The Beacon
Blue Mound UMC June 2024

June is the month
That starts the summer fun.
The weather’s getting hotter
Like the beach under the sun!
We celebrate all that we learned
As the school year starts to end
We get ready for summer break
And play outside with all our friends!

School is out for most of us and summer is beginning! June is the month when
we really start feeling like winter is over and done with for another year – the
weather is getting warmer and the sun is shining almost every day … it’s time
to celebrate June!
One thing every kid in the Northern Hemisphere relates to and looks forward
to all year long: the end of the school year! But school actually wraps up in
different months depending on where in the world you live. The idea is to give
kids a break from studying so they can do other things while the weather is
nice – in the summer. So, students in the Southern Hemisphere (south of the
equator) actually finish their school year in January, since that’s the month
summer starts for them.
Before the Civil War, farm kids never had summers off. They went to school
during the hottest and coldest months and stayed home during the spring and
fall, when crops needed to be planted and harvested.
June may also come from the Latin “juvenis” meaning young people.

How Should We Live?

Last month we began to look at How Should We Live? We learned that there are
three basic rules we should live by: (1) Do no harm, (2) Do good, and (3) Attend upon the
ordinances of God. Last month I unpacked the first (1) Do no harm. Now let’s look at the
other two.
(2) To ‘Do good’ involves more than just being a good person. It begins with a
commitment to be merciful in every possible way. Happily, we can start with where we
are, doing the best we can and becoming more and more merciful over time. This paves
the way for doing good of every possible sort to every possible person, insofar as we
have opportunity and insofar as it is possible. Again, we start where we are with the
opportunities before us and the options open to us, but the goal is to go deeper in our love
for our neighbor and to extend that love to everybody. The love begins with the physical
needs of people: feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, helping the sick, and visiting
those in prison. It then extends to their spiritual needs: helping them find God by
providing relevant information, by encouraging them in their journey, by clearing up
confusion and error, and by showing them that by grace victory over evil is possible. In
doing such good we should begin with those who are already in the Church or seeking to
be part of it. Once we learn what it is to be good there, we can then expand the circle of
care.
(3) To ‘Attend upon the ordinances of God’ sounds like a mouthful, but it is
simpler than it sounds. Another way to put it is to ‘Stay in love with God.’ How do we do
this? Like any relationship, we have to attend to our relationship with God. We cannot
take it for granted. There are three practices that are especially important for this: prayer,
‘searching the Scriptures,’ and receiving the Lord’s Supper. I have shared previously
about reading Scripture and the Lord’s Supper, but I’d like to share a little more here
about prayer. Prayer matters and it makes a difference. We should commit every part of
our life to God through prayer. Our jobs, families, money, talents, joys, opportunities,
sorrows, and worries – we should give all of these to God in prayer. “That’s a lot of
praying,” you may say, and it is, but the Christian life is a life of prayer. (More>>>)

Pastor’s Corner How Should We Live? Page 2 of 2
3) Attend upon the ordinances of God – Continued
Our prayers do not have to be elaborate, long, or drawn out. When Jesus’ disciples asked
him how they should pray, he taught them a simple prayer that we call the ‘Lord’s
Prayer.’
Not all of our prayers will be answered as we would wish. God is not a genie,
granting our every wish. And prayer is not always easy. Sometimes the words do not
come. Sometimes, just as in any relationship, we do not know what to say, or we are not
in a frame of mind to listen. But prayer is a crucial part of the Christian life.
Another way in which we maintain our relationship with God is by attending
public worship. Being a Christian is not all about me. It is about being a part of the
community of faith that comes together in praise, thanksgiving, and confession of sin,
and that honors God by the life and witness of its members.
Other practices which are used as ways to grow closer to God are the spiritual
practices of fasting and meditation. They can be effective ways to center our minds on
God and seek God’s will for our lives.
Over these many months I’ve shared with you that what we believe matters. I’ve
tried to give you the basics on what I think we are to believe. I hope you’ve taken what
I’ve shared to heart.
With all that, we all have to admit that there is no perfect church and no perfect
theology. There is only the perfect God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who offers
perfect love to imperfect people like each of us. Embrace the love that God offers you,
and you will find new life now and forever.
Next month I’ll start something new. I pray that you may come to understand and
believe more and more with each passing day, just how special and loved by God you
are!
Peace be with you, Buster

A Great Father is a Guy Who Has Snapshots of His Kids in His Wallet,

Where His Money Use to Be!

Celebrate on June 16 th and Every Day!
Hello June!
Birthday
07 Bettie Brandenberger
08 Carrie Trietsch
Hayden Muns
12 Shanelle Haisler Bershad
Joshua Harding-Sheets
18 Hannah Levelle
27 Kiefer Hardin
Anniversary
16 Ricky and Susie Schertz
26 Herf and Wanda Graham

Remembering Bob Howell

Bob, went to be with the Lord on Sunday May 19th

 

 

Blue Mound Memorial Dedication for Monument and Flagpole

May 26, 2024 – To Honor Our U.S. Military

 

 

Next Time You Are at Church, Visit the Memorial,
See It All for Yourself and Say a Little Prayer.

02 Holy Communion
09 Second Sunday Lunch, Noon

14 Flag Day
16 Father’s Day
20 First Day of Summer

28 Family Fellowship Night, 6:00 pm Fun, Games, and Food.

Volunteer Opportunities

Would you like to be a liturgist, greeter, usher, or provide flowers for a
month? Or sign up for our Prayer Chain Phone List.
In The Works >> We are blessed with several children, so a plan is
being developed to improve our Children Ministry. Gayla hopes to form a
special Sunday class for the older children. The nursery will be for
children 5 and under. Would you be willing to volunteer for nursery?
Sharing with other volunteers for this service maybe on a rotating basis.
This is still in the works/planning stage. Please Contact Shirley Haisler
or Karan Muns for more information or if you are interested in any of
these positions.
Or maybe you would like to be on the Mowing Team. See Sam Reynolds.

BLUE MOUND UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
8421 N. Interstate 35, Denton, TX 76207-1537 (940) 382-0825
Midway between Denton and Sanger at Exit 473
Sunday School: 9:30 am, Sunday Worship: 10:45 am
Website: www.bluemoundumc.org
Linda Boyer, Newsletter Editor
Need to contact Pastor Buster Noah?
Email: pastor@bluemoundumc.org