Different faith systems have varying opinions on when the time is right for a young person to receive their first communion. In United Methodism, we believe that the table is open to all, and so we serve all people of all ages. There is no prerequisite for receiving communion in our church. We pay very close attention to educating and training our children in Sunday School and eventually confirmation classes about what communion means, but the table is a shared opportunity to receive the sacrament even if you don't fully understand the sacrament.

I have a beef with the manufacturer of the moisturizer I use. When the container is still half full, the pump stops working. No matter how hard I pound, pump, tilt, and cajole, a good portion of the product remains in the heavy glass container, completely unusable. Eventually I am forced to break the neck of the pump and try to scrape the sides of the container until the lotion is gone.

This is the time of year when the sun is fickle about making an appearance. It acts like a self-conscious teenager deciding on whether or not to go to the school dance. She shows up too early in the morning and peeks through our bedroom blinds like she needs to see who else is there before she commits. Then she ducks behind clouds for the rest of day, avoiding the scrutiny of the rest of the kids.

Over the last two days, many people in the United States were treated to a stunning display of an aurora borealis. Known as the Northern Lights, this is a phenomenon caused by  "the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and charged particles from the sun's atmosphere that enter the earth's atmosphere. A solar flare (energetic particles from the sun) floats through space on the solar wind, eventually penetrating the Earth's magnetic field.

Last week our lectionary passage offered a taste of heaven, specifically in regard to marriage. (You can read it here if you missed that one.) Today we delve further into what a new heaven and a new earth will be like according to Isaiah. In Isaiah's words, a new earth is promised that will be a state of being where the children of God can look forward to living together in complete peace and harmony.

Stuff happens. Then more stuff happens. And before you know it, stuff has taken over, and you find yourself spending much more time than is reasonable just managing your stuff. Our family has just enjoyed a week camping together. We started with two of us, added three more, then added two, then added five more. By the time the last ones had arrived, it became a challenge to find places to put everyone’s stuff.

Back when I was a very young mother, a church matriarch named Betty Brown gave me some of the best advice I have ever received. We were attending a program on prayer and she leaned over to me and said, “Betsy, do you pray for your children?” I had a two-year old at the time and was eight months pregnant with the second one.

Did you know that over 40 million people a year struggle with some type of anxiety disorder? From Generalized Anxiety Disorder to PTSD, there are many types of anxiety disorders, and it is the most common mental illness. And for the most part, it is treatable. While most of us probably don’t fit in to an anxiety disorder category, it can be said of all of us that we worry.

How many of you insist on trying to carry every single grocery bag from your car to your kitchen in one trip? I don't know why we do this. I seem to think that it it somehow against the law to make multiple trips up and down the stairs, so I slide the handles of every single bag down my arms and stagger up 13 steps to deposit them on the kitchen counters and then collapse.

Here are handy links to my four books if you're interested! They make great Christmas presents for under $14.00.

For some reason, my five-year-old grandson is in love with my broccoli. Like most five-year-olds, he can be a little picky when it comes to food, so I am delighted that we found something he likes. And it is akin to a fabulous Julia Child recipe: steam fresh broccoli in the microwave, add butter and salt. Voila! Bon Appetit! We had all six grandchildren together last week and I served the aforementioned broccoli.

Few things in life bother me more than ingratitude. It boggles my mind when someone extends themself with generosity and thoughtfulness only to be met with silence or worse, to be taken for granted. When I receive any expression of gratitude it means the world to me. A text, a well written thank you note, a gift card to a favorite restaurant ...

When do your Christmas decorations go up? I feel as though people decorate earlier and earlier. In the past, it seemed as though decorations started to appear the weekend after Thanksgiving, beginning with outdoor decorations. A tree might go up somewhere around the middle of December, especially if you use a live tree with a short shelf life. There is nothing worse than having your tree die before Christmas!

William is a sweet little goat who recently traveled the Seine River with a group of adventurers. I was blessed to meet William one afternoon after spotting him peeking out of his friend Duncan's backpack as we hiked cliffs and visited cathedrals. I noticed that Duncan, who otherwise was traveling alone, would remove William and seat him at the table for cheese and macaron tastings, etc.

I got a phone call from my oldest daughter last night asking if I was in a hurricane. The question surprised me, as yesterday's weather was stunning, It was perfect example of how gorgeous fall is on the Outer Banks. The temperatures were in the 70's, the sun shone brightly but wasn't scorching, there was a gentle breeze all day, etc.

Today's devotional is a follow up to the previous one where I discussed bringing my rusty French speaking skills out of the dull chambers of my high school mind and tried to communicate in France. Some of my attempts worked, but others ... well, you be the judge. We were in a small chocolatier watching a demonstration of how chocolate is made.

A recent trip to France allowed me the opportunity to practice my very limited and rusty French speaking skills. I had a wonderful teacher for four years in high school and took the required college levels for my degree. This teacher was insistent that we practice the proper accent and cadence of the language, imitating the "lilt" that native French folks use when they speak.

Did you know that earth is the only planet that has rainbows? Astronomer Guillermo Gonzalez recently noted that we’re on the only planet in the Solar System to get them. Rainbows form from suspended water droplets in the atmosphere that are hit by the direct sunlight when the sun is located between the horizon and 42 degrees altitude. This typically occurs just after a thunderstorm has passed and small droplets are still in the atmosphere, and the sky is clearing in front of the sun.

Today’s Scripture from Ezekiel 37 is the famous "dem bones gonna rise again" passage. Ezekiel faced a difficult task because he was called to prophesy to the Jewish people at one of the lowest points in their history. The small nation of Israel had been under siege for years and had been conquered by the mighty army of Babylonia. Jerusalem lay in ruins; the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.

Have you ever wished to go back to your childhood so that you could sleep with your stuffed animal and feel the instant security and peace that your old friend would bring? Somehow just pulling that fluffy thing into your chest as the lights went out made all the scary things go away. A warm feeling of not being alone replaced the fear of separation from parents, Watching children cradle their "lovies" gives a parent a sense of security too, as we reluctantly close the door and whisper goodnight to the two friends snuggled together.

Every time I go to the hairdresser, I learn something new. The conversation at my salon yesterday revolved around "automatic thoughts". These are unbidden images or words that flash into your mind in a seemingly random occurrence. One person described having an automatic thought on the way to work as she was driving. She instantly "saw" a big wreck where she watched herself running to a burning car to help.

Growing up on the East Coast allowed me to experience the Atlantic Ocean from many vantage points. We were campers, and every summer weekend and the long awaited, blessed two week vacation (cue the Doxology!) saw us hauling a trailer anywhere from Canada to Florida. But our favorite place was a small campground on the Indian River Bay in Delaware called Sandy Cove.