This evening, a parking lot attendant let me in the lot for free and told me not to tell anyone, but to pay it forward to someone tomorrow. I did a search on Youtube a little later for “The Kingdom” and I found this video by author Brian McLaren discussing our purpose on this earth – and how we in essence change and edit the Lord’s Prayer to fit our limited thinking about the Kingdom of God. Check it out:
Image: Ajc Blog
I read an article in the ajc a few weeks ago about a high school football team that was banned from running through a banner quoting a Bible verse before football games. The image above is of one of the banners in question. I thought this was very interesting?
The AJC also blogged about it here: http://tinyurl.com/ybj9zzk
Got a thought about it? Leave a comment below.
Three Christian men were standing around talking after church. One of them asked the question, “What would you like people to say about you as they come to pay their last respects?”
The second man said, “I hope they say I was a respected doctor in my field, a good family man, and had lots of friends.”
The third man said, “I hope they say I was a well spoken attorney, helped my fellow man, good citizen, and played a mean round of golf.”
The first man said, “That’s probably what will be said of the two of you.” My hope is that when they look down in my coffin they say, “Look…he’s moving”!
Got a joke? Please share it with us.
Guest Blogger: Melanie Booker
A lady came in to my job last week, and she was super friendly. She was asking if we could wrap something up for her, and I said “Of course.” She responded by saying how nice we were, and she brought in some soap to be wrapped. I casually asked her how the soap was, just making conversation. She responded, “It’s great. Why don’t you have it.” I responded, “I could not take your soap, it’s a gift.” She said, “Well, it’s great. You know what, I want you to have it. The Lord just told me to give it to you”, as she brushed my cheek. After I told her thank you, I later found out that she had left a few scripture cards for my co-workers and I. I have included an image of one of them for you to see. That customer made her mark that day.
Ephesians 4:32 Scripture Card
Guest Blogger: Melanie Booker
My cousin just sent me this email, and it really speaks to how selfish we are as a society. To make it more personal, I’ll say I realized just how selfish I AM in my thoughts after reading this:
A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, ‘Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.’
The Lord led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it impossible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, ‘You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, ‘I don’t understand.’
‘It is simple,’ said the Lord… ‘It requires but one skill. You see, they have learned to feed each other. The greedy think only of themselves.’
SOULfeast 2009 – July 12 – 16 at Lake Junaluska
Guest Blogger: Margaret Freeman
Show Me Your Ways, O Lord. We can all use direction on our faith journey. We need a greater guide to shed light on our path and to offer insight into our next steps. Christ is that guide. His model of love, ministry, prayer, and sacrifice is our best example of spiritual wisdom for the journey.
Join Trevor Hudson, Vance Ross, Marjorie Thompson and our own Jasmine Smothers (conference young adult coordinator) as we explore the way of Christ. Jasmine will be leading a workshop each morning specifically for young adults – “Faith Questions for a Facebook Generation.” There will also be a young adult gathering each night for conversation, reflection and fellowship. Soulfeast has been instrumental in my own faith journey, and I hope you will join me and others as we engage in a variety of ways of spiritual formation.
Soulfeast is truly a spiritual feast for all God’s people who are search of rest, renewal, and an authentic experience rooted in the great traditions of the church and the emerging fresh new Christian voices. For more information, go to www.UpperRoom.org/soulfeast.
Guest Blogger: Margaret Freeman
Live From Annual Conference!!
Guest Blogger: Margaret Freeman
Hello LaGrange District, my name is Margaret Freeman, and I am the Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries for the North Georgia Conference. Our conference Young Adult Committee is hosting on-site visits, highlighting several ministry settings throughout North Georgia that are intentionally connecting with young adults. We have listed some findings from those site visits. So far, we have been to Quest UMC and Dunwoody UMC. Upcoming visits include St.Paul/Grant Park UMC on Sept. 27 and Impact UMC on Nov. 8. We are continuing to build exciting ministries with Young Adults and would love to hear from you about your ideas for ministry! You can contact me at mfreeman@ngumc.org. You can see more information on site visits at the following link: http://brt.ngumc.org/pages/detail/753.
Annual Meeting 2009 Logo
Annual Conference has been very interesting so far. As a first timer, I would refer to it as a learning experience. You really get to see the many workings of the UMC, and the many opportunities as well. We’ve run into some great people from both inside and outside of our district. Hopefully, they will share some words with us on the blog soon. In the meantime, keep track with us session by session at http://twitter.com/lagrangedist, and also streaming live at www.ngumc.org/ac2009. Later.
Gust Blogger: Jasmine Smothers
Hello LaGrange District Young Adults, my name is Jasmine Smothers, and I am the Chairperson of the Young Adult Committee for the North Georgia Conference. If you will be at Annual Conference in Athens next week, on behalf of the Young Adult Task Force I’d like to invite all Young Adults, lay and clergy, to an Annual Conference kick-off gathering on Monday, June 15, at 8 p.m. Whether it’s your first time at Conference or you’re a seasoned Conference attendee, we want to meet you and help you connect to other Young Adults in our Annual Conference. Join us at 2 Story Coffee House, 1680 South Lumpkin St., Athens, GA 30606. For directions and parking information, please visit www.twostorycoffeehouse.com. The first 50 people to arrive (and the Bishop) will receive a free coffee drink!
I also would like to invite you to connect with us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. You also can always keep up with our upcoming events, mission opportunities and news at the following link: http://www.ngumc.org/pages/detail/395. I look forward to working with you. Please feel free to contact me at jasmine.smothers@ngumc.net with any questions.
Jasmine
You can now keep up with the LaGrange District Young Adults on Twitter. At http://twitter.com/lagrangedist, you can keep up with Annual Conference happenings as they occur next week, and news from our district.
