I think it is really healthy to take stock of who we are and ask why. Friends, for those of you who profess it--why are you a Christian?

It can be very easy to associate shame with temptation. When we are "tempted" we can come to believe that we are somehow weak, and then feel shame as we believe a false narrative that we tell ourselves about who we are.

But the fact of the matter is this: everyone gets tempted.

The transfiguration happened in the middle of a journey--all of us are on a journey too. Let's not let fear cause us to halt our forward progress.

It's easy to dismiss the weird stuff in Leviticus about shellfish and fabrics, but Leviticus also can very directly offer guidance on how we can be good neighbors to one another. And that makes a lot of it still worth reading.

I think we should be taking more walks in our neighborhood--not only for our mental health, but also for our spiritual awareness to the life God is calling us to live and the work God is calling us to do!

A sacred space doesn't need to be fancy, but it does need to be intentional. What is yours?

Sometimes we need to be the recipient of kindness, and sometimes we need to be the one sharing kindness. In either case, our mental and spiritual health benefits from it.

Jesus anger was holy and good because it was anger on behalf of the vulnerable: children.

There is so much that can be done with God's abundance when we bring it together.

May we never forget that hope is closest to us when times are bleakest. Because hope comes from God. We have been made in the image of a God of hope. We are hardwired for hoping!

No matter how you might pray, my hope is that it is always accompanied by love, and that your intention is always directed to God.

The deepest question for me about what worship is requires us to think about two things: space and presence.

I want to live in a society where we don't get caught up by gender when we decide who does the work that needs to be done.

I want to live in a society where work and "labor" isn't just about making money, but is about something deeper.

Art by Seamire aka Pauline Williamson

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Love yourself. Love one another. Love God's creation. It isn't easy, but Jesus never said this life of faith was, did he?

Art by Seamire aka Pauline Williamson

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In what places do you wish more sincerity could be found? Where are you finding that people lead with integrity?

Art by Seamire aka Pauline Williamson

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When we are together, we can see our value reflected back on us from those who love us as we love them.

Art by Seamire aka Pauline Williamson

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What if wealth in and of itself is a problem? How do those of us who are wealthy (so many of us in the United States), grapple with that reality? Is wealth a God we worship?

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Even harrowing stories of Mob mentality, like the history of the Nazi holocaust, has good news.

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I want to invite you to think about peace this week not when things are rosy and calm, but rather when you are feeling your gut twist with anxiety. Seek out the kind of peace that brings you into the present. Because when Jesus had every reason to have deep anxiety about his crucifixion, he instead was in the present moment celebrating a passover feast with his friends that he had been traveling with for years.

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When I feel hopeless in response to these massive problems over which I have no control, I turn toward what we are doing here at Lakewood UMC for a source of strength and a place to have gratitude.

Art by Seamire aka Pauline Williamson

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