Perspectives: Plates

 This is an art piece in the Union Trust Building in Pittsburgh. What impressed me is that it is made of plates.  Individual plates coming together to make an image. Feels church-like to me.

The Magi's Decision

Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse (New Hampshire)

I'm still thinking about Matthew 2. In it, the Magi come to Herod (on the way to Bethlehem) and tell him about the Messiah. Herod is jealous, anxious, and threatened. He tells them, "Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” (Matthew 2:8b)

They leave, and they find Jesus. They present him with gifts and homage, and when it was time, there was a dream, warning them to not return to Herod.  They go home another way.

As I was thinking about that passage, two thoughts occurred to me:

• It takes courage to "go home another way" when the king has ordered you to return.  When are the times in our lives when we need to stand up for what we believe?
• Did the Magi understand what would be the consequences of not returning to Herod?  I'm sure they didn't. "When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the magi." (Matthew 2:16). The death of the infants can be directly linked to the exit of the Magi. Understand that I am not at all saying that the Magi were to blame, but there are often unintended and unseen consequences to what we do.

Dreams

John Brown's Fort in Harper's Ferry, WV

At the end of last month, in worship, we read Matthew 2. In this chapter, Magi come from the east to see the new Messiah. They stop and have a conversation with Herod who directs them to come back to see him after they find the baby. The Magi follow the star to Bethlehem and find Jesus.  After that, Joseph takes Mary and Jesus to Egypt to escape the slaughter that Herod is about to command.  All of the children two years old or younger in or around Bethlehem are killed.  Later, after Herod dies, Joseph has another dream; it is OK for them to return home. There is one more dream - don't go to Judea, go to Nazareth.

Think about all the dreaming that is in this passage:

• The Magi are warned in a dream to not return to Herod.
• Joseph had a dream, warning him to go to Egypt to avoid the slaughter.
• Later, Joseph has a dream that they can return home.
• Once they are in Israel, he has another dream: don't go to Judea.

I was impressed by all of the dreams, and by all of the following of dreams.  I have many dreams - a few weeks ago, I dreamed Tr@mp was living in a box in my mother's garage. It was a dream that felt very evil. Anyway....  I have many dreams, but I don't see them as messages from God. I can't imagine allowing a dream to direct my actions.

But the Magi and Joseph believe the dreams to be messages from God, and they followed them. And they weren't wrong. How did they know? What in their faith allowed them to believe? I'm not asking the questions because I think God is going to send me messages in my dreams, but for a broader reason. How do we know when God is calling us to action?

I think part of it is that we believe God WILL call us to action. Is that a product of grace? Is that a grace-motivated faith? I think it probably is.

Perspectives: Morning

 

Theology

Last year, I read Voices of Advent by Matthew L. Skinner.  In it he writes:

A friend once shared with me the best definition of theology I've ever heard, because it's accurate, short, and sweet: Theology is talk about God.

He explains that we engage in theology when we have conversations about faith and God. When difficulties arise, and we talk to our friends and family, our church members about God, we are theologians. I think that is a spiritual practice, and it helps (hopefully) our faith to mature.

He goes on to say that often in the Bible, theology is about wondering whether God is active in a situation. When Miriam dances after the crossing of the Red Sea, praising God's work, she is a theologian. When the prophets of the Old Testament wonder about invaders and exile, it's theology.

When does theology become a part of your life? Do you have conversations with others about God? Do you wonder about God's presence in the present? In Sunday school, do you have discussions about the work of God in our lives? Are you open to the idea that God is involved in what happens in life?

For me, that doesn't mean that I think God directs each and every action, but it does mean that God is in how we work our way through what happens. Right now, transportation for my Mom to her various (and numerous) doctors' appointment is a challenge. She has connected with Faith in Action in our community, and they are helping. For me, this is the action of God in our lives, motivating their Executive Director and volunteers to give of their time to help people in this mundane but so necessary aspect of life. I thank God for them. And it shapes my conversations and my theology.

New Camera

Last year, I bought a new camera. I was motivated to do so because my old camera just wasn't taking very good pictures. Never mind that I have an iPhone that takes excellent images.

I bought a full-frame, mirrorless Nikon Z5 II camera. One day last fall, I took it out for a walk.

Perspectives: Christmas Tree

 Yes, the tree is still up.  

