“Beginning With the End in Mind”
Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Last night, Sara and I sat in on a webinar hosted by one of the colleges to which our oldest has applied. The webinar was about a program the school offers to first-year students (I guess they don’t use the word freshmen anymore, weird) called Future Forward. This is a year-long job readiness program that teaches skills such as resume building, networking, developing a presence and professional profile on LinkedIn, preparing for interviews, and competency in advocating for yourself.
Sara and I were both impressed with the program and how they took these concepts that can sometimes feel overwhelming and broke them down into easy steps. Not only that, but the statistics show that a significant majority of the students who have completed this program have had a smoother path of finding a career-oriented position upon graduation. (And the fact that it comes with a generous grant upon completion doesn’t hurt either.)
I was sharing this information with him once he got home from work. I boiled the program down to “beginning with the end in mind.” It picks the destination – in this case, being employed (or at least employable) by the time of graduation – and helps the students set smaller goals along the way to achieve this big goal.
That can be the problem with goals – they can sometimes be overwhelming when taken as a whole. If our goal is losing weight (for instance), the idea of trying to lose 75 pounds is massive and feels unattainable. But what if we set our goal to lose 5 pounds, and then another 5, and then another 5, and then (well, you get the idea)? That’s not so unattainable.
Our church board is discussing goals for the upcoming year. While no goals are finalized yet, sometimes just the idea of goals makes me feel overwhelmed. Then I start breaking them down into smaller steps and create goals along the way. This approach helps me when I get anxious about taking on mighty tasks.
Jesus promised to those who feel overwhelmed by life that his load and his burden are lighter, for he is helping to bear the load with us. When you feel overwhelmed, to whom are you looking for help to lighten your load?
Blessings, Chris
Mission
To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Vision
Nelson Memorial UMC seeks to be a place where all God’s broken, hurting, and imperfect children discover wholeness and community while experiencing the warm and welcoming love of Jesus Christ. We seek to connect with one another to grow in our knowledge and love of God, to encourage each person to live out their unique calling to serve God, and to make a difference in the Boonville community and throughout the world.
Priorities
Developing and Nurturing Faith in Children and Youth
Fostering Growth and Community in Worship and Small Groups
Provide Opportunities to Serve God in Boonville and Beyond
Worship This Week
This Sunday, Rob Gordon will deliver the message. This week’s message is titled “Promised – God’s Vision For More.” Our Scripture focus will be from the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 14, verses 25-35.
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, even their own life – such a person cannot be my disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build but wasn’t able to finish.’”
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.
“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil not for the manure pile; it is thrown out.”
Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Our services will begin with the song Lead On Good Shepherd, by Patrick Mayberry. Our Opening song in the 8:00 service will be My Hope Is Built. At the 10:20 service we will sing I Will Follow. Both services will include the songs Be Thou My Vision, and Jesus Calls Us.
Virtual Worship Information
In addition to in-person worship, our service will be live-streamed. The service can be viewed on our Facebook Page. The service will start at approximately 10:20 am following our Gathering Song. Additionally, we post a recording of our messages to our website by early Sunday afternoon.
Announcements
The Bike Ride is This Sunday! – Get ready for our annual Fall Bike Ride, this Sunday! We will meet at the Boonville Trailhead at 1:00 pm and ride about 2 miles, have some snacks, and head back. This is always a favorite event. We hope you will join us.
Get Your Rakes Ready – The Outreach Team will be hosting our annual Mission Extravaganza on Saturday, November 9! Teams will gather at the church for a morning of missions, including leaf raking and delivering of goodies to our community helpers. The extravaganza will conclude with a luncheon as we break bread together and give God thanks for the work he is doing. Make plans to join us on November 9! And please help us to reach those who need some yard work done. If you or anyone you knows will need their yard raked, please contact Pastor Chris or Sara and we will make sure to include you (or them) on our list.
All Saints Celebration November 3 – Coming up next Sunday, October 3, we will remember our saints (members and family members) who have passed over into the Church Triumphant throughout the past year. We will light a candle as each person is remembered in the service: Jack Bell, Mac McGruder, John Chipley, Carol Schenck, and Frances Bradley. If there are others we need to remember, please let us know.
Outreach Soup/Sandwich Luncheon – Due to a scheduling conflict, the Fundraiser scheduled for November 3 to benefit the Missions and Outreach team is being postponed. The new date for this fundraiser is January 12.
Giving Through Venmo – We can be found on Venmo at @NelsonMemorialUMC. If you don’t know what Venmo is and would like to learn more, information about giving through Venmo can be found on our webpage at https://nelsonmemorialumc.org/give/venmo/
Events this week:
Sunday, October 27: Church Bike Ride, 1:00 pm, Boonville Trailhead
Monday, October 28: TOPS, 9:30 am, Lounge
Al-Anon Meeting, 8:00 pm, Fellowship Hall
Tuesday, October 29: Salvation Army Meeting, Noon, Fellowship Hall
Wednesday, October 30: Women’s Bible Study, 10:00 am, Lounge
Al-Anon, Noon, Fellowship Hall
Friday, November 1: Al-Anon, 7:00 pm, Fellowship Hall
Closing Words of Wisdom:
. . . it is presumptuous in me to wish to choose my path, because I cannot tell which path is best for me. I must leave it to the Lord, Who knows me, to lead me by the path which is best for me, so that in all things His will may be done.”― Teresa of Ávila,