GROWING SEEDS: "It's The Infection That Keeps Our Souls Well"

"IT'S THE INFECTION THAT KEEPS OUR SOULS WELL"

I am infected.  

I got the infection right here in Mt. Vernon.

I caught it the minute I first walked into the Mt. Vernon First United Methodist Church several years ago.

It was obvious.....I've experienced bouts of this syndrome during my life but, now, I have a full blown case.  I pray I am infected, contagious and will never recover.

I have the syndrome of GRATEFULNESS.

I learned several years ago that Gratefulness is my best ally.  During the past 7 weeks, I have not only "felt" the overwhelming effects of the Syndrome of Gratefulness, but I have "seen" others with this same condition.  I saw it in the heart of Susan Sample as she gave up each of her days to love on each child, each volunteer, each bus driver during Lunches of Love.  I saw it in people like Stephen Marshall as he took hundreds of video clips of the "grateful" children and put it all together in a magical video.  I saw this infection in Maaike Plantinga and Terri Ruyle as they joyfully prepared over 3000 meals in the course of 7 weeks....and I saw it in the faces of the 150 Mt. Vernon Independent School District teachers and staff as they were hosted, thanked and PRAYED over at a luncheon in our own Family Life Center before their school year begins next week.  

I see this infection everywhere I look here in Mt. Vernon.  The Gratitude Syndrome makes you desire what you already have rather than needing to have what you think you desire.  Gratitude makes life's horizon bright and big rather than dark and distant.  It turns what you have into more than enough.*

I am infected......and I hope I am never cured.

Let's ALL be carriers of the Gratitude Syndrome.....it is the infection that keeps our souls well.

*Quote from Jennifer Rothschild

GROWING SEEDS: "Johnny Newsome"

"Jesus asked....."What do you think?  Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?"

"The one who treated him kindly," the religion scholar responded.

Jesus said, "Go and do the same."

Luke 10:36, 37 (Msg)

The dictionary describes a "Samaritan" as "a charitable or helpful person" .  My definition is "Johnny Newsome".....our very own Samaritan.

Johnny has worked at The Samaritan Shop in downtown Mt. Vernon for 21 years......charitably.  See, he makes sure the less fortunate folk in Mt. Vernon have a coat to wear in the winter, shoes to protect their feet and a smile to greet them as they humbly enter his Samaritan Shop on the square.  There is no cash register in this store; there is a simple coffee can with a slit in the top for any small amount they can give.  There are no price tags on the clothes.....there is no limit to how many they can take.  There is just the simple assurance of witnessing.....being a Samaritan to those who are unable to help themselves.

But there's more to Johnny than his Samaritan title.  He's been a clown, an elf, a railroad engineer, a parrot, even cupid and a red hat lady.  He explained to me that he was bullied as a child....mocked because he was different.  He chose to take the higher road.....you know, the Samaritan Road.....so he learned to be a clown and give them something to really laugh at.  He taught everyone how to laugh.  He clowned around on the Jerry Lewis Telethon in Tyler and he was known as "Dr. Feel Good" at the children's hospitals where he visited in his many personality costumes and taught the kids with cancer what it felt like to laugh again.

He taught me that the sweet Johnny Newsome I see at church for a total of 5 minutes each week was much more than a cool dude with a great hug.  He was funny, had an amazing memory for dates and that most every church in Mt. Vernon faces either East or West.   He reminded me that in the face of adversity, a smile goes a long way.  That mercy to a neighbor out of work can be a reflection of Christ.

And this Man-of-the-Year-2003 taught me........how to be a Samaritan.

GROWING SEEDS: 'Written On My Hand"

"Dear Friend (Liz),
D what I tell you; treasure my careful instructions. 
Do what I say and you'll live well. 
My teaching is as precious as your eyesight - guard it! 
Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart. 
Proverbs 7:1-3 (Msg)

Back a few years ago, Chuck and I would travel every summer in our RV to parts of this beautiful country in search of cooler weather.  We climbed mountains in Colorado, drove over the Golden Gate Bridge in California and drove through sand storms in Nevada.  We would be gone sometimes 3-4 months at a time, many days selecting our destinations by simply closing our eyes and dropping our finger on a map.  It was a wonderful way to live....

BUT......the one thing that constantly gnawed at me during those months of traveling, was my Mom.  See, she had Parkinson's....... and a bit of Dementia.  It unnerved her that she didn't know where we were.....what we were doing.....if we were okay.  It wasn't enough to call her every day and tell her where we were....she didn't remember where Colorado, California or Nevada were.  She needed to "see" that we were okay.

