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I try to be as even-handed and balanced as I possibly can as a habit. I believe doing that can do much to provide for a stable environment in my life overall. And I also found out, it is the best way to relate positively to my family, friends, and those that I live around, work with, and serve in ministry. I think being balanced and evenhanded is seen by most as a good way to create and strengthen ties with the people one is close to, though many would agree that it is not always an easy thing to do consistently throughout our lives.

Can you remember a time when you had a disagreement with members of your family about how to best help someone or some group who needed assistance? It might have been another family member who was going through a difficult time or a group of people that have been suffering due to circumstances beyond their control.

One of the things that I love most about faith communities is that they are one of a few spaces that is regularly intergenerational. We are blessed to be a community of people of many ages!

What we have to learn and teach one another is immense and when we are open to those lessons, to learning, growing, and serving together, I truly believe we can change the world and that our worlds can change. This Sunday, our children and United Methodist Women members invite us to celebrate Children's Sabbath.

We have seen and heard things that people do and say that we cannot quite explain, but deep down in our hearts and minds we know why they happen. It may be that we have acted and spoken in similar ways even though we know that to do so goes against the Godly part of us.

In many ways, the Bible is a small library in and of itself. Genealogies, poetry, law, parables, and so much more can be found in scripture. For many, in times when we find ourselves seeking words of prayer, whether they be of praise and gratitude or anger and sorrow, we find ourselves flipping to the psalms. With 150 different psalms, there are words that can speak to quite a few of the different experiences we may find ourselves in throughout life.

We each have a calling placed on us as God's children and believers in God. Many of us are motivated to bring as many souls to the full knowledge of and lifelong faith in God through Jesus Christ as we can. Others of us are driven to help make better the lives of as many of those who have been left in economic poverty, social isolation, and termed undesirable, as possible.

Have you ever planned an event with a certain group in mind and then soon realized that the attendance would be different than you thought and much, much larger? That happened for me this summer. Last year, Deacon Wes and I hosted a small Pride event for our youth and young adults. It was a hit! Some of our youth had some ideas about what more could be offered the next year, so when it came time to plan for this year, we reached out to that group to see if they•d like to plan it.

When I was a child, I thought there was nothing cooler than staying up late. Sleepovers with no bedtime were always so exciting! My friends and I would try to make it through as much of the night as possible without sleeping. This wasn't too hard for me because I was certain if I fell asleep I'd miss something! Even when I wasn't at sleepovers I did what I could to stay up late. There was one year where I insisted that I needed music to be played at night to help me to sleep - or maybe it was to help me stay awake!

This week as I was taking a peek at the children's Bible that we give our families for baptisms, I noticed that our text for this week didn't make the cut. Was I surprised? No. The text for this week is one of those difficult texts that can't quite be summed up in a few short sentences or made alright with a lovely illustration.

Who are you to your family and friends? I am asking for the simplest characterization that the people who you know the best use to describe you. Are you a truth teller, a trusted person that most people can count on to get the job done, or the one who lights up whatever room you step into? Maybe you are seen as the smart one, the funny one, the quiet one, the loud one, the stylish one, or the complicated one.