What does a healthy family look like?

First of all, we have canceled our Wednesday activities for this evening, April 27. We know that some have dealt with power outage and fallen trees already this morning. The weather people tell us that more storms could be on the way.

Now to the question, “What does a healthy Family look like?” That is a question that Dr. Nick Stinnett, chairman of the Department of Human Development and the Family at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, set out to answer. Dr. Stinnett led a major international research project to learn the secrets of strong families. His studies included traditional families, single parent families and blended families. It included families from different racial backgrounds across North America, South America, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and South Africa.

Dr. Stinnett’s findings were discussed at a national forum on the family held in Washington, D.C. The content of those discussions are present in a book edited by Dr. George Rekers entitled, Family Building: Six Qualities of a Strong Family.
In the study led by Dr. Stinnett, 3,000 families were interviewed. Each one, regardless of its back-ground, rated very high on marriage happiness and in their satisfaction with parent-child relationships. A considerable amount of information was collected, but, according to Dr. Stinnett, when thoroughly analyzed it boiled down to six major qualities. Those six qualities are the focus of the book and discussion I just mentioned.
Here are those six qualities that Dr. Stinnett found strong, to which healthy families are committed: (1) Are committed to the family; (2) Spend time together; (3) Have good family communications; (4) Express appreciation to each other; (5) Have a spiritual commitment; and (6) Are able to solve problems in a crisis. (Nick Stinnett, Family Building: Six Qualities of a Strong Family, p. 38) His research also showed that these qualities did not just happen. They are the result of “deliberate intention and practice.”
His finding should not surprise us, for they come right out of the scriptures. We will look at some of these scriptural teachings about family in our May Message Series, “Keys to Healthy Families.” Our focus will be how to apply these teachings to our family, regardless of the make up of our family.
To kick of this Family Month, we will have a Family Movie Night, this Friday, April 29, 7:00 PM., at the Gardendale Amphitheater, which is located at the Civic Center. The movie will be the blockbuster hit, Despicable Me. It is a story of how the love of three children changed a criminal from super bad to a super dad. Admission is Free. Chick-fil-A will be there along with other concessions. So bring your lawn chairs, blankets, invite your friends and join in this night at the movies.

To help us grow healthier families, we are offering several great Wednesday night opportunities beginning May 4th.
For Couples: “Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage” – Video based Marriage Enrichment Experience.
For Household Leaders: “The Family God Uses” – A study on how to be a family that can join God in the work of His Kingdom.
For Single Mothers: “Small Group for Single Mothers”
For Persons Needing to Get Physically Healthier – “Healthy Eating and Exercise” - A class led by Ray Whittaker.

Don’t forget the Yard Sale for Missions, this weekend. They will be receiving items for sale on Thursday and the sale will be Friday and Saturday.

In addition, the Young Adult Ministry Team is having a Plant Sale for Missions on Saturday. This is an opportunity to get your hanging and bedding plants and also raise funds for missions.

Finally, the Trip to the Land of the Bible is on for February 2012. There will be a meeting about this opportunity this Sunday, May 1, at 5:00 PM. If you think you might be interested, you are invited to come to the Small Dinning Room for this informational meeting. We will talk about the proposed trip and the possibility of also spending a few extra days serving with Bridges for Peace, one of the mission ministries we support.

As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

24 Hours Was Not The End

The television show “24” was unique in that each season looked at 24 hours in the life of Counter Terrorist Unit agent Jack Bauer. Each episode generally covered one hour of the 24 hour season. The show came to a close about a year ago, after eight seasons.

Jesus’ last 24 hours ended with His body being placed in the tomb. John tells us that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus placed Jesus’ body in a tomb that belonged to Joseph. During this Lenten season we have looked at some of the key events in those last 24 hours, beginning with the Passover Meal.

But in the case of Jesus, His last hour was not really His last. His story does not end with the tomb. On Sunday morning, as grieving followers approached the tomb, one of their concerns was, “Who will roll the stone away.” But to their surprise, the stone had been rolled away and Jesus had been resurrected. Sunday morning brought a New Day, a New Hope, a New Life. That’s what we celebrate on Easter. Death could not hold our Lord.

This week we have the opportunity to experience again the Last Supper and the Cross in very unique worship experiences. Thursday night at 6:30 PM, our worship ministries will lead us in a musical-drama entitled “The Living Last Supper.” This will conclude with the celebration of Holy Communion. Then on Friday night at 6:30 PM, our worship ministries will lead us in a musical-drama entitled “The Living Last Words.” This will be a unique look at the cross. Invite someone to join you for these special worship experiences.

