Jamey's Newsletter: Sunday, March 27, 2022
“A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing a personal opinion,” says the wisdom writer in Proverbs 18:2.
Unfortunately, no more accurate statement could be said in today’s society, where everyone has an opinion and a platform to express it. We are starved for authentic listeners in a world filled with talking points.
One of the best ways we earn respect is with our ears. People are interested in the people who are interested in them, and the way we show we care is by listening.
Can you imagine how the world would change if we all took the advice of scripture: quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry?
Today is a great day to start!
Jamey
Blessed are the Pure in Heart, For They Will See God
Preacher: Ginnie Highsmith, Director of Young Adults at Gainesville First UMC
Click here to stay up to date on Young Adults in Gainesville, Georgia:
Weekly Prayer
Lord, it is hard not to be double-minded. In a world where everything and everyone is trying to get our attention, it is difficult to stay centered on you. We strive to make our own way when instead we should be seeking your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us for our lack of focus on the way of Jesus.
Give us the opportunity to bless our neighbors. Amen.
Meme of the Week (Something that makes sense during March Madness)
Dad Jokes
What do cows eat for breakfast? Moofins! (Thank you, Jane Fitzpatrick!)
Three sons left home, went out on their own, and prospered. Then, getting back together, they discussed the gifts that they were able to give to their elderly and visually-impaired mother.
The first said: “I built a big house for our mother.”
The second said: “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.”
The third said: “I’ve got you both beat. You know how much Mom enjoys the Bible, and you know she can’t see very well. So, I sent her a talking parrot that could recite the entire Bible. It took twenty monks in a monastery twelve years to teach him. I had to pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for twenty years. But it was well worth it. Mom has to name the chapter and verse, and the parrot will recite it.”
Soon after that, Mom sent out her letters of thanks.
She wrote to the first son: “Milton, the house you built is too big. I live in only one room, but I have to clean the whole house.”
She wrote to the second son: “Marvin, I’m too old to travel. I stay home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude.”
She wrote to the third son: “Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your mother likes. The chicken was delicious.”
(Thank you, Bucky Highsmith!)
If you have a joke or a meme, send it to me. I would love to see it. jamey.prickett@ngumc.net
I have been thinking………..
The church is full of ordinary people who sometimes say and do cruel things.
And yet, during other times, this group of ordinary people can act like redemptive saints who love through casserole dishes, late-night prayers beside a hospital bed, constructing a wheelchair ramp, holding the tears of another, and being filled with joy over the homecoming of a wayward child.
Knowing what a mixed bag of nuts we can be, I have started praying Paul’s prayer over my local congregation. I encourage you to do the same.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3: 16 - 21)
Photo of the Week (Photos taken by me)
Click on the links to read
Hillsong Church Founder Brian Houston Resigns
Walk from downtown Gainesville to UNG once this new section of trail is complete
March Madness: Reseeding the 2022 NCAA men's basketball Elite Eight
Books I am currently reading
Easter Stories: Classic Tales for the Holy Season
Small Wonder: Essays by Barbara Kingsolver
Here are some ways you can help locally:
April 18 & April 19: Spring Party @ Path Project. We need volunteers to provide items and serve on the day of the parties. If you can help, email Misty Leach at mleach@gfumc.com.
April 21: we are feeding the faculty and staff of Centennial Elementary. We can use some crock-pot soups. If you can help, email Misty Leach at mleach@gfumc.com
Question Reflection (and yes, I actually think about these things)
Where have you been getting your inspiration from lately?
Happening at Gainesville First United Methodist Church
Are you interested in visiting the Holy Land?
10 DAYS JOURNEY TO THE HOLY LAND
APRIL 18 - 27, 2023
Email me at jamey.prickett@ngumc.net for more info.
Weekly Blessing
A Blessings For One Who Is Exhausted
by John O’Donohue
When the rhythm of the heart becomes hectic,
Time takes on the strain until it breaks;
Then all the unattended stress falls in
On the mind like endless, increasing weight.
The light in the mind becomes dim.
Things you could take in your stride before
Now become laborsome events of will.
Weariness invades your spirit.
Gravity begins falling inside you,
Dragging down every bone.
The tide you never valued has gone out,
And you are marooned on unsure ground.
Something within you has closed down;
And you cannot push yourself back to life.
You have been forced to enter empty time.
The desire that drove you has relinquished.
There is nothing else to do now but rest
And patiently learn to receive the self
You have forsaken in the rush of days.
At first your thinking will darken
And sadness take over like listless weather.
The flow of unwept teach will frighten you.
You have travelled too fast over false ground;
Now your soul has come to take you back.
Take refuge in your senses, open up
To all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become inclined to watch the way of rain
When it falls slow and free.
Imitate the habit of twilight,
Taking time to open the well of color
That fostered the brightness of day.
Draw alongside the silence of stone
Until its calmness can claim you.
Be excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay clear of those vexed in spirit,
Learn to linger around someone of ease
Who feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually, you will return to yourself,
Having learned a new respect for your heart
And the joy that dwells far within slow time.
I have exciting news to share: You can now read Jamey’s Newsletter in the new Substack app for iPhone.
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated Inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts will never get lost in your email filters, or stuck in spam. Longer posts will never cut-off by your email app. Comments and rich media will all work seamlessly. Overall, it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
The Substack app is currently available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.