MEMORIES

Memories – Songs describe memories as precious and state that as we travel on life’s pathway we have no idea what the years will hold.  Thomas Hood wrote I Remember, I Remember. This poem tells about the house where he was born and red and white roses and where he used to swing. 

Memories – oh, yes, memories are precious.  But not always!!  I often hear people talk about the “good ole days” or “I wish I could have lived back then.”  Not me!  When I was a kid and visited my grandma or aunts and uncles, I had to use an outhouse.  Outhouses smell, they are very dark, and spiders live there.  I was always glad to get back home to indoor plumbing!  I think when people call them the “good ole days” they are remembering only the good things.  They picture people sitting in a swing and visiting with neighbors and forget that women died in childbirth.  They picture children running barefoot and tree swings and forget that children left school to work in factories or mines.  I hear people say we should go back to “family farms.”  I think they picture a farm with a few pigs, chickens, and a cow or two, but forget that farmers today feed all those people who wouldn’t know how to gather eggs, can green beans, or slaughter a hog.  I think we have selective memories.

Here are a few of mine ---

I remember feeling special on my birthday.  I got to pick the meal and what kind of cake I would like.  Dad, a truck driver, tried to be home on our birthdays, but it did not always happen.  One time, I opened presents at midnight when he got home.  I love birthdays!

I remember watching storms.  I still watch storms.

I remember my sister stopping her tricycle and my bike not stopping.  Do you know how many neighbors panic when they see a kid fly over a tricycle and land on a very hard sidewalk?  I do not remember the landing.  I think fright took over and blocked out everything between mid-air and being surrounded by those concerned neighbors.  Funny thing is I got in trouble and that younger sister of mine, who suddenly stopped her tricycle, did not.  This is the same sister that always had to go to the bathroom when it was time to do the dishes. 

I remember the first time I saw mountains and the ocean and flew in a plane. 

I remember my grandma reading her Bible. 

My best memory ever?  My best memory is yet to come.

Memories are precious and we never know when our heart will store a new one.  Some memories are hard and we try to forget them.  Do not do that.  Our past – our memories – all work together to make us unique.  They write our story.  They teach us how to handle new conflicts and trials.  They guide us toward new memories and new memories keep us from being stuck in the past.

 

VISITORS

At coffee, the question was asked:  How do churches recognize visitors?  Do they give out gift bags?  Do nothing? 

The first reply was, “Speak to them and welcome them to church.”  Well, duh, that was the obvious answer.  We soon realized this question was more complicated than it seemed.  Why?  Glad you asked.

Have you ever visited a church where they asked, “Do we have any visitors this morning?  Hold your hand up so we can see you.”  This simple routine can cause some to be very uncomfortable.

• Some people are shy.  Having never been to this church before, they wanted to sneak in, listen, and go on their way.  Being told to hold up their hand can be traumatic. 

Of course the greeters will recognize visitors.  Maybe not. 

• Some people are members, but have not been to church for so long no one recognizes them.  This can cause embarrassment all around.

Asking for that hand to go up or greeters pointing out visitors is often followed by the ushers bringing around gift bags with information and a sports bottle, proudly featuring the church logo.

The gift bag can also be an issue.  I am sure it took a committee at least one meeting or maybe three or four, to finalize what is in the bag.

• General church information
• Presenting our staff
• A welcome gift
• A map of the church (Note:  This is one I would not have thought of, but makes sense.  A map and a contact to receive a tour of the church would be of great benefit to those that would like to come again.

Some suggestion from around the coffee table:

• Make it personal – At least get their first name and use their name at least once.  If your church has multiple services, a way to phrase your first remark might be, “Hello, I do not remember seeing you at this service.  My name is ___.”  If your church only has one service, you can say, “Hi.  I don’t think we have been introduced.  My name is _____.”  These simple statements will work for visitors or members who rarely attend.

• Do not have the speaker/lay leader/elder ask for a show of hands.  Instead, welcome visitors and point out where they can find information or suggest they speak to an usher for answers to specific questions.  A biggie is to have that information available!!  Make sure there are always information packets or gifts bags where they should be.  You do not want to say, “Oh.  I guess we are out.  I will tell the committee.  Come back next week and I am sure they will be ready.”

• Do not be pushy.  There is a difference between welcoming and being pushy.  Welcoming is friendly and simple.  Pushy is signing them up for a committee, Sunday School, and membership class on their first visit.  Welcoming might see them in the pews the next Sunday.  Pushy will cause them to never darken the doors again. 

• Remember, you might have your favorite pew or chair.  That sweet spot where you can see the minister and stretch out your legs, but a visitor does not know that.  News flash:  It will not kill you to sit in another location.  It is not just a story on Facebook.  In the real world, there have been people visiting and were quickly told, “That is my seat.  Please move.”  I can guarantee you where I would have moved.  Yup.  Right out the door.

• One not discussed, but one that is important to remember:  Visitors are not familiar with the service.  Every church has its own quirks and churches must realize they are not a fit for everyone.  The church where I attend likes to laugh.  In another church, those straight-laced, sour faced people will glare at you for daring to laugh in church.  For them, church is serious.  Help visitors feel comfortable by asking if they have any questions about the service.

