Parents of children up to age 10 are invited to a Saturday morning workshop on March 9th from 9am - 12pm led by Rev. Meredith. She will use resources from her 7 years of teaching S.T.E.P. parenting classes to launch a discussion of positive parenting and discipline. Babysitting and breakfast will be provided.
Dear friends,
Did you know this about me?! I am a HUGE fan of STEP parenting techniques. (STEP stands for "Systematic Training for Effective Parenting) I used them with my kids - and sometimes even in the work place with adults who need a little redirection...
I hope you'll join me on the 9th for a fun morning of sharing our challenges, celebrating our children, and discussion parenting techniques. If you have any questions, please contact me revmeredith@cox.net.
Blessings!
Rev. Meredith
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Last week Chaos, this week Inertia...
Tracy Grant, who wrote of chaos last week, also speaks of inertia... We usually think intertia as the reasom things don't get done, but Tracy says inertia gets a bad rap. She says, "inertia is the tendancy of an object to stay at rest or an object in motion to stay in motion unless an outside force changes that."
"Let's be honest, kids tend to be in motion a lot more than they tend to be at rest. And if they are on a good trajectory - if they are basically nice kids, if they are doing well in school, if they seem largely happy - we, as parents need to acknowledge that Isaac Newton was right. By the principles of intertia, they will continue to be nice kids, do well in school and be happy in life unless some outside force, some really big outside force, changes that."
"Yes, bad things can and do happen to kids, and sometimes we, as parents, need to be that outside force. We need to give a swift kick to help them acelerate or put out a restraining arm to slow them down. But we also need to respect the trajectory. We need to stop waiting for our kids to go off a cliff..."
(Washing Post, 1/31/13)
I believe that God has a lot to do with our children's trajectory. Sometimes we just need to trust that he's keeping them safe under his wing - and pray for God to calm our fears.
My cousin was a high spirited child, and her mother says she prayed to God, "God, I can feed her, clean her, and love her... but you have got to do the rest." And he did - my cousins is a wonderful and happy adult, with two lovely energetic boys of her own! I have borrowed my aunt's prayer regularly and invite you to do the same.
Blessings, my friends-
Meredith
"Let's be honest, kids tend to be in motion a lot more than they tend to be at rest. And if they are on a good trajectory - if they are basically nice kids, if they are doing well in school, if they seem largely happy - we, as parents need to acknowledge that Isaac Newton was right. By the principles of intertia, they will continue to be nice kids, do well in school and be happy in life unless some outside force, some really big outside force, changes that."
"Yes, bad things can and do happen to kids, and sometimes we, as parents, need to be that outside force. We need to give a swift kick to help them acelerate or put out a restraining arm to slow them down. But we also need to respect the trajectory. We need to stop waiting for our kids to go off a cliff..."
(Washing Post, 1/31/13)
I believe that God has a lot to do with our children's trajectory. Sometimes we just need to trust that he's keeping them safe under his wing - and pray for God to calm our fears.
My cousin was a high spirited child, and her mother says she prayed to God, "God, I can feed her, clean her, and love her... but you have got to do the rest." And he did - my cousins is a wonderful and happy adult, with two lovely energetic boys of her own! I have borrowed my aunt's prayer regularly and invite you to do the same.
Blessings, my friends-
Meredith
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Chaos theory...
I saw an article in the Washington Post Local section this morning by Tracy Grant entitled, "And then, of course, there's chaos theory." She shares her amazement that everything we teach our kids eventually sinks in... Here's a piece of her article:
Today, class, we are going to talk about the science of parenting... First, let's tackle osmosis. For those of us who are more than a few years removed from high-school biology, osmosis basically is the movement of fluids from an area of greater concentration to an area of lesser concentration through a barrier. Think of it as roughly an explanation of why basements flood...
But osmosis also explains how the little parenting exercises that we perform in a seemingly endless loop suddenly yield results. See, children are empty vessels. They are, by definition, the area of lesser concentration. What we expose them to, bit by bit, drip by drip, fills them up.
Those nightly prayers said by rote in a bored voice? One evening, they yield a profound conversation about the nature of heaven. Those endless hikes in the woods...? One day your child will remark, "It's great we live in a place with so many trees: it's really pretty here."...
---
As my children age, I have loved the moments when my children make it clear they really were present and listening! I think Tracy's right. Do you have any stories of these kinds of experiences - either in your own childhood, or with your children? Lift these in prayer, and give thanks for all those who made sure what was important sank in.
