Jumbled Thoughts — Week of August 16, 2026

We finish up our series on the General Rules for Wesleyan Christian living today with another simple phrase that seems pretty obvious: Stay in love with God. How do you not follow that one? But as the body of Christ, we know that life comes at us hard. There are meetings, deadlines, school picnics, practices to get to, and all sorts of opportunities to shy away from this particular rule. Yet one of the great things about God is that God continually gives us opportunities to stay in love with Him and to show that love to others. Even when we momentarily separate ourselves from God, God never stops reaching out to us. Our human abilities eventually fail us. Our own strength and willpower eventually convince us that we can get through things on our own. The truth is, though, that without a relationship with God, eventually we fail. All the good we can do is not enough to overcome our human, sinful nature. Yet God still loves us, and it is that mystery that we hold on to. God’s love overcomes any struggle we may face, and it is from that love that we are able to love others. Staying in love with God does not mean praying every minute of our lives or living a perfect life. Staying in love with God means striving to be the best we can be and following the words of Jesus to the best of our abilities. Wesley called this attending to the ordinances of God: prayer, fasting, Holy Communion, caring for those in need, teaching those who need education, feeding those who are hungry, and so much more. All of these are expressions of our greater love for God. These opportunities are there to help us stay in love with God. Scripture tells us in John 15: “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.” May we, the body of Christ, continually remain in love with God.                                                              

  Speaking of staying in love with God, this past Sunday night was amazing! Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to prepare our incredible food. Thank you to Cynthia and our choir for such amazing music, and thank you to everyone who came to be a part of our final round-robin service of the summer. We truly felt the presence of the Spirit during our time together. As we talk about time together, remember that we get to fellowship with one another again this Sunday after worship as we have a potluck to formally welcome our family. Even though we are almost two months into this whirlwind of summer, we haven’t had much time to get to know one another better. This Sunday afternoon will give us a wonderful opportunity to do just that. I am thankful for so many of you who have made this transition period much easier for us through your prayers, presence, gifts, and graces.                                                                 

 Youth Ministry: If you have a youth-aged child in 6th grade or older, mark your calendar—or put it in your phone!—for our first youth event of the year on Sunday, August 30, beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the Great Hall. We will have a taco bar, games, and Bible trivia, and we will be joined by the youth of Fairview UMC. Our goal is to meet twice a month, rotating the hosting responsibilities with Fairview. Spread the word, and please be in prayer that our youth program blossoms into a great tool for discipleship and faith formation.                                              

Kitchen Update: The cabinets are being placed, and we are looking for the old countertops to be removed this week as we continue to move forward with the project. It is exciting to see things beginning to take shape! I hope you all have a blessed rest of your week. My prayers remain with you all. Ryan