Bascom Methodist Church

Monday Morning Forecast

Good morning! Yep…I’m running behind a bit already this morning. Once again, we find ourselves a slave to time and in a rush, we miss things we were meant to enjoy. I was thinking about these things and thought I would share some of my thoughts.

Several years ago, when I was still teaching, my colleagues and I were pushing our students really hard in preparation for a competition. It required extraordinary hours of work and dedication. Both on the part of the teachers as well as the students.

When the students reached the point of being tired, frustrated, and wishing they were out doing something besides work, we encouraged them to come up with quotes in which they found reason to continue. I came across some of those student remarks and wanted to share them. I don’t know where some of them came from, but I found it interesting that these students were motivated by the wisdom of others.

Here is a partial list:

“Treat what you don’t have as nonexistent. Look at what you have, the things you value the most, and think how much you would crave them if you didn’t have them”
` – Marcus Aurelius

The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are
– Unknown

Sometimes, we spend a lot of time waiting: waiting for the promotion, waiting for the move, waiting for the relationship, waiting for the future version of ourselves who finally has everything figured out. One danger is that while we are busy preparing for life, life is happening.
• Happiness is usually postponed to a future date that never arrives.
• The present moment rarely look remarkable while we are living it.
• Most of what we eventually miss are the ordinary days we rushed through
The invitation is to stop treating today as the waiting room for tomorrow.
-Pico Iyer

I hope and pray that each of you has a great week. Find peace and happiness as you are guided by the Holy Spirit to live each day for the glory of God.

Friday Fixin’s

Last Sunday we were talking about Faith in Action. One of the daily devotional promotions that I receive just happened to state the same thought. I wanted to share that with you this morning. How can we fix the world? One person, one need, one commitment at a time.

This was from John O’Leary -

It is rarely the brightest lights or biggest personalities that change the world most profoundly. Far more often and far more importantly, it’s ordinary people quietly choosing to use whatever gifts they have to lift the lives around them.

That’s why I want you to meet Amy McMaken.
Amy is our latest On Fire For Good honoree, though she would probably prefer I stop talking about her right about now. She’s not looking for recognition. She simply believes that if you’ve been blessed, you ought to become a blessing.
And she lives it.

Amy is no celebrity, doesn’t command huge crowds and there’s no documentary about her life.
Amy got her start as a CPA. She served the world through spreadsheets. That may sound ordinary, but her impact has been extraordinary.

For years, Amy has quietly strengthened nonprofits and ministries from behind the scenes: balancing budgets, navigating grants, serving on boards, organizing systems, solving problems, and helping organizations remain healthy enough to continue serving people in need.

One example is Sisters Haven, a home supporting pregnant women facing poverty and instability. Long before families were helped there, Amy was helping with contractor payments, budgets, paperwork, and planning.

The work isn’t glamorous or flashy, but is absolutely essential. And it reminds me of something we desperately need to hear right now:
You do not need a dramatic story to live a meaningful life or to make a mighty difference. You simply need the willingness to utilize your gifts to lift the lives of others.

So, my friends, what is the gift you can share with a world longing for hope?

Maybe your gift is leadership. Maybe it’s encouragement. Maybe it’s listening. Maybe it’s hospitality, organization, teaching, fixing things, building things, coaching kids, mentoring coworkers, or your fantastic homemade chocolate chip cookies.

The world changes every time ordinary people stop asking, “Am I important enough?” and start asking, “How can I help?”

Amy McMaken reminds us that impact is not about fame, but faithfulness. And when we place our gifts, however ordinary they may seem, in service of others, lives change.
Including our own.

Today is your day, my friends.
Live Inspired.

Have a blessed day today and I look forward to being together again this Sunday.

Wednesday Sunrise

Good morning Bascom followers and friends. It is hard to imagine where the year has gone. Time goes so quickly and yet we keep trying to manage time.

I’m trying to manage my time better which requires me to have some serious conversations with myself. In trying to slow down and be more productive I have taken more time to read encouraging scripture from the Bible. I put 1 Thessalonians 5:11 on the church sign.

