Mission Moment 8.27.25
Kelly Adams
CBF Director of Clergy Support
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
–Matthew 18:20
It seems silly to type it, let alone say it aloud, but what is saving my life right now is my cell phone. I refuse to leave home without it, and not just because I need the maps app frequently to help get me around in an area in which I’ve lived less than a year. I don’t leave home without my cell phone because it is my connection to those whom I hold most dear.
It is the way I hear the voices of my husband and son when I travel, which is often. Hearing their voices is reassuring and grounding when I’m in the chaos of an airport or missing morning snuggles. It is a gift to stay attuned to the daily lives of the two people I love most in the world.
It is also the way I stay connected to my oldest and dearest friends. There’s a WhatsApp thread through which five of us who have known each other at least since high school message daily. The subject varies; some are messages about the joys and challenges of motherhood and work; but more often they’re memes about getting older or growing up in the 80s and 90s. Our connection is life-giving because it is to people with whom I can be my most genuine self. There are other folks with whom I stay connected mostly through my phone: a few former coworkers who are dear friends, the matron of honor from my wedding, and my mom, who can never have enough pictures of her grandson.
My phone is also how I stay connected to co-workers through text threads that serve primarily to help one another and think together. These threads can and often do digress into humor that is often well-timed and much-needed. It is a crucial link to each other when we’re traveling separately and when very few people around us understand the nuances of our work.
So, it’s not the cell phone that is saving me after all; it’s the connection it provides to the rooted relationships I need to truly thrive both personally and professionally. What and who are the connections that are saving you?
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Gracious God, You are generous to place in our lives people who reveal something of your goodness and grace. Whether it’s one person or 20, we are grateful for the rooted relationships that reach out or answer at just the right time, reminding us we are loved and giving us hope when we most need it. For these friends and loved ones, we give you thanks and praise. Amen.
Pray…Give…Go.
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
Mission Moment 8.20.25
Greg and Sue Smith
CBF Field Personnel, Carthage, Ark.
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” –Ruth 1:16
Have you ever found yourself staring at something—or someone—so intently that, without realizing it, you were crying? It could be a beautiful landscape vista that created in you an amazing sense of awe. Or a masterful painting that penetrated your soul more deeply than anything ever had before. Or an act of kindness so genuine and compassionate that it reminded you, despite humanity’s waywardness, that God did pronounce our creation to be “very good.”
I have. I recently found myself brushing away a tear. It happened when I beheld, as if for the first time, the gift of my grandchild. Just the thought of that moment even now brings tremendous life, joy and peace to my soul.
Sue and I have six grandchildren, each a gift of salvation. Together, a gift more wonderful than words can describe. A gift that saves me time and again.
Whether my gift comes…
When one of my grandchildren cries out “Pappa” or “Abuelo” (I go by both!); or
When I kneel next to the younger grandchildren and watch the helicopters and airplanes take off and land at the local airport; or
When I hang a picture on our wall or a drawing created with care on our refrigerator; or
When I toss a ball or shoot hoops and we talk about the day; or
When I watch them play with their friends with such joy and enthusiasm; or
When I hold our youngest in my arms and gaze at a big, toothless smile looking back…
It’s all the same. Each is a precious, wonderful and joyful gift from a loving and saving God.
The biblical Ruth couldn’t contemplate life without her family. That is the essence of her plea to her mother-in-law Naomi not to send her away. While I cannot “cling to” my grandchildren as Ruth clung to Naomi, I share her sentiment of life as unbearable apart from the ones who give meaning and joy to our own.
If I had enough space here, I would also include Sue, my children, my parents, my sister and her family and others as God’s gifts of salvation in my life.
But the faces, smiles, laughter, silliness—even the mischievousness—of my grandchildren signify at this stage of my life a vital, yea critical, way God is saving me.
¡A Dios sea la gloria!
Pray, Practice, Ponder
Who or what brings so much joy to your life that imaging it moves you to tears? Today, ponder how God might be using this gift as a part of God’s salvation, your restoration and your wholeness.
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.
First Explorers After School
Mission Moment 8.13.25
Jessica Hearne
CBF Field Personnel, Danville, Va.
“The sun shines not on us but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us. Thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell of the substance of our bodies, making them glide and sing. The trees wave and the flowers bloom in our bodies as well as our souls, and every bird song, wind song, and tremendous storm song of the rocks in the heart of the mountains is our song, our very own, and sings our love.”
—John Muir
I don’t sit still well and never really have. I have always gravitated toward work that would keep me on my feet and constantly moving. In my work with the church at Grace and Main, I am out and about all the time—managing the Urban Farm, helping people with transportation, picking up and delivering donated items. By the time I finally sit down in the evening, I am often surprised by how sore my feet are. I love to be moving and doing!
When it comes to the parts of my work that are less active, it is sometimes difficult to convince my mind and body to stop moving. Whether it’s returning phone calls, submitting financial statements or sending quick emails, the transition to stillness is jarring, and I find myself making an excuse to get up and move around every so often to try to clear my head. During these times when the need to be still is too overwhelming, I take some time to go outside.
Recently, I learned the term “forest bathing,” which I find very intriguing. The idea comes from Japan, where people started practicing it in the 1980s as a way to fight burnout in a society that was increasingly technology and achievement oriented. The term describes a practice of immersing oneself in a forest, connecting with creation through mindfulness practice while surrounded by greenery. I didn’t know the term until recently, but as soon as I learned about this practice, I immediately believed in the validity of it. After all, I believe that my own desire to go outside comes from the need to connect with my Creator by being among creation.
So, when I am feeling overwhelmed—when my thoughts are jumbled and my body can’t be still—I step outside. Even just five minutes among the flowers and birds in my own front yard will help me feel grounded and clear my head. When life and work are overwhelming and I need to take time to listen for the voice of God, I take a walk on a nature trail or along the river that winds through our city. The smell of honeysuckle, the sight of deer and groundhogs, the sounds of rushing water, all proclaim the glory of God. They are a reminder of the words of the prophet Isaiah: “For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and the trees of the fields shall clap their hands.” (Is. 55:12 NRSV).
Pray, Practice, Ponder
This week, try on the spiritual practice of forest bathing. You can do this in a park near your home, in your yard if you have one or even on a tree-lined city street. Step outside and immerse yourself in the world around you with all of your senses. Take off your shoes, if you are able, and walk through grass. Touch your hands to the trunk of a tree. Smell a leaf or flower. Soak up the energy of the natural world.
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!
First Explorers After School
Summer Picnic
Let’s invite everyone— EVERYONE—to join us at Deep Creek on Sunday, August 17, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. for a wonderful time of friendship and feasting (covered dish). This is a terrific way to introduce people to our congregation. Please note: we are planning on having a baptism for Stephanie Dickerson on this day. Please leave all cell phones in your car during this time.
A parking pass is required for each vehicle. The cost is $5. The pass must be displayed in the vehicle window. Passes may be purchased at kiosks, visitor centers, or online at recreation.gov, then select "buy a pass.”
We will restart our WEEKLY meals on Wednesday, September 3 (which is the Wednesday following Labor Day).
Giving the Jesus Way
United Christian Ministries is in need of cereal.
To donate items, please drop them off at UCM’s building at 191 Skyland Drive. Thank you!