marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: July 2015
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2015_07_01_archive.html
Sunday, July 26, 2015. Home-owner challenges and changing times. Of agitating the clothes. Oops. On the day they left, they said, "By the way, the drains backed up in your guest bathroom and shower. We have mopped up the floor, but there seems to be a problem.". Why does a house wait until there are guests in residence to set loose the demons? How would I know if they even have the model I really want? It seems that we used to go shopping at stores when we needed new stuff, but that whole experience felt...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: May 2014
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2014_05_01_archive.html
Tuesday, May 20, 2014. I'm going to Israel! Before my mother-in-law passed away in February, she referred frequently to money she had set aside for my husband and expressed a desire for us to travel to Israel. Israel? As in, the Middle East? This was more than a little surprising. And not exactly a wish I was eager to fulfill. Well, maybe. If we could go with people we know. If someone else would be handling the details of international travel. It adds much anticipation all these months ahead of time whi...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: Why Ministry in the Church Is Difficult
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2014/01/why-ministry-in-church-is-difficult.html
Thursday, January 30, 2014. Why Ministry in the Church Is Difficult. So I turn back to the church. That's where people with an interest in spiritual matters gather. And from the pastor to the bus child, people at church are hungry for someone to see them and love them as they are and demonstrate God's amazing grace to them. What better setting could there be for discussing matters of the heart? In the church, however, I find many obstacles to true ministry. Here are a few of them:. An emphasis on training.
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Ponderings: February 2014
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2014_02_01_archive.html
Wednesday, February 05, 2014. How does such a nice person get labeled a meanie? It happened again recently. A grown man, an internet acquaintance, told me I wasn't being very nice. I couldn't see his face or hear the tone behind his written words, but what popped into my head was a little kid saying, "Teacher! Marsha is being mean to me! Two offenses in one day! It left me wondering: Am I not a nice person? And that question led to another question: Do I want. To be a nice person? I encountered someone n...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: October 2013
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2013_10_01_archive.html
Saturday, October 26, 2013. I have two lines running through my head. For years now, one of my "mantras" has been one originating with two dear internet friends: "God must be God and love must be enough.". A few weeks ago I walked away from a brief encounter and the following line from an old song. So many choices in how to respond. The church would have me woo them back. Call them. Send them cards and letters. Invite them to my home. Run the border of harassment in the name of Jesus. God must be God, an...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: July 2013
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2013_07_01_archive.html
Friday, July 26, 2013. The World of Poverty. I'm sinking more and more deeply into poverty. It's an interesting place. There are those who would fix it. At this point, I'm still trying to figure out which parts of it need fixing. Just to be clear, my husband and I are doing fine financially. In fact, we are blessed in having enough to share with others. But one thing I'm learning is that giving people money is rarely, if ever, the best response to poverty. Ah, the righteous indignation of youth. One of t...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: September 2014
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2014_09_01_archive.html
Monday, September 15, 2014. Lessons from the Life of an Odd Child. I recently took a turn at sharing my life story with my church family. Fifty-six years in fifty-six minutes. Two years merited more time than the others: my junior year of high school - which turned out to be my last before heading off to early admission to college - and fifth grade. I looked around to see who the other two victims of this cruel teacher trick were. That would make all the difference in ascertaining the social cost of ...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: I Love Juvenile Delinquents!
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2014/10/i-love-juvenile-delinquents.html
Wednesday, October 01, 2014. I Love Juvenile Delinquents! Now he's back in school. Except he's not. He and his "step-cousin" (quotes indicate a need for a wedding to make it official) are suspended. I ask how they managed that. I don't comprehend much of their answer, but get the gist of it: It's the school's fault. And they have managed to be disrespectful to the wrong person. I'm all over this. Do they need to do community service? Because I love unpaid young laborers! They come back with the disappoin...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: Lessons from the Life of an Odd Child
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2014/09/lessons-from-life-of-odd-child.html
Monday, September 15, 2014. Lessons from the Life of an Odd Child. I recently took a turn at sharing my life story with my church family. Fifty-six years in fifty-six minutes. Two years merited more time than the others: my junior year of high school - which turned out to be my last before heading off to early admission to college - and fifth grade. I looked around to see who the other two victims of this cruel teacher trick were. That would make all the difference in ascertaining the social cost of ...
marshalyn.blogspot.com
Ponderings: October 2014
http://marshalyn.blogspot.com/2014_10_01_archive.html
Friday, October 17, 2014. A Healthy Church Is a Growing Church(? A healthy church is a growing church. Someone quoted someone saying this in a recent conversation. The question at hand was how to encourage (numerical) growth. My attempt to respond was weak. My response is one that needs to be processed in writing rather than subjected to the jumble of spoken words. A highly influential book in my life is Hannah Whitall Smiths' A Christian's Secret to a Happy Life. So what about church growth? Yes, it's t...
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