Religion Archive: A Pastor Ponders
July 2006 through November 2006

Night shot of Christmas yard decor.
Photo By Marilyn Clark,
League City Area News Online

The music of Christmas

By Pastor William Jenkins

November 30, 2006

One of the distinctive features of Christmas is its music. Some of the most beautiful and joyful music ever written is sung at Christmas time. Christmas was birthed in heavenly music.

On the night Jesus was born, after the angel announced the good tidings of great joy, a heavenly host sang a joyful tune over the fields of Bethlehem, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, goodwill to men!”

Is it no wonder that Isaac Watts could write the words and Handle could compose the music for “Joy to the World!”? Christmas music is the most inspired of all music.

In this world we need Christmas to give us a course adjustment; to remind us of the way the world is supposed to work. Christmas is about faith and hope and joy and love and things that refresh our souls. Christmas music lifts the downhearted, lightens the spirit of the depressed, and expresses our deepest desires of hope and joy. Christmas music helps us regain our “true north” bearing.

Jeremiah lamented over young men who had lost their reason to sing. (Lamentations 5:14) Christmas can be therapeutic for those who have lost your reason to sing. If the pressures of life have squeezed the music out of you listen to the music of Christmas.

Allow the gentle sway of “O Little Town of Bethlehem” to massage your tensions, the exciting rhythm of “Joy to the World” to invigorate your hope, the grand orchestration of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” to inspire your soul. It is not possible to have Christmas without its music.

Religion - The music of Christmas

The Children's Christmas Tree.
Photo By Marilyn Clark,
League City Area News Online

The Christmas dash

By Pastor William Jenkins

November 24, 2006

Okay, the Thanksgiving leftovers are safely stored in the freezer and your indigestion is beginning to subside. What now? Well, it’s time for the Christmas dash!

The Friday after Thanksgiving is like a starter’s gun that signals a mad dash to go shopping. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day the whole world seems to be in a hurry.

We began to see signs of Christmas before the hobgoblins of Halloween had disappeared from the scene; after that the Pilgrims were bumping into Santa trying to be noticed. Christmas is such a big event that the days left till Christmas are counted down, which increases our anxiety about the looming deadline.

During the Christmas season we become gripped by the tyranny of the urgent. There are parties to plan and attend, shopping to get done, presents to wrap, mailing deadlines to beat, travel arrangements to make, preparations for guests, decorations to get up, meals to prepare; so many things making demands on our time, so little time in which to do them.

So we overload our nervous systems, exhaust our physical energies, and throw ourselves upon the altar of the urgent as a sacrifice to the god of “Got To”, Got To do this…Got To do that… Got To go there… Got To be here. It is a shame that we get so stressed at Christmas time.

For those who are in the loop on what the season is all about, the journey to Christmas can be more of a leisurely stroll than a mad dash. I’m sure Jesus would not mind if we all slowed down a bit and savored the reason for the season. After all, it is His birthday celebration. Sometime during the preparations for your Christmas celebration, whenever you are bombarded by the god of “Got To”, I hope you can hear the true Guest of Honor whisper, “Come aside with Me and rest a while.” (Mark 6:31)

Religion - The Christmas dash

Reasons to be thankful

By Pastor William Jenkins

November 16, 2006

Perhaps you have read the following some other place at some other time. As we anticipate Thanksgiving I share it with you as something to ponder during the season.

Today upon a bus I saw a lovely maid with golden hair.
I envied her, she seemed so happy; I wished I were as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one foot and used a crutch, but as she passed, she smiled.

O, God, forgive me when I whine. I have two feet, the world is mine.
When I stopped to buy some sweets, the lad who sold them had such charm.
As I talked with him, he said to me, “It’s nice to talk to men like you.
“ You see,” he said, I’m blind.”

Oh God, forgive me when I whine. I have two eyes, the world is mine.

Then I passed along the way and saw a child with eyes of blue.
He stood and watched the others play; it seemed he knew not what to do.
I stopped a moment, then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?”
He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he could not hear.

Oh God forgive me when I whine.
I have two ears, the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I’d go,
With eyes to see the sunsets glow,
With ears to hear what I would know,
I’m blessed indeed; the world is mine.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine.

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org

Religion - Reasons to be thankful

Sleeping well

By Pastor William Jenkins

November 9, 2006

Among my collection of favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 4:8. I would guess it was written early in David’s illustrious life when he was a young shepherd boy sleeping under the stars.

He had responsibility for sheep that were prey to a number of predators that stalked under cover of darkness. Getting a good night’s sleep under such circumstances would be a challenge.

Perhaps this verse was a bedtime prayer that David said each evening, “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone. O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

Alexander the Great was known for his sound sleeping even in the midst of war and great danger. He was asked on one occasion how he slept so well. Alexander said that he slept well because Parmenio, his faithful guard, kept careful watch over him day and night. Therefore, he could rest and sleep peacefully.

I like to think that as a grown man, with the weight of a crown on his head, King David remembered the secret of a good night’s sleep, to have God posted as a guard during the night.

