This weekend I preached at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Portsmouth, Virginia. Originally I had titled the sermon “Hope Building,” but once I started writing this 1st Sunday after Pentecost sermon, it changed to “Catch on Fire.” My texts were Matthew 28:16-20 and Acts 2:14-21, 42-47.
Jason C. Stanley
ponderings of a deacon dad walking humbly & seeking justice
Sleepless Nights and Kisses for Breakfast: Reflections on Fatherhood, Matteo Bussola, Penguin Group TarcherPerigee, 2017.
Fatherhood, I have learned in the past two years, is a true gift. Sure, there are moments when the whining and the fussing gets a little weary, but hey, we all whine and fuss, right? All of those moments are pushed to the shadows when your little girl climbs in your lap to give you a kiss. Or when she makes a joke and then laughs at herself.
Being a dad has been the best calling on my life.
And it’s one of those callings that you only realize how powerful it is until it happens. I remember church members telling me after it was announced that we were expecting, that my life would never be the same.
Do you have eight minutes to spare?
The creators of the Awakening to God Today (ATG Today) app hope you do. This app is a devotional-mediation journal to aid the Christian on their walk with God. The guided meditation is simple and easy to use.
The app’s journal feature has three sentences to complete:
Lord, I thank you today for . . .
I believe God is speaking to me today about . . .
Lord, I pray today that you will . . . .
The feature also allows you to upload a picture that you find relates to your pray time. The Timeline allows you to revisit your prayer journals.
Daddy’s Girl is a new picture book from author Helen Foster James and illustrator Estelle Corke great for children ages 2-5. Jame’s rhymes make the story of a little girl preparing her tea party approachable for young ears. Corke’s illustrations make use of pink and yellow as the primary colors, ensuring that each page is bright and colorful.
As the little girl, whose accessorizing includes a crown, pearls, and a boa, has tea with her teddy bear and Daddy, she realizes she has more than enough to share with others. She invites other stuffed animals to the tea party. The story concludes with a father and daughter hug, as the daughter expresses, “I love that you are here.”
Be a Star, Wonder Woman!, Michael Dahl, Capstone Young Readers, 2017.
Ever since I first read Bedtime for Batman to Toddler J, it has become a nightly ritual. After Good Morning, Superman, my hopes of a little girl version of these superhero books would become a reality. Michael Dahl delivers in Be a Star, Wonder Woman!
The sun has risen, and now it is time to get ready for school. The little girl in the story book uses her superpowers of being prepared, kind, brave, honest, and strong to make the day a great one! Just as with Batman and Superman, this little girl’s day mirrors a day in the life of Wonder Woman. As Wonder Woman fights off monsters, the little girl uses problem solving skills to master monster situations.
Nightwing Vol. 1: Better Than Batman collects Nightwing: Rebirth #1 and Nightwing #1-4, and 7-8. The volume is written by Tim Seeley, known for his work on Grayson and illustrated by Yanick Paquette and Javier Fernandez.
The Story (aka From the Publisher)
Nightwing is back…in blue!
He’s been Robin, he’s been a super spy, a ghost. Now, Dick Grayson finds himself back in Gotham City fighting to reclaim the life that was taken from him. But when a new evil threatens those closest to Dick, as Nightwing he must once again choose whether or not to tear himself away from his home in order to combat this dark force.
Everything Dick thought he knew about being Nightwing will be brought to bear, and his relationship to his former mentor Batman will be put to the test in Nightwing Vol. 1.
Tuesday night the Elizabeth River District in Virginia held prayer services for Praying Our Way Forward. I was at the site in Portsmouth, held at Monumental United Methodist. Toddler J was there, along with six-year-old boy, E.
As we celebrated communion, Toddler J freely scurried around the sanctuary, until she too participated in the ritual. She received with open palms a chunk of bread, and with no fear or hesitation, dipped it into the common cup.
The other night, Toddler J was falling asleep. She was getting close, reaching that stage where the eyes roll back, eyelids close, and head hangs loose. Suddenly, her head popped up and said, “Daddy! Potty!”
I asked her, “Did you potty already?” “No!” she answered, “Potty!”
as found at http://www.mommyshorts.com
I scooped her up and headed downstairs. Once in the bathroom, we were on auto-pilot. The Minnie Mouse seat positioned just right, and the toddler, sans diaper, set on the Minnie Mouse seat. I was instructed to sit in my customary spot on the floor.
And we waited. . . . . and waited.
We waited until I was sure that this was simply a well orchestrated tactic to keep herself awake. I scooped her up, and got a clean diaper. As soon as her PJs were secured around her waist, the protest began.
“No diaper! Potty! No diaper! Potty!”
I heard the cry of my child, and we returned to the bathroom. Back on the Minnie Mouse seat, within seconds, there was the sound of a faint trickle.
So I ask, who is training who?
Introduction
One of the best things about The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon are the games. The kind of games that would be great youth group/small groups games. “Box of Lies” is such a game.
The players choose a numbered box, look inside and have to decide if they are going to describe the item inside or make something up. The other player then has to discern if they are being told the truth or a lie.
Wade’s Wiggly Antlers, Louise Bradford, Kids Can Press, 2017
Wade is a young moose who enjoys playing with his friends. One day, while playing, his antlers begin to feel a little wiggly. When the wiggle doesn’t stop, Wade hurries home to his mother, who reminds him that he will loose his antlers, but new ones will grow.
Change happens.
Even though Wade and his mother had talked about the change that Wade would experience, he is still worried about it. He chooses not to play with his friends in an effort to keep his antlers. Then, once he looses them, he feels freer. He is able to do things he was not able to do before, like win at hide and seek.
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