August 2019 – The Keith Church Blog

I’ve spent the better part of these past two weekends either at or in between presentations of Frozen Jr. by the Athens Community Theatre over at the Arts Center. It was an abbreviated, hour-long version of the wildly popular 2013 Disney movie. If you remember all the little girls wearing their Elsa or Anna gowns and singing “Let It Go!” at the top of their lungs, then you can imagine it wasn’t difficult for the directors to find folks to try out for parts in this musical!

Our sanctuary musician Matthew Crabtree was the music director. Our son Wesley had a “hygge” (look it up if you need to) role as Oaken, the owner of a Nordic trading post and sauna, and some other children and youth from the church had some really “chill” parts as well. Tracy helped out backstage during the rehearsals and performances. And me? I just went to the shows. Well, at least 5 of the 8 of them.

But I’m glad I went to see it several times, because I can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes. The themes of books and plays and musicals and such don’t always hit me at first. So it wasn’t until that second weekend of the show that its theme of the power of true love really began to crystallize in my mind and I also began to see how its message mirrors that of the scriptures.

The quest for true love runs right through the story. Princess Anna hopes she’ll find it meeting some tall handsome stranger at the coronation of her sister Elsa as the queen. Then she believes she has found it when she meets Prince Hans. But when Elsa disapproves of their getting engaged on the same day they met, despite Anna claiming it’s true love, Elsa asks her, “what do you know about true love?” Later on, the mysterious, mystical Hidden Folk proclaim that “the only fixer upper fixer that can fix a fixer-upper” like Kristoff the unrefined ice-harvester is “true, true love!” But all of that is just, shall we say, the tip of the iceberg.

The climactic moment in the musical comes (spoiler alert!) when Anna has had her heart accidentally frozen by her sister Queen Elsa who has magical powers to turn things to ice. Anna’s companions call for the Hidden Folk to use their curative powers to heal her. But the Hidden Folk tell them that “only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.” They assume they have to take Anna to her fiancé Hans, but when she arrives, she discovers that Hans really doesn’t love her. He was just using her to get to the throne and become king himself, and leaving Anna to die and putting Elsa to death for harming her would certainly expedite that.

Anna, locked up in her cell and becoming colder by the minute, bemoans to her snowman friend Olaf, “I was wrong about him. It wasn’t true love. I don’t even know what love is.” But Olaf does. “Love,” he tells her, echoing the words of the Apostle Paul from a prison cell, “is putting someone else’s needs before yours” (Philippians 2:4). Then Olaf picks the lock with his cute carrot nose and they are free. They arrive at the palace just as Hans has drawn his sword and is about to strike Elsa down, when Anna rushes over and steps in front of her sister to intercept his sword, sacrificing herself for her sister just as she herself becomes frozen solid.

Elsa breaks down and cries as she embraces her sister, and everyone else watches in heartbroken despair. But then Anna, miraculously, begins to thaw and to stir back to life. “Oh Anna,” Elsa exclaims, “you sacrificed yourself for me?” And Anna responds, “I love you.” And they give each other a big warm hug, just like Olaf likes. And Olaf remembers: “An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart.” To which Elsa affirms: “Love. Of course. Love will thaw.” (They repeat it like that, you see, to try to help those of us who are a little thick in the head to get the point.)

One of the things I find particularly fascinating in this story is that true love isn’t found where we might expect it (certainly in most movies, Disney and otherwise), that is, in romantic love. Instead, it is expressed in the love of family and friends. The love Oaken shares, for example, with his big family at his trading post and sauna, and with the travelers Anna, Olaf, Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven. And the love they share for one another, the risks they take for each other. But especially, the love between these two sisters and the self-giving, self-sacrificing love Anna has for Elsa.

As I reflect on her act of true love, I can’t help but think of what Jesus said was the greatest, highest, truest form of love there is: “There is no greater love than this, to lay down your life for your friends” (John 15:13). He said this, of course, the night before he did just that, laying down his own life for his friends, for his followers, for all of us, at the cross.

Of all of the various theories and interpretations across the last two thousand years of how exactly it is that the cross of Christ accomplishes our atonement – our reconciliation, our at-one-ment – with God, the one that has captivated me the most is from a French philosopher and theologian by the name of Peter Abelard from way back in the 12^th century. Rather than the cross accomplishing some sort of a change in God or in how God looks at and relates to us, Abelard asked what if the cross was meant to accomplish a change in us and in how we look at and relate to God.

