Goodness Weekly 1.30.23
“If you look at what you have in life, you'll always have more. If you look at what you don't have in life, you'll never have enough.”
– Oprah Winfrey
2023 Calendar!
We are so excited about this year! We will have the park groundbreaking soon, the coffee trailer reopening, and so many other ways in between that we can connect with each other and our neighborhood. Take a look at the annual calendar here!
What’s Good:
Last week at outdoor worship we met a neighbor named Brenda who was filling up the food pantry. Brenda shared that she is a hospice nurse and feels a strong calling to help others in any way she can. Brenda stocked the pantry with lots of goodies and it was such a joy to see her love and compassion for our neighborhood.
This pantry is an opportunity for you to both give and receive. Please contribute and enjoy non-perishable food items as part of our community sharing effort.
Message from Jess:
The guys in my family had a big issue with Marfa, Texas
We went out there with our friends over the Christmas break, and I heard a whole lot of complaining about the long drive, the flat roads, and the “nothing to do.”
But for me and my heart…I couldn’t get enough of the spaciousness of it all.
I grew up in the hills of Pennsylvania where there are giant trees everywhere and I still feel most at home in the woods. But there was something about the vastness of the landscape that made me breathe easier. I was reminded of Psalm 18 when the psalmist writes:
You brought me to a spacious place, you rescued me because you delighted in me.
There is something about space that can really help us to gain perspective. When we looked at the opening of the Sermon on the Mount last night at worship, we talked about the importance of having a “Kingdom” perspective. To me, this means holding the entire picture of the coming wholeness of God and the wholeness of God that is already here. This means that I’m not the center of the world, that everything isn’t personal, and that there is a larger story at play that I haven’t quite seen the fullness of yet.
I have learned that when I am not doing my own work and using the practices that keep me spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy, it’s impossible to keep this perspective.
I get burnt out, impatient, sad, hopeless, and lonely. I begin to lose the vision of what God is already doing in the world around me, and what God desires to do.
The secret, for me, is no secret at all; it’s what we see from Jesus constantly throughout his life and work—he went away. He found space to be with God. Sometimes we get to do this in wide open spaces (cue The Chicks here), and sometimes it is in our own inner room with only a few minutes of centering prayer.
This week I encourage you to make some space and see how God uses it to change your perspective. Things aren’t always what they seem.
Love, Jess
Upcoming Events:
Sunday, February 5th, 4:30pm Supper Church
Saturday, February 11th, 9:30am Story Time & Coffee Soft Launch on the front lawn!
Sunday, February 12th, 12:00pm Waffles & Worship on the front lawn
Wednesday, February 1st, 7:00-8:30pm Youth Group Family Dinner in the Fellowship Hall
Sunday, February 12th, 5pm Youth Group Super Bowl Party!
Inhale:
You brought me out to a spacious place
Exhale:
You invite me into a bigger story
