Hello everyone,

As a Quaker who was raised LDS, I wanted to ask two very broad questions.

1. Why did you join or stay with the Community of Christ? I’m particularly curious how you find it spiritually fulfilling and how it resonates more with you than any other denomination/religion.

2. Do you worry about the future of the Church? Does it feel like the LDS tries to overshadow your tradition? Do you struggle with keeping congregations lively and strong?

If you have the time and energy, I’d love to hear any insights. Also my DMs are always open if you’re willing to discuss your faith further

If you have the time and energy, I would love to hear you insight

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”

This is a lesson I tried to teach in my Sunday class of middle school students. They complained about a variety of things… They were forced to do the dishes, clean their rooms, do other chores, go to church, etc. I tried to convince them that, as long as they had to do it anyway, why not find joy in doing those things by doing them for God. Let everything you do be done with the attitude of loving God.

I am not sure they ever totally agreed with me. But I also find that, as an adult, I sometimes need to remind myself of the same thing. I’ll be making plans for something and then someone else comes up with their idea of how it should go. Their plans don’t line up with my plans and I find myself needing an attitude adjustment. I have to stop and consider why. For starters, why am I doing this? Am I doing something to bring pleasure and perhaps praise to me? If so, then STOP. Am I operating out of obligation? Again, STOP. Am I seeing an obstacle that is placed there by my own attitude? STOP. Am I allowing circumstances or even Satan to rob me of my joy? STOP.

I am reminded of the song I taught the children. 🎶Let all that you do be done in love.🎶 ALL THAT YOU DO… Tgat means the things you want to do, the things you feel obligated to do, and the things you need to do. It’s not just a song, by the way. 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Do everything in love.”

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, (The Shema) teaches us the same thing. We are to love God with all we’ve got. We are to bind it as a sign on our hands. (Verse 8) That also means “Do everything in love.”

As you begin your day today, let these words dwell in your heart. Let everything you do and say be done for the love and honor of our Heavenly Father. Be blessed and filled with joy as you do.

🙏Father, you fill my heart even now as I dwell on your word. Thank you for loving each of us and providing the means through which you can fill us with your love and joy. Wherever your spirit leads today, help me to be fully awake and ready to respond in love. In the name of Jesus, I pray, amen. 🙏

Follow the journey of Mary as we travel through Advent beginning Sunday, Dec. 1st The focus text for Advent 2024 is the Magnificat, Luke 1:46-55.

Mary’s song of praise to God, the Magnificat, is joyful and prophetic, a sharp confrontation to systems that destroy and oppress, and a hopeful vision for the future. Empowered by the sacred life forming within her, she dares to envision the world as it can be. We are invited to join Mary this Advent Season; in joyful anticipation of what is to come, singing a resistance song against the forces of division and destruction around us as we birth God’s future into being!

Weekly Themes 1 December 2024—Joy Before Us

8 December 2024—Love Overflows

15 December 2024—The Lord is Near (Hope)

22 December 2024—The Magnificat: A Vision of Justice

Psalms 136:1,26 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”

As I look at the calendar this morning, I realized that today is my sister Norma‘s birthday. My sister is no longer with us, but today I give thanks for her.

We live mortal lives. As such, we say goodbye to many people who we love. It’s not easy, but it’s part of life. The joy for me comes with the knowledge that this life isn’t all there is.

Norma knew that she was at the end of her earthly life, but she continued to live a life of joy for whatever time she had left. We went out to eat, visited family and friends in her home and sometimes in their homes. She enjoyed sitting in the back yard and watching the birds. We enjoyed many good talks. She was at peace as she faced her future, knowing God was with her all the way.

There are many people who fear death. They don’t know God, so they don’t understand that life is eternal. Now, to be truthful, I’m not anxious to leave this earthly life, but I’m not fearful of it either.

Sid, my former husband, was not fearful of death either. His birthday is tomorrow. He longed to live, but he didn’t want to live as an invalid. Who does? Two days before he died, he confided with a friend at church that he had prayed, telling God that he wanted to be right with him before he died.