He suggested that the cross of Christ reveals to us the fullest extent of God’s love for us. It shows us how far God will go to get through to us that God loves us. God will go all the way to the cross so that we might see how great is God’s love for us, in spite of our hard-heartedness, our cold-heartedness. Christ’s act of true, self-giving love for us on the cross is meant to evoke a response of love for God from us. As he put it, at the cross, God “has more fully bound us to himself by love, with the result that our hearts should be enkindled by such a gift of divine grace, and true charity [or true love] should not now shrink from enduring anything for him.” In other words, witnessing the great love of God for us at the cross is meant to melt our hearts that have become frozen by sin, so that we might do all within our power to love God and to love one another, our sisters and brothers, with the warmth of true self-giving love ourselves.

Turns out, the Hidden Folk might have known this all along: “Only an act of true love can thaw a frozen heart.”

Striving for Perfection…ism

August 19, 2019August 7, 2019 Keith Memorial United Methodist Church

A few months ago, our church spent some time looking at the Enneagram. The Enneagram is like a personality test that allows folks to gain a deeper insight about who they are and how they are built. There are nine type of personalities in the enneagram, and I have discovered that I identify as type One – The Perfectionist.

As a Perfectionist, I like things to be done a certain way. Ones, in general, have a need to be right, do the right thing, and to live right. We avoid fault, blame, chaos, and disorder.

In their book The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective, Richard Rohr and Andreas Ebert write, “The Apostle Paul was a one. He was a Pharisee. Ones were born Pharisees.”

I have a hard time thinking about Ones being connected to the Pharisees. After all, Jesus seemed to be pretty upset with them throughout Scripture. However, I can somewhat understand the motivations behind the Pharisees’ actions. The Pharisees are just trying to do what they think is the right thing. They are trying to maintain order in the midst of chaos. They are driven by their need to restore order and bring about perfection in an imperfect world. This is why Ones are often criticized for being critical of themselves and of others. They are driven by their need to “fix” things.

Recently someone told me that being a One is the hardest type to be. I don’t know how much truth there is to that, but I can understand why they said it. The defining characteristic of a one is the inner critic that they hear inside your head. “I’m not good enough. I need to be better. I need to be perfect.”

In his book Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Nathaniel Branden writes, “In the inner courtroom of my mind, mine is the only judgment that counts.”

This inner voice forces Ones to constantly seek out “perfection” whatever that might be. This is a voice that Ones know all too well.

Perhaps my “One-ness” is what draws me so much to the United Methodist Church. As Methodists we believe in Christian Perfection.

Now, when we think of the word “perfection,” all sorts of things come to mind. We think about being flawless and being beyond reproach. We think about being like Superman and never making a mistake. When we think about being perfect, we think about someone who has their lives completely figured out and never makes a false step.

But this isn’t what John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, had in mind when he spoke of Christian Perfection. Instead, Christian Perfection means that you have gotten to the point where you truly love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And you truly love your neighbor as you love yourself (Matthew 22:37, 38). Christian Perfection is not something that we can work to attain on our own, but this is something that God does through us and even despite us.

Jesus calls us to be perfect as God is perfect, but this doesn’t mean that we need to fall into the trap of Perfectionism. Instead, God invites us to go on a journey where we become more and more like Jesus.

Ones sometimes need to be reminded that we are called to be perfect like Jesus, not “perfect” like the Pharisees.

So, may God work within our hearts and minds as we strive to love God and love our neighbors.

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ORANGE HAPPENS!

August 13, 2019August 12, 2019 Keith Memorial United Methodist Church

Ever wish you had more time in the day? Maybe you want that extra time to catch up on missed sleep. Exercise. Work. Laundry. Cleaning. Whatever the reason may be, I think we can all agree that there are plenty of times where we have said “there is just not enough time in the day.” I say and think this ALL the time! As I look toward the future and think about having a family I can’t even think about how parents must feel. There is barely enough time in the day to finish the things I need to do.

With all the things children are involved in today it amazes me that parents keep up with it all! Whether it be a sport, music lessons, rehearsals for plays/musicals, birthday parties, or if you have multiple things to be at or multiple kids to take to different places. Where is the time for YOU to connect with your child?

By now I’m sure you know we have adopted a new curriculum here at Keith Church! This is an exciting time for our children, parents, and volunteers. The Orange Curriculum has many things to offer and our favorite is that it provides an easy way to help our parents connect with their child’s faith. Orange understands that families are busier today then ever before! Orange is all about connecting parents at home (red) with leaders at church (yellow) with the same strategy and same end goal! What happens when you mix red and yellow together?

ORANGE HAPPENS!!

My hope for Orange and our parents here at Keith is that the Orange Curriculum help set the foundation of faith with his/her child and help connect parents with their child’s faith. There are a couple of things that will be available each week to help you connect with your child throughout the week.

“God times” is a great way to have a small bible study at home with your child. There are different Bible verses and a short devotion for each day of the week. “God times” engage each child on their level whether they are elementary or preteen age.

