Our Stephen Ministries Team did a great job on their healing service yesterday. I have placed in on our website, youtube, and facebook pages. Here is the website link.
But I wanted to share the 5 movements as described by our own: Sue Burkholder. She did a great job researching this and putting it together. Thanks Sue!
I also want to thank those who helped put this together: Susan Jackson, Joan Pierce, Brook Self, and Connie Gagnon. They did a great job sharing in the video and helping us piece this together with Sue Burkholder!
1) Muggling through without a wand.
muggle
muggles (plural noun)
a person who is not conversant with a particular activity or skill.
"this video game won't appeal to muggles"
ORIGIN
1990s: from mug + -le; used in the Harry Potter books by J. K. Rowling to mean ‘a person without magical powers’.
How many times have we wanted a wand to make things different? Standing in a crowded line at the grocery store, needing to pick up the kids in 15 minutes. Stalled on a freeway, thirty minutes from a doctor’s appointment that is scheduled in ten minutes. Soothing a crying baby at 2:00 a.m., wanting more sleep for both of you. Or, wanting the pain of a loved one to be resolved or to be free of the pain of your own loss. We don’t have magic wands, but we do have something stronger than a wooden stick. We have a wooden cross. And we don’t have magic incantations, but we do have the Holy Spirit within us and Jesus to walk alongside us. Sometimes we look to God, in our prayers or our hopes, as a magician to solve all problems. But sometimes, often times, what God gives us isn’t a magic spell, but strength and peace and knowing that the Creator God is right there to guide us.
James 1:16-17 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
2) Half bubble off Do you tilt the level or find your balance
Sometimes do you wake up and the first thing you notice is that things are tilting? Maybe listening to the news gives the impression that the world has tilted and is about to tip over completely. Maybe the order that you have been waiting to be delivered, a lovely table and chair reading group, turns out to be a massive freestanding fireplace that you can’t fit in the door. Or maybe the world has tilted into a pandemic that has left you isolated, afraid, wondering if these are end times. We have been inundated with mixed messages about the virus, and how dangerous it is and how effective the vaccinations are (it is and they are). We have been bombarded with bad news and conspiracy theories and just plain rudeness. Those of us who feel the need to continue to wear a mask feel judged by the same people we judged for not wearing them. And now there is a war, and depending on your age, takes us back to the 1950s. It won’t do any good to tilt the level, because things will still be off. We can only find our own balance by facing all these things with the help of those around us, those we trust, those who are part of our faith community. By seeking out reality, searching for answers that are honest and careful. We know that as bad as things may seem to be tilted, we can still walk upright, still find our way, still have the faith that in the end, all will be in God’s hands.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
3) Embrace the suck Learn, acknowledge and move through
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace, taking, as he did,
This sinful world as it is, not as I would have it, trusting that he will
Make all things right if I surrender to his will—that I may be reasonably
Happy in this life and supremely happy with him forever. James 1:2-3 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4) Finding your worthy
How much of the world tells us we aren’t worthy? That we don’t deserve the raise, the comfort of a family, the ability to sleep through the night without waking up to our worries. Digging deep within us we can find all the reasons why we don’t feel worthy—family, ethnicity, poor judgement or just plain bad luck. But we are worthy. Maybe the “world” may not judge us as worthy, maybe the neighbors don’t like the height of our lawn. Or we have the supervisor from hell, or… But through God’s grace we know we are worthy. Prevenient grace is always present to everyone, making it possible for all to know of God's love. It is in part up to each person to respond to this love. If individuals accept God's love they are given justifying grace; that is, by God's grace their sins are forgiven. Finally, with justifying grace that forgives your sins comes sanctifying grace, which (with God's help) makes it possible to live a life that approaches and can realize sinless perfection. Maybe we still wake up in a sweat, or bite our tongue when the supervisor does something really dumb. But we are worthy.
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
5) Surprised by Joy Embrace it, rejoice in it, live it.
Just noticed the Kleenex box has a message. Or several actually--Imagine. Respect. Learn. Amaze. Smile. Inspire. Explore. Perhaps they put these words on the box to see through tears or blurry eyes from a cold or wiping a child’s nose. What these words all have in common are finding joy. And being surprised by each one. Each of us have our own ideas of what will surprise the joy in us, but…imagine the joy a gift to a loved one will bring. Respect is a two-way street, and giving respect to a person or an idea can bring joy deep within to both of you. Learning something new—even those of us who are “of an age” brings delight. Amazement in a sunrise or a beautiful rose or the laugh of a baby. Smiling doesn’t cost a thing and when returned, there is mutual joy. Inspired by anything, even a Kleenex box. And exploring, your neighborhood or a national park or what lies beyond in space. There is so much out there to bring awe and yes, joy.
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