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Prepare Him Room
Every year my family decorates for Christmas on Black Friday. It is my second favorite day of the year! (My favorite is that glorious day in June when I pack the year’s last school lunch). I love seeing our home transformed from pumpkins and leaves to twinkling lights and holly!
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Pray and Give Thanks
There is a trend that has become prevalent in the past few years. “Word of the Year.” Have you heard of this? Each year, instead of looking at resolutions, you are encouraged to pray and choose a word of the year. If you google it, there are lots of websites with word ideas and processes of how to pick your “Word of the Year.” Usually, I can pick a word even before New Year’s Day. However, when 2023 began, I was not sure what my word needed to be.
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Intentionality in a New Decade
At the beginning of October, I was blessed to celebrate a new decade in my life—the age of 40! It has been a number that I’ve been anticipating for quite a while now. There’s always a lot of chatter and conversation around someone turning a new decade! This was definitely my experience, so much so that my twin sister and I decided to plan a family cruise this past summer to celebrate early.
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Appreciating the Little Things
My two dogs are total opposites. They are brothers from the same litter but act so differently. As I write this, Cody is barking blindly at the bathroom door while his brother Comet watches him silently, wondering why he is barking. Spoiler alert: no one is in or near the bathroom.
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Our Beliefs About Baptism
This September, Dutilh Church will joyously celebrate the baptism of six infants, bless 12 students as they begin confirmation, and celebrate the renewal of baptism for one adult. Since our church family includes people from various backgrounds and traditions, and since there is a wide array of beliefs and practices about baptism, I want to share some of what we believe about baptism in our United Methodist tradition.
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A Season of Blessing and Sending or What’s Mine Is Yours
In the space of eight days at the end of July and the beginning of August, my children, who are 23 and 21, moved into their first post-college apartments. I am happy for them and a little sentimental. My babies are grown up.
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Pray for Your Heart
I recently came across a great resource for educators on social media called “Joy in the Journey.” (If you are in education, please follow or visit the website joyinthejourneyteaching.com!) The specific resource I read about was a prayer journal for teachers called Prayers for the Teaching Journey. With the start of the school year coming soon and my role in education, this journal piqued my interest!
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The Plate Is Too Full
I have decided that I want to live the life of a cat or dog. Someone feeds you, people play with you, and you can sleep all day! I interact with a lot of pets when I give lessons and I can’t think of a better way to live your life. Sadly though, as a human, I can’t do all those fun pet things.
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The Enemy of Love
Not long ago, I read a meme that resonated with me: “Being an adult is saying, ‘After this week, things will slow down,’ over and over until you die.” Despite my best intentions, life never slows to a pace where I feel like I have enough time for all that is on my plate.
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Got Milk?
In 1993, the California Milk Processor Board hired the Goodby Silverstein & Partners advertising agency to solve a problem: In a market flooded with sugary drinks, such as Coke, Mountain Dew, and Kool-Aid, how do you convince people to drink milk?
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Do You Know About Merlin?
No, I’m not thinking of Merlin the Magician, but Merlin R. Carothers. He wrote the books Prison to Praise and Power in Praise, among others. I have only read the latter, but it is a book that I found incredibly helpful. It taught me to praise God in the hard moments and for the hard moments.
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Into the Unknown
By Bud Fickley, Pastor of Student Ministry There are so many movies out there that have themes that can be related to our faith. As a father of three kids ages five and under, I watch a lot of Disney movies these days. At times, Disney movies drive me a little crazy, but I have… Read more
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Perseverance
By Maureen Konopka, Director of Music Ministries I like to bring my thoughts on unconventional things when I write my blogs, but today I am reflecting on my amazing daughter. Allison is the sweetest kid, always trying to be helpful, taking charge when someone needs to, and, for the most part, responsible for getting things… Read more
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Don’t Be “Left Behind”
It is no secret that I enjoy watching The Simpsons. I have seen every episode and enjoy re-watching episodes to see what I missed or just didn’t understand at the time.
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When Student Ministry “Steals” My Kids
Every year, Confirmation Sunday means saying goodbye to a group of “my” kids, as they become part of Dutilh Student Ministry. Confirmation is the crescendo of children’s ministry programming that begins in our infant nursery. By the time of confirmation, I have spent years with these children, learning the stories of the Bible, singing in the choir, playing endless rounds of Aliens and other group games, and seeing them discover how to love God, love others, and love to serve.
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Knowledge Is Power…or Is It?
Recently, our student ministry team began reading Dangerous Wonder by Michael Yaconelli – one of the pioneers of modern youth ministry. It’s a book all about how we regain a childlike faith that looks at the world with awe and wonder and believes that anything is possible. In the introduction, Yaconelli tells a story from his childhood when he still thought he could be like Superman, donning a cape and taking flight.
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The Most Ignored Commandment
I am a proud citizen of the United States of America, the most prosperous nation in the history of the world. We enjoy more conveniences and luxuries than almost any people group in history. And yet, for all our prosperity, we do not seem to enjoy our lives.