2026 Reading Goals

Each year, for the past few years, I have set reading goals for the year. Here they are for 2026:

1. Read 50 books.  Last year I read 150 books; my goal was 50. As I read my way through the year, the idea of 100 books approached pretty easily. At the beginning of October, 150 books was within reach. That's a pretty great goal to have reached, but it did cause some "reading pressure." I'm not going to try to do that this year. I'm setting my goal at 50 books, and then not worrying about it. That gives me the freedom to read some longer books, etc.
2. Read 15,000 pages. That's an average of 300 pages per book, which feels reasonable. Last year I averaged 280 pages per book.
3. Read at least 30% new books.  I really like re-reading books, but I do want to read at least some new books.
4. Read 4 Spiritual Development books in the year. Last year I read 6, so this seems reasonable.

Mainly, I want reading to be enjoyable. That's my main goal. With that said, I do better writing blog posts for this blog if I have the "fuel" of reading spiritual development books and taking classes.

I'm keeping updated accounts in both Good Reads and Story Graph.  So far that hasn't proven to be an issue at all. I like what each one provides even though at first blush it might seem duplicative. 

I love data!

PS - The bookcase in the picture is one of two new bookcases at our house. Last year sometime I went through all of my books, weeding out ones I would never read again. We gave six boxes of books to our local library, assembled these bookcases from Ikea, and organized the books.  I'm loving it!

2025 Reading Stats

Here are my reading stats for 2025

I read a total of 150 books in 2025.  I didn't start out intending to read that many, but around the beginning of October, I realized it was possible, and set monthly goals to achieve it..  This compares to 56 books in 2021, 35 in 2022, 52 in 2023 and 67 in 2024.  

The graph above is from my Story Graph account - an account I started in 2024 for its statistical tracking.

Here are how the stats worked out:

Question 1: What was the format of the book?  Hard copy? Kindle? Audiobook?  Audiobook is the winner, at 62%.  I read 19% on Kindle and 17% print.  I also read 2% "hybrid" - a combination of methods.

Question 2: Had I read the book before?  Again this year, to make sure I didn't get in a rut of only re-reading books, I set a goal of at least 30% new books. 62% were new books to me.  

Question 3: What was the genre of the books I read?    The winner this year was romance, at 37% followed by mystery at 21%.  Another one of my goals for 2024 was to read at least 4 "spiritual development" books.  I read 6; that category came in at 4% .

Question 4: When were the books published?  58% of the books I read were published between 2020 and 2025;  17% of the books from 2010-2019. 

Question 5: I gave each book a star rating of 1-5.  I gave each star rating a definition (which is too much stuff to share in this post) - fiction and non-fiction had different rating definitions.  My average rating was 4.0.  My lowest rating was 1, and the highest was 5.  

This is my Goodreads profile if you are interested in seeing what I've read.  This page is my Blog Library.  I list faith books here (or other books I've blogged about) with links to the posts.

Perspectives: Stack of Animals

 I'm not sure why this image tickles me. 

Lamps

My husband is Lighting Certified. He spends his work days designing lighting plans, creating images of how light will change a space. He likes to say that the purpose of lighting is to provide light - to illuminate the space for the work that needs to be done.

I think when we think of lighting, we expect the light to make it possible to see - not just right in front of us, but far from us. Lighting provides us with confidence that we know where we are going.

Psalm 119:105 says, "Your word is lamp to my feet and a light to my path." 

What image does that verse create in your mind? I think of a well-lighted path, with the way for us to go visible for a long distance. I apply my expectation of lighting to it.  During Advent, I read Voices of Advent by Matthew L. Skinner. He says, "I used to work with an Old Testament scholar who once preached a memorable sermon on psalm 119:1-5. He explained that lamps in the ancient world were little wicks hanging out of shallow bowls of oil, with each one producing a tiny, flickering flame.  If God or Scripture lights our path like that...then we shouldn't expect to perceive what's ahead of us in the dead of night by more than a few inches. The psalm says we go one step at a time."

God is with us, and we go one step at a time.

Amy Grants song, Thy Word is a Lamp Unto my Feet offers new wisdom to  me in the "light" (haha) of this passage from Skinner.

When I feel afraid, 

think I've lost my way, 

Still You're there right beside me. 

And nothing will I fear 

as long as You are near; 

Please be near me to the end.

The Sacraments

The following are notes I'm using tonight to lead the CLM class.

A. What is a Sacrament? 

 The word sacrament comes from a Latin word that means pledge or oath. In this case, it is a pledge from God of God’s continued presence in our lives. In the sacraments, God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening and confirming our faith. It emphasizes God’s actions in and through the sacrament.