“Parent Cue” is another way to interact with your child throughout the week. There will be a different one each week with questions, conversation starters and a memory verse. Another way to connect with your child is by downloading Parent Cue App. You can find it free on the iTunes and Android store. Once you have the app it prompts you to put in your child’s information (it allows you to put in more than one child!). With this app there are weekly videos, more ways to reinforce the Bible verse of the week, questions and activities to engage in throughout the week. It also has a reminder of how many weeks you have before they graduate high school – a good reminder to enjoy and use the time you have now with your child.

In partnering with parents at home, we believe we can be more successful in building strong relationships and each child’s faith.

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Valley of Death to Cup Runneth Over

August 7, 2019August 30, 2019 Keith Memorial United Methodist Church

There was a time in my life where I questioned my purpose – not because I did not feel wanted or needed, but because I did not understand His plan for me. I can’t tell you I had a hard life. Or that I have had to overcome difficult circumstances, because growing up, life was easy. I had two parents who loved me unconditionally – still do (although they are grandparents now and say that is the best kind of love!). I went to school. I LOVED school!!! I graduated high school and started college the next semester.

Although I changed my major many times, music was always my constant. I started out as an undecided major but the pressure from peers asking what I was studying almost forced me to pick something. Pre-med was my first decided major, I thought if I can make it through all current seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, I could surely work in the medical field. . . Then found myself in an anatomy class and quickly found out that was not my cup of tea! Next was business. I took an accounting and an economics class and reaffirmed that I was TERRIBLE at math!! I then turned to music, thinking I can study music and I’ll be fine. I’ll have an answer to tell people what I’m majoring in and I’ll finish school!

Then came all the questions about what I would do with that degree – which I seemingly didn’t have the answers to! You see, what I didn’t tell you is that all along my parents told me I would be a teacher (it was in my blood after all!). I remember taking my first education class and coming out of it thinking “Wow! This is what I was meant to do!” I had my lightbulb moment – everything seemed to make sense! So my junior year of college I changed my major to music education. Which resulted in having two senior years (I was a fifth year senior, but better late than never!).

Fast forward a little, I graduated and started working full time at the restaurant I had been employed at through college. I did not get a job right out of college. A year rolled by, a job in our small town opened up so I applied. I was optimistic, excited, a ball of emotions! Two weeks before school started I found out I didn’t get the job.

I was crushed. Devastated. Confused.

I couldn’t understand how I had put all those years (and money!) into studying for something and still couldn’t find a job! I was questioning if I was actually meant to be a teacher. I found myself in the “valley of the shadow of death”. I didn’t understand how God would lead me in a direction and not reward me for listening.

A few weeks went by and I ran into a couple of former teachers of mine at the grocery. We caught up a little on life and they both mentioned that their church was looking for someone to be over their children’s ministry. I listened to them and thought to myself “I haven’t been to church since my sophomore year of college . . . other than the times we sang at a church”. Later that evening I received emails from both of my former teachers with information about the job and who to contact. Still unsure if this was what I was supposed to do I closed the email and decided to think on it for a day.

The next day I woke up and opened my computer to watch Netflix and the email popped up again. I read it again and decided to send my resume and see what would come of it. I don’t have to tell you that I was offered and accepted the job – because here I am working at Keith UMC.

But I do have to tell you that Keith church has changed my life. When I started working with children again, my life made sense. I have since taken a job teaching music at two of our city schools and am still working with the church.

When I tell you I am blessed beyond measure, I truly mean it! When I say my cup runneth over, it indeed does! I have the BEST job in the WORLD!! I get to love on children every day! I get to greet each and every one of them with a smile every morning as they enter the school! Some are sleepy, some are WIDE AWAKE, some are crying, some are laughing, some look like they didn’t get any sleep the night before, some are wearing the same clothes as yesterday, others are in brand new outfits. No matter the circumstance they live in, I get to show them love EVERY SINGLE DAY while they are here at school.

As I’m going through rules and procedures with each class, my focus is on being kind and loving all of our friends here at school. I follow this up by saying that we are all friends with each other. I tell them they are my friends and that I love each of them. I know some people might think I’m just excited because it’s my first year in the classroom but it is so much more than that! I’m no longer in the valley. God brought me out. He knew what the path for me was even when I couldn’t see it. I look and think about how I thought my life was terrible and I had no purpose when really God was at work in my life. I know it’s cliché to say “looking back, I now understand the reason that He let those things happen” but it is so TRUE! Gosh, it gets SO hard to understand things when you are still going through them, but keep walking! Keep your head up! You’ll soon find yourself out of that valley.

Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

God’s there. Whether you feel His presence or not, he’s there with you. He’s got you!

Month: August 2019

Only An Act of True Love

Striving for Perfection…ism

ORANGE HAPPENS!

Valley of Death to Cup Runneth Over