That is what God desires from each of us. He wants us to be in a right relationship with him. That happens by recognizing that we are all sinners. We need to repent and believe that Christ has paid the penalty for our sins. There are no particular words that you must recite. Just talk with God. He knows your heart.

Most of you are saying, yes, I’ve done that. Some of you are thinking, I do that daily. That’s wonderful. Now, get out there and share the good news with others because too many people are living and dying without knowing God. Be blessed to be a blessing.

🙏Father, today I continue to give thanks. I’m thankful for your never ending, sacrificial love. I’m thankful for a lifetime of love from family and friends. You are so awesome. Wherever your Spirit leads me today, help me to be fully awake and ready to respond in love. Grant me courage to step out in faith to do and be a blessing of your love and peace. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. 🙏

Ephesians 4:16 “From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

When I think of my body, I am amazed at God’s creation. Each part of my body works with the other parts to help me to be healthy and strong. Walking strengthens not only my legs but it aides the digestive system. It improves the function of my heart and my lungs. It helps maintain my weight and aids my mental health and my immune system.

Walking can also improve my brain function, give me more energy, and it helps manage conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. All of that, and it’s free.

Those are some examples of how the parts of the body work together for the benefit of the whole body.

Now think about Christians around the world being the body of Christ. How does one part of the body affect the whole body?

When we work together to serve God instead of competing with one another, then our body will be stronger and healthier. When we learn to accept one another and truly love one another, then we will grow. We need to stop judging and condemning those with different opinions than our own. Instead we need to try to be understanding and encouraging.

On this Thanksgiving Day, I give thanks for you and the part you share in the body of Christ. If we are to be a healthy Body of Christ, it’s up to each one of us to do our part.

🙏Father, I give thanks this morning first for your love and your mercy. I thank you for your constant presence with me. I thank you for your guidance. I thank you for my family and friends. I thank you for my husband with whom I serve you daily. And thank you for the body of Christ, your church in this world. Help each of us to lovingly do our part to support, maintain, strengthen and grow the body. In the name of Jesus, amen. 🙏

That is my wish for each one of you around the world - for I am thankful for each of you.

The annual Thanksgiving tradition continues! Apostle Patrick McKay Sr. returns to Mormon Book Reviews for the 4th year in a row to discuss a Latter Day Thanksgiving. He talks about the many things he is thankful for and how to do it during times of struggle. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Link: https://youtu.be/Drt9EhG5ng4?si=3H6s4jA6jc3d8Ks-

(Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

I taught middle school for many years. I encouraged my students to ask questions. I told them that it’s the best way of learning. I had one advanced class of students. They were generally a year ahead of the other classes. I told my other classes that the top students asked more questions than any other student. Questions are important.

God is telling you to ask questions. It’s how we gain knowledge and it helps us to apply wisdom. We need to actively seek answers through questions as we study his word and listen to our Lord. Questioning of God is one way of deepening our relationship with him.

James 1:5, says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” This verse encourages us to seek answers from God, knowing that He will provide the understanding we need.

God wants us to ask our questions. We all have times of doubt and frustration. Talk to God about them. Ask him questions and listen for his response. Asking questions make our faith personal and real.

Jeremiah 33:3 records God saying, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

What do you need God to clarify for you? “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”

🙏Father, thank you for your love and understanding. Thank you for hearing my prayers and knowing my thoughts. Thank you for answers and guidance. I praise you for your faithfulness. I thank you for your promises as I lean on you. Wherever your Spirit leads me today, help me to be fully awake, hearing you, and responding in love. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen 🙏

Romans 12:5 “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”

Good morning, Family. I love my family. I thank God that I was born into a family that loves God. I thank God for my mom who taught me to pray. But more than teaching me to pray, she showed me what faith looks like. I will forever be awed by her faith in the power of God.

My mom demonstrated to me many times the power of sharing her testimony. She was never “in the ministry”. She wasn’t an ordained preacher, but she sure shared God with others and invited them into the family.

We are family. That’s what we are told in Romans 12:5 “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” Believing and living for Christ makes us family. Ephesians 1:5 verifies it. “Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”

We are not an exclusive family. We are meant to be fruitful and multiply. She God with others. Invite! Invite! Invite!