A good night’s sleep is essential for a healthy life-style. My prayer for people who are hospitalized or suffering from various dreads is that they will be able to sleep well. Recently I visited with an elderly lady prior to her open-heart surgery. She was very calm and content, not at all worried about what the next day might bring. I asked her how long she had known the Lord. She smiled and said, “Since I was ten years old.” She went on to tell me of that experience that was as fresh in her memory as if it had happened yesterday. She would sleep well during the night because she knew who it was that watched over her.

There are many things that have the power to rob us of sleep: work, worry, anxiety, ill health, children, and a host of others. Each night when I get ready for bed one thing I do is to clean out all my pockets and place the contents away until the morning: keys, pens, papers, change, etc.
I won’t need them during the night. I cannot use them while I am sleeping. To create pajama pockets and sleep with them would be quite useless and foolish.

If we could learn to put away for a few hours the things that cause us to loose sleep we would be a healthier and happier people. But we create pajama pockets and take them to bed with us where they stalk under cover of darkness and keep us tossing and turning in our sleep.

Ponder this: To sleep well is to learn the fine art of letting go and letting God watch over us during the night.

Religion - Sleeping well

Bring me a harpist

By Pastor William Jenkins

November 2, 2006

I remember the early years of FM radio when the only music played on that band was referred to as “elevator music.” It was slow, soothing and possessed properties of relaxation. If you liked that kind of music you were not “cool,” you were “square.” I liked Rock & Roll, Gospel and Country music, but in my more pensive frame of mind I liked “elevator music”. It reached me on a deeper level; it spoke to me of quiet and restful moments; it relieved the stress within. Being “cool” all the time could wear a body out.

Many are familiar with the Bible story of David and how in the early years after Goliath, he was a harpist for King Saul. Saul suffered from the melancholies. David’s music had power to tame the savage beast in King Saul. I have heard a harp or two and they are excellent for producing “elevator music.”

A less familiar story is in 2 Kings three. The wicked king Joram, son of Ahab, has had a bad day in battle and resorts to Elisha for help. Elisha would not suffer fools and certainly had no sympathy for wicked Joram. He did not care so much as to give him the time of day. Elisha tells him to go away and seek the help of his false gods. Joram blames his misfortune on Elisha’s God and refuses to leave until Elisha’s God helps him.

Elisha was beside himself that Joram had the audacity to blame God for his misfortunes. He is so frustrated he could spit nails. The great prophet is in no frame of mind to seek counsel of the Lord. Before he does something he might regret Elisha says, “Bring me a harpist!” (2 Kings 3:15) He needed some elevator music. The music settled his nerves so that he could receive a word from the Lord.

Music does affect our moods. The next time you are listening to a particular kind of music, check your attitude and thoughts. What is the music doing for you and to you? When you are depressed or wound too tight, expose yourself to some good mood, i.e. “elevator” music. The next time I am stopped at an intersection and some person pulls up beside me with speakers louder that a shuttle engine, I think I’ll stick my head out the window and shout, “Bring me a harpist!”

Religion - Bring me a harpist

Not for sale

By Pastor William Jenkins

October 26, 2006

October 29 is Reformation Sunday. It is the Sunday closest to October 31, when on All Hallows Eve, 1517, Martin Luther posted 95 discussion questions on the door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and ignited the Protestant Reformation. We have difficulty relating to the significance of that simple action.

Because of it, Luther was summoned to appear before the Imperial Diet of Worms (pronounced “Vorms”) to answer charges of heresy. His friends cautioned him against going, but Luther was determined. They reminded him how once before the emperor had delivered another would-be reformer to the stake. Luther answered, “I would go to Worms if there were as many devils at Worms as there are tiles upon the housetops.”

At Worms, he stood before the highest authorities of his day. When ordered to recant all that he had been teaching, writing and preaching, Martin Luther uttered that splendid yet simple declaration: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me.”

During the Second World War in Luther’s Germany, the pastor of an influential church in Berlin was ordered to pledge loyalty to Nazism. The Nazis were anxious to gain this prized personality and use him for propaganda purposes.

The pastor steadfastly refused to sell out to their demands. On June 27, 1937, the infamous Gestapo was sent into his Sunday morning service. He knew they were there and why. With every temporal advantage to lose and none to gain, Martin Niemuller stood in his pulpit that Sunday and served notice that he was not for sale.

In his sermon he said, “I will just say that we have no more thought of using our power to escape the arm of the authorities than had the apostles of old (Acts 5). But we are no more ready than they were to keep silent at the command of men when God commands us to speak. For it is and must remain the case that we must obey God rather than men.”

Concerned parishioners ushered Niemuller out of his pulpit after his sermon. He was arrested on July 1 and sent to the concentration camps at Sachsenhausen and Dachau where he was imprisoned for eight long years.

Something to ponder: In these days of compromise for convenience, where are the bold spirits who for truth, honor and common decency are not for sale?

Religion - Not for sale

Thirsty?

By Pastor William Jenkins

October 19, 2006

Have you ever been thirsty? I mean the kind of thirst that gives you cotton mouth; the kind of thirst that can be satisfied by water more than any other liquid.