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Transformational Dandelions
By Carlen Blackstone, Certified Lay Leader For the past two years, I have shared the reasons why dandelions are in fact the true Easter flower and should have their rightful place among all the other beautiful Easter lilies, tulips, and daffodils that adorn the front of our sanctuaries Easter morning. Jack Sheehan, a member of… Read more
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Called To Be Uncomfortable
I enjoy Holy Week. My favorite day to attend church besides Easter is on Maundy (or Holy) Thursday, which I experienced for the first time in the late 1990s.
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Following the Good Shepherd
I am a planner. I like knowing what to expect, having a plan, and being organized in executing my plan. One of my biggest fears is walking into something for which I am not prepared. Can you relate?
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Loyal Companions, Cody and Comet
Almost a year ago, we adopted two dogs, Cody and Comet. They are brothers and are the breed Cavapoo: Cavalier King James Spaniel mixed with Poodle. The easiest way to describe them? They look like teddy bears! Both are absolute sweethearts, but they couldn’t be more different.
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More Than the Bunny
We hear a lot about keeping Christ in Christmas, but how do we make sure that Easter is about more than baskets, egg hunts, and the Easter Bunny? Here are four simple ways you can keep Jesus at the center of your family’s Easter celebration:
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Wars and Rumors of Wars
On the heels of Pastor Tom Parkinson’s blog on the revival at Asbury University (read it here if you haven’t already) and after reading headlines about things like Chinese spy balloons and heightening tensions between Russia and the rest of the world, I couldn’t help but be drawn to Jesus’ talk about wars and rumors of wars.
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Making Sense of a Revival
On the morning of February 8, students and faculty at Asbury University in Wilmore, KY, gathered in the Hughes Auditorium for chapel. Chapel services are a normal part of the university’s rhythm, occurring at least three times a week. But this service is unlike any experienced in decades.
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Being the BRIDGE: A Reflection on Camping
More than 300 camp and retreat leaders met at Epworth by the Sea on St. Simon’s Island, GA, the week of January 23-27. Fun facts: Famed evangelists John and Charles Wesley, who formed the party that came to be named Methodist, engaged in ministry on St. Simon’s Island in 1736-37, and Epworth by the Sea is now a United Methodist Conference Center.
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The Dreaded Pinhole Leaks
If you live in the Cranberry Township area, you may be one of many people frustrated by pinhole leaks in your copper plumbing. I know my husband and I have had four fixed in recent years, two of them within the last two weeks.
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Such a Time as This
As we are gearing up for our annual Open House and Registration at Dutilh Preschool, I have been reflecting on all of God’s goodness, provision and faithfulness. In the last two years, God has given me such a meaningful purpose in taking the charge of rebuilding Dutilh Preschool. This is a responsibility I don’t ever take lightly. As God’s word says, we are called to, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
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Take 2
I like to write my blogs when I feel inspired by something – a movie, a TV show, or an interaction. I wrote my blog; it was all finished and then I had that moment in the car when I realized, nope, I was supposed to write about a song instead.
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Making Small Groups Part of Your Reset
On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 struck a flock of Canadian geese causing the engines to fail. Chelsey Burnett Sullenberger, better known as “Sully,” was able to glide the plane to a safe landing on the Hudson River.
Asked how he could so quickly and heroically act to save so many lives, Sully remarked, “For 42 years I’ve been making small, regular deposits in the bank of experience, education, and training. On January 15, the balance was sufficient so that I could make a very large withdrawal.”
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Are You Ready to Reset?
I remember when I was growing up, during lunch recess we would often play football outside the school. We would eat lunch as quickly as we could so we could get outside with as much time left in the lunch period as possible to get in a game of touch football. While most of the rules in the game were pretty easily agreed upon from the outset, there was one rule that never seemed to have any consistency – calling a “do-over.”
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Navigating Change
As I reflect on 2022, Bob Dylan’s famous song comes to mind, “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” Nearly three years have passed since the covid-19 pandemic began. Even as the worst of the disruptions are more than a year behind us, the world has yet to find a “new normal.” Change is happening at a blistering pace, and many of us are struggling to keep up!
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How the Time Flies
This is my final opportunity to write to you all as the Associate Pastor of Dutilh Church. In two weeks, I will finish my tenure here and join the ranks of the retirees.
It has been quite a journey for Joyce and me. In total, I have served five churches over 41.5 years: two years as a part-time student assistant pastor, and 39.5 years as a full-time pastor. I am finishing 13.5 years here at Dutilh Church.
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Out of the Mouth of Babes
Advent – preparing our hearts to receive the Lord. It is hands-down the most challenging season for me. When is there time to fully prepare (or repair!) my heart to receive the Christ child? Anyone with me?
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Sleep On It
A few weeks ago, I was feeling anxious about a situation and wanted to “fix” it as quickly as I could. Have you ever felt this way about a circumstance in your life? You want it resolved as soon as heavenly possible? 😊 Yes, that was me!
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White Christmas
My absolute favorite Christmas movie is White Christmas, with music by Irving Berlin. When I was a child, we would watch it before going to bed after Christmas Eve Mass. My Dad would then call everyone a “weirdsmobile” for the next month or two.
