There’s No Place Like Home, By Frances Phillips

   I head back to Athens, Georgia in a little over a week. According to my dear friend, Scott Hagan, a land of heathens and sin awaits me. I happen to disagree, as would 92,746 of my closest friends that will fill Sanford Stadium on Saturdays, this semester. As I begin to pack and get ready to move into my new apartment, I reflect on this summer and all the amazing things that have happened here. I spent this past summer serving the church I love as the Children’s Ministry Intern. I have sewn crooked fair vests, jumped down bouncy slides, bowled a few strikes and danced “The Twist”. I have loved every minute of my busy summer here.
    I could have sewn, jumped, bowled or danced with anyone, but the people who surrounded me this summer have made these activities more enjoyable than I could have imagined. Excited and willing members who love each other and love their children fill Epworth. Epworth people are invested in the lives of each other and desire sincere connections even if it means supervising inflatables or missing part of a movie to divide popcorn and drinks among thirty children and adults. These selfless volunteers continued to amaze me every week. I have made many new friends this summer and have grown in my relationships with old friends. For this, I am thankful.
    This summer I have experienced the real and tangible love of God. Not only did I experience it with Epworth people, but I experienced it through them. Our church rendered over sixty Vacation Bible School volunteers and over thirty Wacky Wednesday volunteers. This is incredible! My confidence in the success of each of our events rested in the security of these devoted and reliable volunteers. Epworth people take care of each other. I have never felt more loved and encouraged than I have this summer. I appreciated all of the positive words and regular phone calls offering service to our ministry and Epworth’s very loved and blessed children.
    Epworth is the place I have called home for over twenty years now. This church family has guided me through childhood and awkward pre-teen years and now leads me into adulthood. I proudly claim a beautiful family that loves and supports each other unconditionally. Thank you for being great, thank you for loving me and each other, but most importantly, thank you for providing the community with a place they can call home. 

Your Joy

   Andy introduced a new song to the early service this week. The first verse and chorus from "Your Joy", released by Josh Fox earlier this year, says  

In Christ I am a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come

In Christ I'm free, from guilt and shame

I am fully known and fully loved, I am Your joy, Your joy

the one that You love, the apple of Your Sovereign eye

   As I stood singing, letting the words of this new song begin to fit together like a puzzle piece in my mind, a sense of remembrance came up within me. It was that feeling that something you are experiencing now is much like something you have experienced before. As the congregation stood repeating the chorus, I realized that this was the message that Sister Chris shared with me nearly two years ago on my first visit for spiritual direction at the Blessed Trinity Shrine Retreat in Fort Mitchell. It is also what she shared with Epworth last Fall when she preached. We are the joy of God. God delights in us. We are God's beloved.
   When the song was over, Andy said what I was thinking: we don't hear this message enough. We don't hear the plain truth that God loves us and delights in us. We are the apple of God's eye. Some people have never heard that, some have forgotten it and many just misunderstand God's relationship with us. Sister Chris shared with me an excerpt of Henri Nouwen's book, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World. In the book, Nouwen describes the void that our misunderstanding has created:

Aren't you, like me, hoping that some person, thing, or event will come along to give you that final feeling of inner well-being you desire? Don't you often hope: 'May this book, idea, course, trip, job, country or relationship fulfill my deepest desire.' But as long as you are waiting for that mysterious moment you will go on running helter-skelter, always anxious and restless, always lustful and angry, never fully satisfied. You know that this is the compulsiveness that keeps us going and busy, but at the same time makes us wonder whether we are getting anywhere in the long run. This is the way to spiritual exhaustion and burn-out. This is the way to spiritual death.

   No one thing can satisfy the longing, no single product or moment can fill the void; except for the One who is True. The older I get the more I wonder if maybe this should be the only message we preach and the only melody we sing. God loves us. In Christ I'm free, from guilt and shame. I am fully known and fully loved.
   Grace and Peace, Scott

Comfort in Uncomfortable Places, by Julie Hagan

   Teenagers are difficult sometimes.  Having worked as a middle school teacher for years, I have had my fair share of dealings with kids who still need structure and discipline, but want that sense of freedom that comes from making their own decisions.  They want to make their own way.  This week, I was able to spend some time with a group of teenagers who fit this description.  They have the knowledge, the charisma and the energy to tackle most anything that comes their way, but they also want the assurance from parents and other adults that someone will be there to catch them if they fall.
   I found myself this past week in unfamiliar territory as I participated in the Youth Mission trip to Cairo, Illinois.  I had been on similar trips in the past, but I was younger then, and seemed to be less aware of my limitations.  Sleeping on the floor and showering at an off-site facility wasn't a big deal back then, but is much less comfortable now.  My body doesn't jump out of bed as easily as it used to, and cold locker room showers don’t seem to make me feel as revived as my shower at home.  There were many aspects of the trip that were a new challenge for me, but watching our teenagers serve God and the community wasn't one of them.  I watched them read and play with children, visit with nursing home patients, pick up garbage, mow grass, have fun with residents of a mental health facility, wash dishes, prepare meals, and learn about the people and history of Cairo.  I watched them introduce some new friends from Kansas and Minnesota to examples of our southern dialect and euphemisms.  They even taught them all about Chick-Fil-A. 
   I watched them worship at the end of each day, expressing the highs and lows of all they had seen and done.  In the actions of serving, they too were served.  We all were.  They were able to see a glimpse of someone else’s life, someone else’s struggles.  For a few days their focus was not on themselves, and it was a blessing to watch them reach out to others.  You would have been proud of our kids.  They didn't complain and they didn't stop working until it was finished.  They represented Epworth and the kingdom of God with grace and kindness.  We found comfort in the uncomfortable places.  May we allow God to use us to bring the same comfort to others.

Just One Hit, The Splendid Splinter, and the Jesus Way

   The Midsummer Classic is nearly upon us. The All-Star Game in Major League Baseball, that has seen the best of the National and American Leagues face off against each other since its inception in 1933, is set for next Tuesday the 16th in New York City and will be hosted by the Mets. The starting fielders are selected by the fans, the pitchers by the managers, and the reserves by other players and fans. It will feature some incredible athletes who play the sport, cherished by boys and girls around the world, at a level unlike others. These guys are good. Yet, the difference that separates the best from the rest is narrow. Really, it comes down to just one hit. Consider this: 

a batter that successfully hits 3 times in 12 at-bats has an average of .250

a batter that successfully hits 4 times in 12 at-bats has an average of .333

Ted Williams, the Boston Red Sox
"Splendid Splinter"

   The difference in the results is enormous, but the difference in hits is so slight. Just one hit more in each 12 at-bats is the difference in being an average player versus one of the greatest. Ted Williams,  probably the best hitter ever, finished his career with a .344 average. You can see that in many respects just one hit separated Williams from the rest.
   The implications are many. Perfection is not required for greatness - even the great ones fail often. The little moments and experiences can add up and alter the trajectory of where we are headed by significant amounts. Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he said, "For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it," in Matthew 7.
   I was listening this week to Chip Heath, a Stanford University professor and author on leadership and human behavior, talk about this very stuff. He applies it to leadership and says if we would focus on preparing for one better at-bat, it could change everything. This is what I am praying about and pondering: how can we prepare for the next six months to put the ball in play better than ever before? How can our leaders ask great questions and pursue better Spirit-led answers? We will not always reach successfully, but neither did some of the best ever.
   Grace and Peace to you (and Go Braves), Scott