As United Methodists (along with most protestants) we have two rituals we call sacraments – baptism and communion. Just FYI, the Catholic church practices seven sacraments – baptism, confirmation, eucharist, reconciliation (confession), anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony. We call sacraments those that it is believed Christ instituted explicitly. If you look at the list, you will see that our faith includes all of the others, but not as sacraments.

B. Methodism and the Sacraments

Remember, the Methodist denomination did not begin as a new denomination. It was begun by Wesley as a way to bring Anglican parishioners to a deeper faith. In the book Sacraments and Discipleship by Mark W. Stamm, the author writes that Wesley was working against two barriers to deeper discipleship:

1. Structural – the Anglican church was set up in Parishes – the Parish system was designed for a rural church and didn’t fit the needs of the working poor who lived in the emerging industrial centers. Wesley and Methodist preachers met the people where they were and when they could be there – even in fields.
2. Theological – There was a Calvinistic belief of unconditional election – God has already chosen who will be saved (and who will be condemned) and that the person cannot change this pre-election. Wesley believed that everyone should hear the Gospel in order to repent and believe.

Wesley gathered new and existing believers into disciplined, supportive communities called societies and classes The only requirement for admission into these groups was to desire to seek the work of God. Wesley believed that discipleship and faith were not private matters and that a community was required.

In the classes, “they helped one another embody the terms of their baptismal covenant. They also committed themselves to receive Communion as often as they could.” Understand that the sacraments were not usually part of the classes – these were led by lay people – but were a way to live out the sacraments.

Another quote by Stamm: “According to a Wesleyan understanding of the church, sacramental practice is (and should be) a the living center of communities where people watch over one another in love, communities where people under that the church’s primary task is disciple making, communities where people seek to become the body of Christ in mission.”

It’s important to remember that for Wesley, the sacraments were not ends in themselves, but were a means to an end, and that end is love – love God with all we are, and love our neighbors as ourselves (also from Stamm).

C. Grace and the Sacraments (much of this is from an article on UMC Resources) For John Wesley and for the Anglican church of which he was a part, the sacraments were instituted as a means of grace. We’ve talked about the means of grace before – According to Wesley, these are “outward signs, words, or actions ordained by God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby God might convey to us, preventing (or prevenient), justifying, or sanctifying grace.”

And a quick review of the three “types” of grace…

1. Prevenient grace (or the grace that comes before) is part of baptism – bringing us into the body of Christ – God at work initiating us into a relationship with Godself.
2. Justifying grace – the grace of responding to God into relationship – is also part of baptism. We are cleansed from sin and brought into relationship.
3. And that leads to sanctifying grace – the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to perfection. How does that work? Wesley doesn’t try to explain it – we just trust in God’s promises that it does.

In the article, the author quotes Stamm: “Jesus’ command was to ‘do this’ in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Experiencing God’s grace during this sacrament is a matter of trust. Luke 24: “Christ is made known to us in the breaking of the bread; the risen Christ shows up in the eucharist. You can’t control the risen Christ – just follow him"

The grace in communion moves Christians to act on their faith. We just talked about that when we were exploring the Methodist outlook on the sacraments. Remember that those actions are motivated by grace – it is grace that reaches towards us in communion – it is grace that moves us to reach out towards others. Love divine.

One other thing about grace and sacraments – “grace given in sacraments is not irresistible; God’s work there can be frustrated and even blocked by human rebellion, stubbornness, and apathy.” We have free will, and we can ignore grace.

Perspectives: Church and Herald

 

Where the Road Goes

In the book Voices of Advent, Matthew Skinner writes about what it would have been like for Joseph, with so many unasked and unanswered questions. And yet Joseph followed God anyway.

Skinner writes:

[Obedience to God] involves says, "I don't know what this road is going to be like or if my journey will be easy or agonizing, but I'm going to walk it." Sometimes we know - or we think we know - the destination where a road will take us, but nonetheless the journey from point A to point B is usually much less clear.

Each year I teach a series of classes for those seeking certification as Certified Lay Ministers. They start, and sometimes even finish, the class series not knowing where God is calling them to go or what God is calling them to do. I think that is OK. We don't have to know; we just have to follow the next right step.

Skinner writes, "You don't have to have it all figured out before you begin. You don't have to know the solutions. Just take the next best step. It's a long road."