So I started sending her messages by writing them on my hand.....taking a picture......and emailing them to Dad to give to her.  This seemed to ease her fears.  They were short little love messages....."I Love Mom"......"I Miss Mom"......."I Wish Mom Were Here"......but they were just enough to make her smile and forget her worries.....for that day. 

I had forgotten about these little messages I would send to Mom on my hand until I read today's scripture....."Write it out on the back of your hands; etch it on the chambers of your heart" Proverbs says.  My little love messages to Mom accomplished the same thing that God encourages us to do.  His word comforts us....calms us down.....provides peace in our lives.  Sometimes we forget where God is.....much like Mom forgot where California was.....but when we write it on the back of our hand.....etching His word into our hearts....we carry Him everywhere we go. 

Everywhere.  

GROWING SEEDS: "My Postcard to GOD"

My Postcard to GOD

I just love it when this happens!  

Here I am, sitting on the back pew, minding my own business, holding hands with my husband and listening to the sermon on "Postcards to Home", soaking in the warmth that comes from attending this amazing spirit-filled church, when straight off the bulletin cover the word "HOME" jumped literally from paper into my very soul........

My "Postcard to HOME" should actually read, "My Postcard to GOD".  

Let me explain.  Most mornings, after getting my coffee and plopping myself down in my favorite chair, I log onto a website called "Echo Prayer" (www.echoprayer.com).  It's a password protected online Prayer Journal where you can type your prayers and save them.  I've been saving my daily prayers here for almost three years now.  I take a nice long sip of coffee and start talking to God through my fingers.  I rattle on and on, sometimes for too long, telling Him about everything....how I slept that night, the weather, how Chuck annoyed me the day before, what I have planned the day ahead......I tell Him about my worries, my concerns......and thanking Him for each of these.  It's like my Postcard to God each day.  When I go back and reread the prayer I wrote three years before (which is one of the coolest parts of doing this), it reminds me, much like rereading a postcard from a loved one, of what I was feeling and experiencing at that time.  

But the very best part of reading my PAST Postcards to God is seeing where He answered my prayers I had forgotten I asked for.  How many times have we, whether on our knees or in our heads, have prayed to God for something so important to us, only to forget about it once the crisis or event had passed?  Going back each day and rereading my requests from past years and seeing how God answered those prayers reminds me of those answered prayers I never thanked Him for.  

Kindof like you did when you were 10 and at camp and sent that postcard to Mom about how lonely you were and she overnighted you some homemade cookies.....Did you ever thank her for those cookies that brought you comfort and showed you how much she loved you? 

Me either.

"What if you woke up TODAY

with only the THINGS 

that you THANKED God for

yesterday?"

GROWING SEEDS: "Lots Of Love"

 

 

“Terri”
Lots of Love

Today.....I discovered the most amazing lady in our church.  Her name is Terri Ruyle. 

Terri heads up the Lunches of Love (LOL) that our church, along with other churches and organizations in Mt. Vernon, sponsor each year to feed the disadvantaged kids in Mt. Vernon.  I know I’ve talked about Lunches of Love before, but you need to know a little about Terri, the person who makes Lunches of Love happen, and what makes her so amazing.

As I interviewed Terri for this article, I noticed she never quit smiling.  You could tell there wasn’t anywhere she would rather be than right here in the kitchen....preparing meals for 100-120 kids each day for 7 weeks in the hot summer.  She told me that as she walks into the church kitchen alone each morning between 7:30-8:00, she is overwhelmed by the sheer blessing of it all and finds herself alone, with God, in that amazing kitchen asking “Father, how many babies are we going to feed today?”  See, Terri knows that Lunches of Love is the only meal some of these sweet babies ever get.

Every slice of bread....every tear of the lettuce.....every stir of the spoon in the sauce on the stove is done with gratitude in her heart.  Her life hasn’t always been easy.....but it has always been grace filled and full of thanksgiving.  And it was always God’s plan that Terri be blessed with a love for cooking and with an amazing, Godly husband named Brian that moved her out of the city to Mt. Vernon to live next door to Jane, a neighbor who invited her to help with Lunches of Love five years ago, which then helped her take over the position of running this amazing program called Lunches of Love this year.  Can you see the dots connecting, Terri?  I do.

My time with Terri this week brought many laughs, some tears and a new girlfriend.  I’m blessed, inspired and in awe of this sweet new friend.  When asked what her favorite part of doing “LOL” was, she surprised me with, “Hand sanitizing the kids before they eat”.  She went on to explain, “When they hold out their hand to receive the hand sanitizer, I have the unique opportunity to cup their hands in mine as I make them clean.”

I understand now why Jeremiah 29:11 is her life verse:

“I have it all planned out - 

plans to take care of you, not abandon you, 

plans to give you the future you hope for.”  

Jeremiah 29:11