Category: Pastor’s Ponderings

“Because a thankful heart is a happy heart, I’m glad for what I have, that’s an easy way to start!” – Asparagus Jr. VeggieTales: Madame Blueberry Maybe you grew up with the loveable little vegetable as he sang this song that helped him through disappointment (he didn’t get the toy he wanted at the toy store) or to express the gratitude he had about spending the day with his family and new friends in the park. This little song reminds me of some research on thankfulness and heart health . The story in short is that people who are more thankful have healthier hearts. There is also some research on how a “broken heart” can actually cause damage to your heart . Thankfulness is good for your heart, it can…

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To the church of God as found among the Waynesville United Methodist Church, called to be saints together with those in every place who call on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! It was risky... but it was worth it. First off, before I go much deeper into my devotional this week there are four people that deserve a standing ovation. They risked a crazy thought that came across my mind during several recent interactions. Jim Byers, Jeff Gravitt, Nate Lemke, and Emily Sharp shared with me some of the risk that came from Sunday's service. If anyone had reacted negatively to the small group setting, surely they could have received the first volley in that fire.…

That's a good quote don't you think? Prior to retirement, Pastor Mike was the leader of Ginghamsburg UMC, you can find their story in many places online--it's the largest church in our conference, but it started out 35+ years ago smaller than WUMC is now. That's certainly a story for another time, back to the quote.... To close out our series on worship, there is something final to share about it... I pick the songs. Maybe you all knew that already, I have picked every song since January when that was handed over to me shortly after starting here (save for guest speakers, I extend song selection to them). The questions have come to me: "We have plenty of songs in the hymnal, why don't we use those?" and just…