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

As time constrains us and the temperature continues to rise, it is easy to become short in our response with each other. Patience is sometimes hard to come by. I am reminding myself to consciously encourage others, building them up, and expressing what is positive.

I hope that your week brings you joy and peace.

Monday Morning Forecast

Good morning, everyone, and may the day greet you with calm assuredness.

As the day broke, and the coffee began to work its magic, I was watching my yard rabbits come out and run around. There is excitement in the way they act this morning. The bigger and older rabbit came out first, then a smaller rabbit joined it. They came together and would take turns jumping into the air, running around, and then coming back together. Then I saw something else move. Coming out of the briars on the other side of the fence was a tiny baby rabbit. It ran out to the other two and they again jumped into the air and ran around the yard then came back together.

I envisioned them being dad, mom, and baby simply based on their size. I don’t know for certain, but what I could tell, there was excitement. They all seemed excited to greet the day. It was as if they were excited to introduce the baby to a new big world.

That is the excitement that I hope that we all look forward to each day. Each day is a new opportunity, a new world, and a new reason to experience life. As we get older, it is sometimes difficult to find the excitement that we once had in our youth, but as I used to tell my students, we are limited only by our own imaginations.

What great examples we find in God’s creation that help direct our thoughts and actions. That through our imagination we can find excitement in new opportunities to serve the will of God.

We talked yesterday of resisting God’s will, refusing to go where He directs our lives, and having feelings of inadequacy. None of us are perfect and we will all make mistakes, but how great each day begins when we are excited about what God has in store for us each day.

I hope and pray that each of us experiences this excitement and that we run and jump at each opportunity.

Matthew 6: 34
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Have a blessed day!

Friday Fixin’s

I want to share a story I read. As believers in Jesus Christ we are told to discern the truth of what we experience and are told by and through the word of God. Don’t be taken in by the smooth words of false teachers…only by the word of God will the truth be recognized.

One day, a snake was brutally injured after a vicious run-in with a wild boar. She barely managed to crawl back to her cave, where she lay stranded for days, too weak to hunt and agonizing from a deep, unbearable hunger. The pain was so intense, she just couldn't take it anymore.

Desperate and with tears in her eyes, she called out to a passing hummingbird.

"Hummingbird, please, hurry... I’m dying, and I don’t want to go to my grave carrying the heavy guilt of my cruel past. Go find the frog. I need to beg for his forgiveness for eating his brother. Find the cricket, too. I have to apologize to him for eating his parents. And please, call the rat, because I ate her babies and I can't leave this world with such a heavy stone on my chest. Please, don't waste any time... I need them here before I take my last breath."

The snake’s tears mixed with the dirt like melting butter, and her desperate pleading moved even the hummingbird. He took off at lightning speed to find the frog, the cricket, and the rat.

Even though all three knew exactly how much cruelty the snake had inflicted on them, seeing her so pathetic and in so much pain triggered their empathy. They couldn't stay away. Distraught, they rushed over to say their final goodbyes before she passed on.

The cricket was the first to arrive. "You have my deepest condolences, Ms. Snake. I feel so terrible for you."

The snake replied weakly, "Come on in, friend. Today, I want to erase that awful image everyone has of me as a cold-blooded villain. But please, cricket, tuck in those sharp, jagged legs of yours before I embrace you to ask for forgiveness. I'm so wounded that they might hurt me even more."

Next came the rat. "You have my condolences, Ms. Snake. I am truly sorry for your pain."

The snake’s voice was barely a whisper. "Come inside, friend. Here I am, completely helpless—your old acquaintance. Now, please hide those sharp teeth of yours, so I can hug you and beg for your forgiveness."

Finally, the frog made it to the cave. "You have my condolences, Ms. Snake. It breaks my heart to see you like this."

"Come in, friend," the snake cried out, sobbing uncontrollably. "And please, wipe that sticky film off your webbed feet before I hold you. One more thing, I beg of you: roll that rock over to close the cave entrance. I don't want the noise of the outside world ruining our final moment of peace and reconciliation."

