Christian Education For Our Youth
SUNDAY SCHOOL NEWS...
is a weekly newsletter (Shooting Star) that will appear here and will include information for the students, their parents, and the Sunday School Teachers.
CHILDREN'S MUSIC PROGRAM...
is a program begun at the beginning of the school year (2007-2008) and continues
sporadically throughout the year. Look here for details.
"If
we are to see the hand of God in the world around us, it is often
necessary to slow down, watch and wait,"
Kate Moorehead (daughter of Susan & Tim Bingham) "Between
Two Worlds."
You will most likely read these words just before or just after Thanksgiving so let me begin with the wish that this holiday was wonderful for each of you, in whatever way you hoped. We have so many blessings we can hardly count them all, I know that I do.
I'd like to take just a few minutes - or sentences - to speak to you about a word which is probably the one word you are least likely to consider at this time of the year...quiet. I know, I know, "Are you crazy? Don't you know what has to be accomplished in the next few weeks; the word quiet doesn't enter my vocabulary till January 2nd." We are making lists, checking them twice, looking for sales or decorations in the basement or the telephone number to RSVP for that holiday party; and even the most well-intentioned, generous person is on their own holiday "mission." But how many of us stop to think about what God wants for us at this time of year? I have been told that moments of prayer are when we speak to God and moments of meditation are when God speaks to us. Meditation? Many of you just stopped reading, but I am not talking abut chanting, burning incense or sitting in the lotus position. Author Eckhart Tolle says that "two conscious breaths is a meditation" and surely we can all manage that several times a day.
We have all become so incredibly busy, both children and adults, but never more than in this season of Advent. I can only speak for myself, but when I am wrapped up inside my own head, as well-intentioned as I may be, there is NO WAY God's voice has a chance of being heard. It is only in the moments of deliberate quiet that I have a chance of hearing what God wants me to know or to do and while that is always important, it is never more so than this time of the year.
I had a very difficult time initially trying to quiet my mind, which moves even faster than my mouth! I began by taking five minutes twice each day to stop, count my breaths and try to listen to what I might not normally hear or look at what I might not typically see, wherever I was at the time. I find that the more I do this the more things will randomly pop into my mind that I need to take care of or the more 'coincidences' seem to occur in my life. (Note: I do not believe the word coincidence should even exist, that is when God speaks to me.) These moments usually result in feeling more calm than before and often allow me to see what is good about my day. All the running that we do in our lives can cause us to run away from hearing God's message for us; which can only be heard in the quiet moments. I know that the holidays are a crazy time of year for all of us, but the holidays are also called Advent and what better time to start to connect with God's message?
I wish all of my Mediator family a very Merry Christmas filled with moments of wonder and maybe a few moments of quiet!
Happy Holiday
Ellen Switzer, Director of Children and Youth Ministry