So, my friends, keep at it. You're doing a great job with your osmosis!
Next week's topic: inertia...
Blessings!
Rev. Meredith
Today, class, we are going to talk about the science of parenting... First, let's tackle osmosis. For those of us who are more than a few years removed from high-school biology, osmosis basically is the movement of fluids from an area of greater concentration to an area of lesser concentration through a barrier. Think of it as roughly an explanation of why basements flood...
But osmosis also explains how the little parenting exercises that we perform in a seemingly endless loop suddenly yield results. See, children are empty vessels. They are, by definition, the area of lesser concentration. What we expose them to, bit by bit, drip by drip, fills them up.
Those nightly prayers said by rote in a bored voice? One evening, they yield a profound conversation about the nature of heaven. Those endless hikes in the woods...? One day your child will remark, "It's great we live in a place with so many trees: it's really pretty here."...
---
As my children age, I have loved the moments when my children make it clear they really were present and listening! I think Tracy's right. Do you have any stories of these kinds of experiences - either in your own childhood, or with your children? Lift these in prayer, and give thanks for all those who made sure what was important sank in.
So, my friends, keep at it. You're doing a great job with your osmosis!
Next week's topic: inertia...
Blessings!
Rev. Meredith
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Online Retreat for Moms
I thought you all might be interested in checking out these retreats: http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=4pmtngbab&v=0019K7_GMZJyC8Ko03NM1qg7CguEo0iQQ2YgCRy5VcAQY6ZdGWBNSooYn9V-dID_In4bfZd-UvSpq8DeCZU4g_rwaXijHRVPbUcKWfvnxAJXZw%3D
Unfortunately there is a cost, but you might see things in the description that intrigue you or that you might want to bring up here in our blog space. I hope you all are well!
Blessings-
Meredith
Unfortunately there is a cost, but you might see things in the description that intrigue you or that you might want to bring up here in our blog space. I hope you all are well!
Blessings-
Meredith
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
You are my beloved son...
I came across this sermon the other day and thought you might enjoy it. Tell us about your name... or how you named your children...
Blessings this new year!
Rev. Meredith
In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
You remember the story: Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love. Their relationship however is doomed from the start because their families are embroiled in a longstanding feud.
By asking “what’s in a name,” Juliet tells Romeo that a name is just a name - and that she loves him - the person whose last name happens to be "Montague" - but she does not have to love the Montague name, or the Montague family. So Romeo, out of his love for Juliet, rejects his family name - and vows, the play says, to be "new baptized" as Juliet's own. In this way, he takes on a different identity and becomes someone new.
So what is in a name? And what does our name say about who we are?
My husband Doug and I named our two oldest children after family members, but by the time our son was born, most of the good family names had been taken. A few months before our son’s birth, my husband was on a business trip toRome
A few years later, when Zach was learning to read and reason in some awfully wonderful ways, he asked me this: “Mommy, what were you thinking when you named me?” So I told him about the glorious day on which he was born…About how we got to the hospital, about how quickly he arrived, about how we loved him as soon as we saw him….
But Zach asked again, making it clear that I had misunderstood his question. “No, Mommy, what were you thinking when you named me?” So I told him about how Doug had chosen his name, and about the building in Rome and the prophet Zachariah…
But this answer wasn’t good enough either. Finally, with frustration in his voice he asked again, “Mommy, what were you thinking when you named me?
Don’t you know that “CH” makes the “cha” sound? Z-A-C-H spells “Zach”, not “Zack”!” (obviously our phonetically astute son thought his dear old parents didn’t know how to spell…)
This memory reminds me of the day Zach was born and how we knew as soon as we saw him that he was our Zach, our son: precious, loved, and named (however we spelled it). Like the play Romeo and Juliet, it makes me think about what our names have to do with our identity, what they say about who we are…
Today we learn more about Jesus’ identity. This is the 1st Sunday after the Epiphany, and the day we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord – the day that Jesus was named by God.
You’ll recall that the word Epiphany means, “A sudden manifestation…of the meaning of something.”
So in these weeks after “Epiphany” we find ourselves learning more about this Jesus – born in Bethlehem, announced by angels, and proclaimed by shepherds – We’re learning the meaning of who this Jesus is: his identity, his relationship with God; and his ministry among us.
Last week - on the Feast of the Epiphany, through the magi we learned that Jesus is the Messiah. Today, after his baptism, we learn even more as we hear God say, “You are my Son, the Beloved.”
