I don't know about you but I tend to find pennies to be annoying. I was looking at one the other day, which is something I don't typically take time to do. I looked at the front side, In God we Trust, and I thought to myself, I need to give this coin another chance. It actually may have a good purpose for my life.
How often do we walk by a penny on the pavement and perhaps not pick it up because its value is minimal? How often do we receive pennies in change and think that they are not worth keeping so we just drop them in some donation jar? So we typically pass by pennies. What if we gave the penny a second chance?
What if we were to instead pick up the penny and give it a second chance as we pause to be reminded...in God we trust. What if we did this with each penny we encounter daily and understand that second chance reminder to us is that no matter what we are worrying about, read that message...In God we Trust. No matter what we are afraid of...the words are there to remind us...In God we Trust...In God I trust...
I am working to give the penny a second chance. It may not have great monetary value but it holds a message which I have the opportunity to hear multiple times each day if I just give the penny a second chance.
Rev. Patti Napier
Archived Posts
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Listening Heart
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(But it doesn’t mean that they don’t offer real insight into the power of risk over the fear of failure...)
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I reflected a lot on the passage about Zacchaeus because it has been written off as “been there, read that, little guy in a tree.” But it is so rich in getting to the heart of what it means to be saved by grace through faith—to live our lives out of gratitude rather than obligation.
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This last Sunday I had so much more to share than time to share it. The last Emotional Management Technique was to stay present in the process. Just as Jesus stayed with the woman who was judged and found guilty by the angry crowd, we stay by our children and our friends, especially when they need us the most. Here a couple of examples...
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Last Sunday I used one of my favorite benedictions.
It was inspired by a saying from about ten years ago:
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
There are several powerful and evocative artworks that depict the scene from Mark 9:14–29, where Jesus heals a boy possessed by an unclean spirit... Some of the following have internet links, the others are worth googling. Enjoy!