• All of these are extremely important to remember for people who might be coming to the church as new believers.  They will feel lost from the moment they walk in the door.  And think how hard that was!  Picture them standing there, not knowing what was going to take place.  Maybe not knowing a single person.  Are they nervous?  As new believers they do not know what to expect or even how to find scriptures.  Think how anxious they are until one person walks over and says, “Hi.  Welcome to our church.  Is there anything I can help you with?”

- - - - - - - - - - -

The question was asked:  How do churches recognize visitors?  We soon realized this question was more complicated than it seemed.  Or is it? 

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:34-41

The way we recognize them, with a gift bag or information pamphlet, might be complicated but the action is easy ---

WE INVITE THEM IN!

 WHO IS AT THE DOOR?

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God.  For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”   John 3:1-2

Pastor Larry commented that he though Nicodemus was trying to “butter up” Jesus to get on his good side.  He then wondered what Nicodemus, who comes at night, would say if Jesus knocked on his door.

“Mary, were you surprised at the answers your Sunday School class gave when you asked them what they would do if Jesus knocked on their door?”

Yes.  They all said they would open the door.  They must all know where their Bible is.

“If I had a dollar for every time someone used the example of trying to find their Bible before they opened the door, I would be rich.

What would you do?”

Well …

“It is not a hard question Mary.  What would you do if Jesus knocked on your door?”

Well …

“Mary, Jesus has seen dust.”

Oh great.  Now everyone will be asking me if I have dusted lately!

“Would you open the door?”

How would I know it was him and not someone trying to scam me?

“Didn’t the class answer that?”

They said my Spirit would know it was Jesus, but, when he was a kid, Duane said Jesus came to their door and looked like a hungry stranger.  Will I know?

“Trust me.  You will know.  But didn’t the Pastor wonder what Nicodemus would say to Jesus?  What would you say?”

I would say, “I am sorry.”

----------------------------------

Note:  You need to know that, when Pastor Larry wondered what Nicodemus would say, I wrote I AM SORRY on my bulletin.  Those words came to me in a rush and are not words I picked to make a point in this blog.  To be honest, after saying that I would most likely start jabbering.

“Mary, you jabber a lot.”

What?  Hey, watch it.  I can shut my computer down.  I can turn you off.

“Go ahead.  I will still be here.  I am always here, so jabber away.”

If you insist.  Thank you for the rain.  And could you please help all the people on the prayer list?  By the way, the sweet corn was delicious this year.  I am going off for a girl’s weekend, so if you could turn down the heat a bit, I would greatly appreciate it.  Oh, and watch over all the kids starting back to school.  And …..

 THE HEAT

It looks so pretty out.  The gladioli are opening – pretty pink and a few white ones, and the grass is green.  There is a rabbit running from a cat and a squirrel going up the tree.  I am sure the birds are singing.  I do not hear the birds –

I do not hear the birds, because I am inside.  In the air conditioning, which is turned a degree lower than my hubby likes.  He swears my comfort zone is anything below 60.  Over that and I am too hot.  Rest assured I am not contributing to climate change.  The ac is not set at 60. 

As a kid, we never knew it was an extreme day.  We never heard of a heat index.  It was hot and life went on.  Until 1998, I could tolerate the 80 and 90 degree days.  I had surgery that year.  A simple gallbladder surgery.  Routine.  Nothing to worry about.  Except I died.  I tell people God wasn’t done with me and the devil didn’t know what to do with me, so here I am.  No, I did not see a light.  Don’t think I got that close.  That routine surgery changed my outlook on life.  It also messed with my body’s thermostat.  It lowered my comfort zone.  Since then I only like the heat if there is water involved – a pool, the beach, or on a ship. 

A changed life meant adjustments from how I had gone about my days.  If I want to work in the flower bed, I have to do it very early before the thermometer starts going up.  Thankfully the heat does not bother Bill and he mows and does 99% of the outside work.  (He also does inside work.  I am very spoiled!)  If I want to go on a girl’s day out, I try to make it spring or fall.  Summer would find me sitting on a bench while they walked around that quaint little town.  And I have done that.  Yup, one little not-so-routine-event and my life changed.

I remember another little not-so-routine-event that also changed my life. 

Yes, I knew the stories.  I had been sent to Sunday School and church for years.  Yes, I knew the Books of the Bible.  We memorized those and a few versus that everyone thinks you must know.  I knew about Jesus.  My grandma told me all about him.  She had such a great faith.  The key part of that sentence is ‘she had.’  What I knew and what I felt was what others told me I should feel.  But it was always their faith.  Their beliefs.  Until one day when it sank in and it became my faith.  Not because someone said it should be.  Not because it was my grandma’s faith.  Just because it became mine – and I changed.

Did I become instantly perfect?  Oh my goodness NO!  When the heat began to bother me, I had to learn what I could do and what would make me absolutely miserable.  It was a learning process.  Still is a learning process.  When I became a Christian – for real not because I should – it became a learning process.  Still is a learning process.

When faith becomes real.  When Jesus becomes personal.  When the Holy Spirit gives wisdom.  When God is everywhere.  Change happens!  Some changes happen quickly.  Some changes happen slowly.  But, beware – you are being warned – when you finally shout, “It is all true!  God is real!  Jesus died for ME!  The Holy Spirit lives in ME!” – you will change.  Your life will change.

Are you ready to change?  God is waiting to give you so much.  Take Him up on his gifts today!!