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Don’t Forget About “thanksgiving”
I love Christmas. It really is the most wonderful time of the year. Of course, you’ve got the kids jingle belling (I assume that means singing Jingle Bells—you can tell me if I’m wrong) and everyone telling you to be of good cheer. Who can forget about all the mistletoeing and hearts glowing? It really doesn’t get any better.
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Reflections from the Anti-racism Summit
At Dutilh’s annual church conference in October, we were reminded that our local church considers annually how we align our ministry and mission with the five focus areas of the Western Pennsylvania Annual Conference.
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The Mighty Sycamore Tree
A favorite Bible song from my childhood was the one about Zacchaeus, the “wee little man” who had to climb up in a sycamore tree just to catch a glimpse of Jesus (Luke 19:1-10). Perhaps my affinity for the song is because I too am a “wee little man,” and can resonate with the need for a step stool to be able to see over a crowd! More pointedly, I like the song because I can see myself in Zacchaeus’ spiritual struggle.
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Faith by Design
About a decade ago, my husband and I put an addition on our house. At the time, I secured the help of a talented decorator – because I have no taste or, rather, vision when it comes to that type of thing.
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What a World We Live In!
In the middle of October, Joyce and I enjoyed a vacation. We traveled with good friends, another United Methodist pastor and his wife.
On our first day of travel, our friend got an alert that someone had opened a Gmail account using his name and was emailing the members of his church soliciting donations of gift cards for an “emergency need.” Yes, it was a typical scam.
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The Power of Your Story
My story. Your story. It matters. God has a purpose and plan for each of our lives, and the story God has written for your life is one we should not question because his ways are so much higher than ours.
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I Love Crime Shows
I love crime shows. I love watching fictitious shows, news-crime shows, and documentaries. I am fascinated by many aspects of the whole thing, especially how people solve crimes. I find myself baffled by the things people will do for their gain, and many times it saddens me and leaves me asking, “why?”
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The 25 Percent Who Stay
A recent study found that 75 percent of youth active in the church leave between the ages of 18 and 29. As a Children’s Ministry Director who attempts to lay the foundation for lifelong faith in our children, I am devastated by this statistic. Rather than wallow in grief, I am choosing to focus not on why the 75 percent leave the church, but on why the 25 percent choose to stay.
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Do You Love Music?
I love music. A lot.
I love singing (sometimes to the annoyance of my wife and children). I love playing music – if you know me, you probably know I play quite a few different instruments. I love listening to the music of nearly any genre (death metal might be my one hold-out, but I must admit the musicality of the genre is pretty incredible). Music is a powerful force in my life.
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The Power of a Personal Letter
Never underestimate the power of a personal letter.
A little over a year ago, one of my spiritual mentors died. A month after his funeral, I was stunned to receive a personal letter from him. He wrote it several months before his death, with instructions for it to be sent to me upon his passing.
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The Humpty-Dumpty Syndrome
I want to give a “shout out” to Julie Willoughby, our Dutilh Preschool director, for her blog two weeks ago. She wrote an excellent piece about the power of words.
Julie dealt with the subject of the power of words from a personal perspective; that is, how we interact with others on a personal level. I want to build on what Julie wrote because I am convinced that as followers of Jesus Christ, this area of our lives is critically important.
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Immeasurable Joy?
Have you ever participated in a dreaded activity out of love for someone else? You find yourself agreeing to do the very thing you told yourself you would never do again. That was my situation on my recent family vacation to Puerto Rico. My husband joked that I should call this blog post “Immeasurable Joy” because my joy was too small to be measured.
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Words DO Have Power
Have you heard the popular phrase, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” Yes, I’m sure you’ve heard it and maybe, even maybe, you found yourself saying it to others who may have shared hurtful words with you. It’s an easy way to pretend words don’t hurt us. I mean, they are just words, right?
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Walking My Dogs
It is no secret that it has been a challenging year for me physically. I have spent the last year in pain, unable to move well, and just not living the way I used to. However, if you have seen me recently you probably have noticed a change in how I walk and, some have mentioned, my demeanor, and that is thanks to putting my faith in something despite being skeptical.
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A Reflection on This Summer
When Bud Fickley first reached out to me about if I had considered an internship for the summer, my response was, “I think my schedule this summer is way too involved for any internships, unfortunately.” The next text exchange we had almost a month later started with him saying, “So excited to hear you’ll be interning with us this summer!” I love the irony behind the start of my internship here at Dutilh.
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Getting Lost in the Bible
by Heather ShoffstallDirector of Student Ministries Whether we like it or not, 2024 has arrived! As I page through my calendar for the next couple of months, I know that the new year will be just as busy as last year. The days fill quickly! I don’t make resolutions, but I do make goals for… Read more
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Comparison is The Thief of Joy
by Julie WilloughbyDirector of Dutilh Preschool The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year. The joy of Christ’s birth, the time I have with family, the Christmas carols we sing, the laughter of playing games and making cookies…they are all so precious to my heart. While it is a joyful… Read more
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