Deeply moved, the animals rolled the heavy stone and blocked the entrance, staying inside with the snake. All three of them were now locked in.

And they were never seen again. They had fallen right into the snake's ultimate trap.

The Takeaway
In real life, we run into people who are masters at playing the victim. They cry crocodile tears, put on a massive show of sadness and helplessness, all while hiding their dark, toxic intentions. Kind-hearted, empathetic people often fall for the act—and end up paying the ultimate price for being too gullible.

Because at the end of the day, a snake can shed its skin, but it’s still a snake.

Author Unknown.

Have a blessed Friday!

Wednesday Sunrise

As I am greeting the morning, and getting the first cup of coffee going, I was thinking about how God is using our small church for such great ministries. It is obvious that we are living the scriptures as we share God's love with others.

“When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.”
Colossians 4:6 (NCV)

One of the best ways to be a witness for Jesus in a world that’s becoming more judgmental, selfish, and unforgiving is to show mercy to others.
Start looking and listening for people’s needs, and don’t be offended by the sins of others.

Here are two more ways to show mercy:
Choose your words carefully. If you’re going to show mercy, there are some things you just can’t say. You can’t be rude or sarcastic. Mercy puts a monitor on your mouth and helps you choose words that build people up instead of tearing them down.
Colossians 4:6 says, “When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should” (NCV).
Maybe you grew up in a family where it was common to put each other down, and now you’ve developed the same pattern in your own life. How do you break that habit? Ask God for wisdom because “the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy” (James 3:17 ESV).

The wiser you become, the more merciful you’ll be to the people around you—no matter how much they disagree with you or dislike you. That’s because the more you understand the hurts of other people, the more likely you are to cut them slack and show them mercy.

Value saving people over keeping rules. Jesus modeled this over and over. A good example is found in the book of Matthew. Jesus says this to the legalistic Pharisees: “You are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (Matthew 23:23 NLT).

Jesus didn’t like how the Pharisees prioritized tithing over more important things, such as treating people fairly, showing mercy, and having faith. He wants us to “not neglect the more important things” too. He would rather see our kindness break through to others so that, one day, they will give their lives to him. Jesus is more interested in kingdom building than in rule following.

Every time you show mercy, that’s your greatest Christian witness to the world.

Build each other up and refuse to tear down your fellow man.
James 5: 13-20
13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Have a blessed remainder of the week and be an encouragement to someone you know or just came to know.

Monday Morning Forecast

Good Monday morning! What a great start to a new day and a new week. As I was getting that first cup of coffee going down, I just watched the world around me. Thankful and grateful for a brief moment of quiet and peace. Sometimes it is good to just stop and look around and become aware of our surroundings. Most of what is around us, we do not really see.

We pass through our days half-looking, our eyes already drifting toward the next thing before we have taken in the thing in front of us. The tree is not really a tree. It is a category, a label, something we have already decided about. And so, the world dulls, not because it has dimmed, but because we have stopped showing up to it.

Truly seeing means having the willingness to stand still long enough for a creek, a face, a feeling, to become specific again, to shake off the thin coat of familiarity we keep throwing over everything. When we look this way, even briefly, the ordinary catches fire. A tree you have walked past a thousand times turns, for an instant, into a tree with light in it, and you understand that nothing was ever ordinary. You were just hurrying.

We spend so much of our lives reaching for the next thing, certain it is somewhere ahead. What if the life you have been waiting for is the one you are already inside? What would change about this week if you believed that?
This week I am going to try harder to:

Walk somewhere I usually drive and let myself notice what I have been missing.

Ask a real question of someone I love and stay long enough to hear the real answer.

Sit with one feeling I have been busy avoiding, without needing to fix it or name it or make it useful.

Do one thing slowly that I usually do quickly, just to see what slowness has been trying to teach me.

Forgive myself in advance for being a person who is still learning how to be.

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk. Every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. I have walked myself into my best thoughts.

Have a blessed day and let your world slow down so you can enjoy where you are.