Jesus is now not just “Jesus,” or “Messiah” but he has also been named “Jesus, God’s Son.” And so as we learn more about Jesus, our understanding of who he is changes and deepens…
But again, what is in a name?
Well, first and foremost, our names give us our identity. Our first names signify our uniqueness, while our last names signify where we belong. (Zach, for example, belongs to the Heffner family.) Most of all, though, in being named we are told we are valuable and precious. Our names tell the world that we are beloved – that we are worth naming.
When Jesus was baptized, this is exactly what God did – in naming Jesus, he showed him his worth - “You are my Son, the Beloved.” God was not just giving us more epiphany clues to Jesus’ identity. He was saying, “Jesus, is precious. Jesus belongs to me.”
The value of being named and given an identity is echoed in our first reading from Isaiah. Listen again to the words of our Old Testament reading:
“I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you… because you are precious… and I love you.”
That passage comes from a section in Isaiah which was written after the fall of Judah, when many Israelites were being deported by their conquerors to Babylon. This was tearing them apart – not just because they were being forced into exile, but because they were being forced by the circumstances to question their identity.
See - from the time of Abraham, God had given these people a name, a home, and an identity as God’s chosen people… But now all that was destroyed. Imagine how those refugees felt – forced to leave their homes, to move to a foreign land – and to question who they were, wondering if they had been abandoned by God… Imagine how good Isaiah’s words made them feel…
Jesus, too, questions his identity. For the few minutes after the Holy Spirit came upon him in baptism, he knew he was – God’s Son, God’s beloved. But that certainty was fleeting. As the story is told in Matthew’s gospel, after his baptism Jesus is immediately forced to face temptation in the wilderness. There, Satan tempts him three times - encouraging Jesus to be who he is not…forcing him to question what he thought he knew about his identity.
At one time or another we are all tempted in this way. As our lives unfold, and take directions we never imagined, we question who we are… We doubt our self-worth.
We dwell on our inadequacies and failures, and we try to compensate for them through things like our lifestyles, our politics, and our professional status – instead of relying on the identity given to us in baptism…
Yet here is our hope: like the Israelites addressed by Isaiah, and like Jesus, we too have this assurance from God: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I named you. I know you. You are precious to me.
This love is confirmed in baptism, where we are marked as Christ’s own – and through Christ, adopted as God’s children forever. Like Romeo, in baptism we become someone new.
Unfortunately, for Romeo and Juliet, their story ends with death. But in our baptism, instead of death we are given life.
This season we’ll continue to discover Jesus - God’s Son, the Messiah – the one who through his baptism, death and resurrection brings us into God’s loving embrace. For no matter what we are named or how it is spelled – in Jesus, we belong to God.
Amen
Blessings this new year!
Rev. Meredith
In Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks, “What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
You remember the story: Romeo and Juliet meet and fall in love. Their relationship however is doomed from the start because their families are embroiled in a longstanding feud.
By asking “what’s in a name,” Juliet tells Romeo that a name is just a name - and that she loves him - the person whose last name happens to be "Montague" - but she does not have to love the Montague name, or the Montague family. So Romeo, out of his love for Juliet, rejects his family name - and vows, the play says, to be "new baptized" as Juliet's own. In this way, he takes on a different identity and becomes someone new.
So what is in a name? And what does our name say about who we are?
My husband Doug and I named our two oldest children after family members, but by the time our son was born, most of the good family names had been taken. A few months before our son’s birth, my husband was on a business trip to
A few years later, when Zach was learning to read and reason in some awfully wonderful ways, he asked me this: “Mommy, what were you thinking when you named me?” So I told him about the glorious day on which he was born…About how we got to the hospital, about how quickly he arrived, about how we loved him as soon as we saw him….
But Zach asked again, making it clear that I had misunderstood his question. “No, Mommy, what were you thinking when you named me?” So I told him about how Doug had chosen his name, and about the building in Rome and the prophet Zachariah…
But this answer wasn’t good enough either. Finally, with frustration in his voice he asked again, “Mommy, what were you thinking when you named me?
Don’t you know that “CH” makes the “cha” sound? Z-A-C-H spells “Zach”, not “Zack”!” (obviously our phonetically astute son thought his dear old parents didn’t know how to spell…)
This memory reminds me of the day Zach was born and how we knew as soon as we saw him that he was our Zach, our son: precious, loved, and named (however we spelled it). Like the play Romeo and Juliet, it makes me think about what our names have to do with our identity, what they say about who we are…
Today we learn more about Jesus’ identity. This is the 1st Sunday after the Epiphany, and the day we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord – the day that Jesus was named by God.
