| Encouraging One Another This month of Thanksgiving, we are encouraging one another to be filled with gratitude. Gratitude is a God-focused perspective.
The Trouble with Trouble by Rev. Kim Gladden
It’s hard to do, but it can be done. Jesus tells his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled. I believe Jesus is insinuating that you can walk through trouble without being troubled. It makes me think of a high-wire walker. This kind of activity takes incredible focus, concentration, practice, and skill. It is not easily accomplished by the uninitiated.
But the trouble with trouble is that it’s troubling. There was a time in my life when I was in another country, and I was under threat of arrest because I was a Christian. It felt quite harrowing, right up until the night of my supposed arrest. That night the presence of the Lord overshadowed me and I could hear God saying, “I’m going to get you out.” I had no idea how, but after that I turned over and slept like a baby. And sure enough, miraculously, I was not arrested but allowed to return to the United States. I keep remembering that time as a reference point, a moment of perspective whenever I’m facing trouble. If God could get me out of that situation and assure me with his sustaining presence, I can also be assured and sustained in what I currently face. And what is that perspective? It’s echoed here in Jesus’ words, “Trust in God, trust also in me.”
This devotional entry by Rev. Kim Gladden from This Holy Calling: Daily Wisdom from Women in Ministry © Copyright 2022, used by permission of Wesleyan Publishing House, Fishers, Indiana. Visit WPH to obtain a copy for you or to encourage another woman in ministry!
Building Each Other Up
Are you registered for The Gathering?
An invitation was sent to all women ministerial students and pastors to a breakfast to be held at 7:30 a.m. on January 6 at The Caribe Royale Resort (Roomes Boca V & VI). If you RSVP’d, please plan to be in attendance. The theme for that morning’s meeting is Good Measure, Poured Out: The Gift of Mentorship. Our General Superintendent Dr. Wayne Schmidt, GS Emerita Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, and others will be sharing about receiving and giving the gift of mentoring. (Although the RSVP list is full, there is still “standing room only” availability. We don’t want anyone to miss this blessing. Email phammond@swu.edu to be added to the list.)
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38
Doing Ministry
November is Native American Indian Heritage Month, and we are grateful for the ministry of Revs. Larry and Dale Salway in South Dakota. She is grateful for the movement of God that swept across our community this past summer and fall. Seventeen were baptized in September with more on the waiting list! Two entire families were baptized as a public statement of their transformation through Christ (read more . . .)
1 Thessalonians 5:12 continues, “. . . acknowledge those who work hard among you.” We’d love to feature your story in an upcoming Thriving Together email. Help us to acknowledge the work of women in the church by clicking on the envelope below and sending us an email.
Rejoicing, Praying, Giving Thanks
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 encourages us to “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for your creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up ourselves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen. (Book of Common Prayer, 1979)
We are grateful for you! We want to be a blessing to you and to pray over you as God sends you out. If you have a prayer request, please click the prayer icon below to email us your prayer request. We commit to praying for you as you encourage one another, build each other up, and as you do the ministry God has called you to do. |
