Remaining Faithful Message from Reverend Mary White
As children, we are conditioned to seek approval from our parents then generalize to peers. When we become adults, we tend to continue the behaviors of looking for affirmations from anywhere we can get it. But if we accept that our Higher Power created us to be good enough to contribute when called upon then we will expand our horizons.
Have you ever dreamed of playing a musical instrument? Several years ago, I joined The Nova New Horizons Band which is a program for older adults who have always wanted to learn to play or continue to play a musical instrument. We had fun while making a lifelong dream come true. The beginner class (there were several class levels) met every Thursday afternoon for about ninety minutes to learn to play the instrument of our choice. Almost every instrument in an orchestra was represented in the group. Each of us were there strictly for our own skill development and personal joy.
With Love, Rev. Mary White
Exciting Announcement
POEM Joy of Every Loving Heart by Charles Wesley
You are the gift unable to be kept secret, leaping out from the happiness of sharing.
You are the blessing of international kindness, the sigh of satisfaction and generous giving.
You are the reward of helping hands, the natural euphoria of each caring heart.
You are the quiet bliss of assured contentment coming forth from hospitable gestures.
You are the look of love and hearts that receive, the quiet pleasure and gracious acceptance.
Today: I find joy in both giving and receiving.
Excerpt from the book by Joyce Rupp Essential Ratings
Reading • The Need for Approval
There is a whimsical story about four people:
Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody.
“There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybodycould do it, but Nobody realized that Everybodywouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybodyblamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have!”
When approval is a factor in my motivation, when I do something in order to impress others rather than to express what I value, then I will be like Everybody who does not do what Anybody could. But when the worth of what I do is intrinsic to the task and independent of my need for affirmation, whether I do it well or badly is of less consequence, and I am more likely to do what needs to be done.
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PRUC Online Worship Service
Please join us this Sunday, May 30th
PRAYER
May the mind of God, ever wiser than our minds, search us deeply and open us to the truths that make for our healing.
May the ears of God ever open to our prayers, listen for us deeply and hear, beneath our words, our honest yearnings.
May the heart of God, ever filled with costly love, cherish us deeply, mending any brokenness and affirming our worth.
May God keep us company and bring us joy in all we pursue.
Amen
Adapted from an original prayer by Dorothy McRae McMahon