You’ll recall that the word Epiphany means, “A sudden manifestation…of the meaning of something.”
So in these weeks after “Epiphany” we find ourselves learning more about this Jesus – born in Bethlehem, announced by angels, and proclaimed by shepherds – We’re learning the meaning of who this Jesus is: his identity, his relationship with God; and his ministry among us.
Last week - on the Feast of the Epiphany, through the magi we learned that Jesus is the Messiah. Today, after his baptism, we learn even more as we hear God say, “You are my Son, the Beloved.”
Jesus is now not just “Jesus,” or “Messiah” but he has also been named “Jesus, God’s Son.” And so as we learn more about Jesus, our understanding of who he is changes and deepens…
But again, what is in a name?
Well, first and foremost, our names give us our identity. Our first names signify our uniqueness, while our last names signify where we belong. (Zach, for example, belongs to the Heffner family.) Most of all, though, in being named we are told we are valuable and precious. Our names tell the world that we are beloved – that we are worth naming.
When Jesus was baptized, this is exactly what God did – in naming Jesus, he showed him his worth - “You are my Son, the Beloved.” God was not just giving us more epiphany clues to Jesus’ identity. He was saying, “Jesus, is precious. Jesus belongs to me.”
The value of being named and given an identity is echoed in our first reading from Isaiah. Listen again to the words of our Old Testament reading:
“I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you… because you are precious… and I love you.”
That passage comes from a section in Isaiah which was written after the fall of Judah, when many Israelites were being deported by their conquerors to Babylon. This was tearing them apart – not just because they were being forced into exile, but because they were being forced by the circumstances to question their identity.
See - from the time of Abraham, God had given these people a name, a home, and an identity as God’s chosen people… But now all that was destroyed. Imagine how those refugees felt – forced to leave their homes, to move to a foreign land – and to question who they were, wondering if they had been abandoned by God… Imagine how good Isaiah’s words made them feel…
Jesus, too, questions his identity. For the few minutes after the Holy Spirit came upon him in baptism, he knew he was – God’s Son, God’s beloved. But that certainty was fleeting. As the story is told in Matthew’s gospel, after his baptism Jesus is immediately forced to face temptation in the wilderness. There, Satan tempts him three times - encouraging Jesus to be who he is not…forcing him to question what he thought he knew about his identity.
At one time or another we are all tempted in this way. As our lives unfold, and take directions we never imagined, we question who we are… We doubt our self-worth.
We dwell on our inadequacies and failures, and we try to compensate for them through things like our lifestyles, our politics, and our professional status – instead of relying on the identity given to us in baptism…
Yet here is our hope: like the Israelites addressed by Isaiah, and like Jesus, we too have this assurance from God: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I named you. I know you. You are precious to me.
This love is confirmed in baptism, where we are marked as Christ’s own – and through Christ, adopted as God’s children forever. Like Romeo, in baptism we become someone new.
Unfortunately, for Romeo and Juliet, their story ends with death. But in our baptism, instead of death we are given life.
This season we’ll continue to discover Jesus - God’s Son, the Messiah – the one who through his baptism, death and resurrection brings us into God’s loving embrace. For no matter what we are named or how it is spelled – in Jesus, we belong to God.
Amen
Friday, December 21, 2012
Considering the events of last week in Connecticut I know we have been bound together in prayer, lifting up the children, families and community. Let's continue to pray for them and for our country as we discern the direction God asks us to take for our children. Please hug your kids for me, ok?
I hope you are maintaining your sanity. I love you dearly, my sisters.
Check out the photos of the pageant on Facebook!
Meredith
Friday, December 14, 2012
Why You're Never Failing as a Mother, Amy Morrrison
Spotted this article on FB this morning (when yes, I was creeping on my kids' FB pages...aka "spying" or as they say, "stalking.") (The morality of this habit is worth discussing in the future, but I feel no guilt!). Anyway I couldn't resist sharing this piece... Forgive the colorful language in the cartoon.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-morrison/motherhood_b_2271349.html
Also, after the holidays let's meet for 5 minutes during coffee hour. I'm still hearing that some moms cannot login and I want to figure out what's going on.
Hug your kids for me!!
Rev. Mer
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-morrison/motherhood_b_2271349.html
Also, after the holidays let's meet for 5 minutes during coffee hour. I'm still hearing that some moms cannot login and I want to figure out what's going on.
Hug your kids for me!!
Rev. Mer
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)