Then on Saturday night and Sunday morning we will have four opportunities to celebrate the New Day of Easter. Again this year we will have a Saturday evening Easter Celebration at 6:30 PM. This will be a contemporary service in the gym. On Sunday morning, we will have the three Sunday Easter Celebrations at 8:30, 9:45 and 11:00.

Easter this year is the latest it can be. The following Sunday is the first Sunday of May. On the Church Calendar the first week of May is Festival of the Christian Home. That week concludes with Mother’s Day. On some calendars, the days between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are known as Family Month. With that in mind, we are taking the Month of May to focus on families. I’m going to be preaching a series of messages entitled, “Keys to Healthy Families.”

We are kicking off the month with a Family Night at the movies, Friday, April 29, 7:00. This will be at the Ampitheather at the Gardendale Civic Center. Chick-fil-a will be there as part of the concessions for the evening. The movie will be Despicable Me. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets, invite your neighbors and friends, and join in this night of fellowship.

To help us grow healthier families, we are offering several great Wednesday night opportunities beginning May 4th. There will be a Marriage Enrichment video based opportunity, a family/parent opportunity and a new study for single moms. More information on these will be in next week’s Connection. Regardless of the make up of your family, you will find an opportunity for you.

Next week is always our next Yard Sale for Missions. In addition to the Yard Sale, our Young Adult Ministry Team will have a Plant sale, with the money going to our Mission Ministries. This is a good time to clean out your closets, the money will support our Volunteer In Mission Teams.

Chuck Waller and I have been planning a trip to the Holy Land for next February. This will be an opportunity to tour the Lands of the Bible and for those who want to, spend a few days serving with Bridges for Peace. If you would be interested in such a trip, let me know as soon as possible. Some have asked about the price. That will be somewhat determined by the amount of interest. But a ball park would be around $3,000 for the basic trip, plus taxes and any insurance that you take out.

As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.

Praying That People Come to Know Jesus

I came upon this story about Arthur F. Burns, who served as an economic counselor to a number of presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Regan. He also served as chairman of the United States Federal Reserve System and as an ambassador to West Germany. He was a man who opinions carried a lot of weight in Washington. Arthur Burns was also a Jew. When he began attending an informational White House Christian prayer group in the 1970’s, others in the group were not sure how to involve him. Different persons gave leadership to the prayer time each week and the leader would call upon someone to close in prayer. Weeks passed and no one called upon Arthur Burns to lead in prayer. Then, one week, another newcomer to the group was leading and he did not know that Burns’ was a Jew. As the prayer meeting ended, the newcomer turned to Arthur Burns and asked him to close the time with prayer. Some of the old-timers glanced at each other in surprise and wondered what would happen. Without missing a beat, Arthur Burns reached out, held hands with others in the circle, and prayed this prayer: “Lord, I pray that you bring Jews to know Jesus Christ. I pray that you bring Muslims to know Jesus Christ. Finally, Lord, I pray that you bring Christians to know Jesus Christ. Amen.” I cannot think of a more important prayer for us to pray than for persons to come to know Jesus Christ. Jesus is the way to a restored relationship with God. He is the truth that is unchanging and always relevant. And, He is the source of life that is abundant and eternal. He is the one and only Savior. Everyone needs to know Jesus. I also cannot think of a more appropriate prayer that we could pray for our neighbors, friends, family and other connections than that they come to know Jesus Christ. Holy Week Easter is a great time to put some feet to those prayers with an invitation to worship with you. You can pick up some of the invitational cards that were in the bulletin Sunday to help you make that invitation to others. This Saturday would be a good time to join others in praying that persons come to know Jesus Christ. Our Holy Week Prayer Vigil will be from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon. It will be held in the chapel. Come an spend some time in prayer. The Magnolia Festival is this Friday and Saturday. We will have a tent there. And could still use volunteers to take a time at the tent. You can contact Jenn Bryant for times, jbryant@gmvumc.org Sunday afternoon is our OLD FASHIONED EGG HUNT that will be held at Black Creek Park. All the fun begins at 3:30. We will have a Church Family picnic at 5:00 and then worship at 6:00. Bring your picnic basket, with a little extra for our guest, and invite someone to join you in this afternoon of fellowship and worship. Don’t forget one of our Outreach Ministries is the Children’s Home Easter Egg Hunt. Children from across Alabama who are in our United Methodist Group Homes will gather at Camp Sumatanga on April 23, for a great day of fellowship that is led by Clyde and Brenda Cork. They need our help in providing the prizes for the eggs. You can mark your donations for “Children’s Home Egg Hunt.” As always, your responses to these Reflections are welcome. You can email me at rguess@gmvumc.org.