYER Help me to focus on you, O God. When the world seems to press upon me help me to look upward rather than inward. Still my restless mind so I can hear your words of comfort and support.

In the stillness of the moment, help me to better know you so that I may better serve you. Help me to walk by faith and not stumble in fear. Let my life be perfected by hearing your voice each day.

Three Cups of Tea Study Intro-Chapter 2

Welcome to the first post of my summer book study, on Three Cups of Tea. I chose this book on the recommendation of many people. I've also heard the author on Minnesota Public Radio and like what he has to say. It is part of the 2009 United Methodist Women's Reading Program. I hope you enjoy participating. You can leave comments by clicking on "comment" at the bottom of each post. I encourage you to comment on each other's comments, so we are able to have some good dialogue throughout the summer.

There are lots of interesting passages in the introduction and first 2 chapters. Hands down, my "oh my" moment was the description of paiyu cha

"the butter tea that forms the basis of the Balti diet. After brewing green tea in a blackened tin pot, he added salt, baking soda, and goat's milk, before tenderly shaving a sliver of mar, the aged rancid yak butter the Balti prize above all other delicacies, and stirred the brew with a not especially clean forefinger." (e-edition, location 456-66)

One of the reasons people are enjoying Three Cups is because it's challenging their understanding of what "normal" people live like. It's expanding cultural expectations and understandings. first cup of paiyu cha made him gag, but a few pages later he gulps it down. When have you had times like this were you were challenged?

What really struck me in these first few chapters is Greg's description of failure. Physically he's pushed himself to his limit. He claims he'd never had a failure like this, in fact, the title of the first chapter is failure. The rest of the book is the consequences of that failure. The author describes some of the challenges of working with Greg in the introduction, especially Greg's sense of time. At one point he describes Greg as "maddeningly late."(e-edition, location 172-180) The author describes Greg's success despite his flaws.

I personally hate failure. I'm noticing more and more that it's important for me to hear about other people's failures. I need to know that other people fail and see what they've learned from their failures so I can remember to grow from my own failures. A question I've been asking myself lately is "how do I define 'failure'?" If something good comes of it, is it failure? Would you mind telling us about a failure of your own?

A final piece that stood out to me in these first chapters is Greg's description of looking at the mountains, from the mountains, while totally and utterly lost and exhausted. Rather than seeing them as a destination, or a challenge, he begins to simply see them, finding them "overwhelming." (e-edition, location 404-12) Another of my flaws is seeing too much as destinations and less as journey. This is something I'm getting better at and something that others in my circle have been talking about in the past few weeks. What are you seeing as a "destination" right now that should be seen as a "journey"?

Stay tuned, more next week!

Post 100

For the 100th post of the blog I made a Wordle. You can view it here.

The Wordle looks for the words I use most frequently in the blog, looking at the most recent posts especially. I hope to continue to explore this art form.

Later this week I'll post on ordination, but I needed to do the celebrated 100th post first!