Just as a family gets excited at the birth of a new baby, we need to get excited at the additions in God’s family. We need to invite them in; prepare for them; nurture them; and watch them grow and come closer to God. We need to celebrate each other’s growth just like families by embracing and celebrating successful steps along the way.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to encourage one another and build each other up. We need to live together like the loving family God commands us to be. Keep in touch, (attend church), help each other, encourage each other, love one another, forgive one another, overlook offenses, seek the good in each other, seek God in each other. Praise him together.

🙏Father, thank you for your love, and thank you for putting me in a loving family, both by birth and by adoption into your family. Bless us all to live together in the shadow of your love. Help us to grow in our relationship with you and with one another. Help us to reach out to others and invite them into your family. Wherever your Spirit leads me today, help me be fully awake and ready to respond in love. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen. 🙏

Proverbs 19:11 “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

This morning, I searched different verses and chapters of the Bible. When I ran across this one I thought, yes, this is what I will use today. I read it to Dennis and he agreed that it was a good verse to use. Then I told him that I wanted him to be glorious today. He replied, “don’t do anything to keep me from it.” We both laughed.

Isn’t it the truth though? We want to have a glorious day. We want to feel good about ourselves and other people. But too often we want it on our terms. I could have had a good day except somebody wronged me. I was offended by your words, your attitude, your actions. When we choose to make an issue of everything little offense, we give away the joy God wants us to have.

I don’t even need to know the person who offended me for it to change the mood of my day. Someone cut me off in traffic or followed too closely behind me. The restaurant didn’t have something that was on the menu. The waitress was slow. I didn’t do exactly what the other person wanted and I was spoken to in a harsh manner. The bank locked me out of my account for suspicion of fraud. (That happened last week.)

When I was raising my kids, I read an article in a magazine that said not to sweat the small stuff. My problem was I wasn’t sure what was small and what wasn’t. I have found that prayer and a close relationship with God helps me to discern what is big and what is small.

We live in a world where wrongs happen everyday to everyone. This verse in Proverbs tells us to get over it. Don’t let these things rob you of the joy God wants you to have. “…it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

If it’s too big to overlook, and sometimes it is, then pray about it before going to the offender. Always seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit, trusting him and praising God in the midst of trouble for guaranteed deliverance.

🙏Father, thank you for loving me and wanting me to be filled with your glory. I know I’ve been foolish and have taken offense too quickly at times. Forgive me and help me to model your love and your patience. I may not understand why others do and say the things they do, but I do understand that you are always with me desiring that I love everyone at all times. Wherever your spirit leads me today, help me to be fully awake and ready to respond in love and to be filled with your glory. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. 🙏

https://www.centreplace.ca/meditation Join Centre Place as we prepare for Christmas during the Advent season by spending the next few weeks meditating on the different names of Jesus and how the different names expand our understanding of Him. There is a zoom link with the link

Roman’s 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”

God does not condemn you when you are in Christ Jesus. That’s a promise and when you accept Jesus as your personal Savior, then you are not condemned because of your sin.

When I accepted Jesus and invited him into my heart, I was baptized. It was my declaration that I was going to follow Jesus for the rest of my life. It was much like a marriage covenant. I said “I do”. I came up out of the water as a newborn babe. My sins were washed away. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” That was me.

But then this new creature that was just reborn began to sin again. In Matthew 26:41, Jesus told his disciples, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." While our mind and intentions might be good to do what is right, our physical body and natural desires can often lead us to give into temptation.

God knows us so well. He knows our strengths and our weaknesses. He understands our struggles. He knows our hearts. He doesn’t condemn us for being human. Instead, he shows us, through Jesus Christ, how we can overcome the world and live a joyous life of hope and promise.

John 3:17 says, "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

God loves you. He wants your love in return. Jesus said the great commandment is to love God with all we’ve got and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We can do this. He doesn’t give us an impossible commandment. Instead he offers us help. Go to him. Talk with him daily. Listen to him. Watch for him. He is all around you.

🙏Father, thank you for your love and your forgiveness. Thank you for the wisdom and strength that comes from reading your word. Thank you for the guidance of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for a new start every day. I love you and praise you in the name of Jesus. Amen 🙏