Water is a necessity for life. People can live longer without food than they can without water because our bodies are over 90% water.

The writer of Psalms 42 realizes that the thirst of the body for water was like the thirst of the soul for God. “As the deer pants after the water brooks, so my soul thirsts for God.”

Old Fort Clark was established in this locale as a stronghold against hostile Indians. The site of the fort was chosen because of artesian wells feeding a small stream of water, an oasis in those barren wastes. A few years ago my wife and I spent the night in the old fort while visiting her brother.

As we drove across the bridge spanning the crystal, rock bottom creek, we stopped to read the historical marker nearby. A phrase in the inscription said, “The Indians believed that he who crosses this stream will have his sins washed away.” The Indians, like the Psalmist, realized that there is a relationship between the thirst of the body and the thirst of the soul.

Something to ponder: In those times whenever you experience “cotton mouth” of the soul, the artesian wells are only a prayer away.

Do a good deed

By Pastor William Jenkins

October 12, 2006

Jesus tells a parable about sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31-46). The sheep on the right hand are represented as good and have a bright future. The goats on the left hand are bad and would suffer dire consequences.

In the parable the sheep represent people who do a good deed. The goats don’t do bad deeds, they just don’t do anything. It’s not like they were expected to do great things either, just simple things.

An itemization of the deeds expected is revealing: a loaf of bread; a cup of water; an extra garment; a touch of sympathy; warm hospitality; a show of concern. There is no mention of being a great speaker, possessing great leadership abilities, Nobel prizes, or having one’s picture on the front of a national magazine.

It’s all about the little things.

It appears that when the stage is set for the grand finale of human history it is not going to be our grand achievements that will persuade the Almighty of our worth, but rather the small and forgotten deeds of kindness we have done along the way.

Mother Teresa said, “In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.” Few of us will ever have the opportunity of performing some great deed for the benefit of mankind, but we can do the little things well.

Here is something to ponder:

“It’s the little things we do and the minor words we say
That make or break the beauty of the average passing day.”

Religion - Do a good deed

A city beneath the waves

By Pastor William Jenkins

October 5, 2006

I received word from a parishioner who was having a particularly difficult day. I sent a few lines of encouragement while remembering an English legend about a city that is said to have been swallowed up by the sea.

There are several places along the English coast that are pointed out as the place of this ancient city and fishermen have strange tales to tell of it. According to them, the tips of the spires of the churches may be seen in the hollow of the waves when the sea is rough, while during a calm the music of the bells, ringing out a hymn appropriate to the day, rises above the waters.

We would do well if we had such a city beneath the waves, at the bottom of our heart. A city whose church spires, visible in the hollows of the rough times, remind us of the deep resources of faith for difficult days; a city whose chimes in the fair times, remind us of the good favor of God.

Good days and bad days come and go, but the person whose faith is deeper than the bad days always hears the chimes at the end of the day. So, take a deep breath, look up, say a prayer and smile.

What is above you and below you is greater than what is around you.

Ponder this and you will sleep well tonight.

Religion - A city beneath the waves

Lights on!

By Pastor William Jenkins

September 28, 2006

Last Sunday was a bit different at League City United Methodist Church. The Saturday night storm sent a tree falling across the power lines and knocked out the transformer servicing the church building. We had no power. No lights. No air conditioning. The power company said we should probably cancel church because it would be noon or later before power would be restored.

What to do? We had church. We pulled out the candles for Christmas Eve and other occasions and created our own light. The people pulled together and we had one of our more memorable worship experiences … though on the warm side.

I was reminded of a story. Several centuries ago in a mountain village in Europe, a wealthy nobleman wondered what legacy he should leave to the townspeople. He decided to build them a church. No one was permitted to see the plans or the inside of the church until it was finished. At the grand opening the people gathered and marveled at the beauty of the new church. It seemed everything had been thought of and included. It was a masterpiece.

Then someone said, “Wait a minute! Where are the lamps? It is really quite dark in here. How will the church be lighted?” The nobleman pointed to some brackets in the walls, and then he gave each family a lamp, which they were to bring with them when they came to worship.

“Each time you are here,” he said, “the place where you are seated will be lighted. Each time you are not here, that place will be dark. This is to remind you that whenever you fail to come to church, some part of God’s house will be dark; but when you do come some part will be bright.”

There was power and light at the Methodist church in League City last Sunday morning and it was not generated by electricity.

Religion - Lights on!

Traveling light

By Pastor William Jenkins

September 21, 2006

Last year as we fled Hurricane Rita we were faced with the loss of our “finer things.” Like many that day, before we locked the door and left, we took one last longing look at the stuff that might not be there when we returned. Stuck in the traffic, I observed the cars, trucks, trailers and assorted vehicles laden with “stuff.” I was made aware of how heavily we travel through life.

When Jesus selected his Apostles, he gave them instructions to travel light (Mark 6). As they went from place to place they were to “take nothing for your journey except what is absolutely necessary, a staff, the sandals on your feet and the clothes on your back.”

That is a rather austere way of life. The lesson is to travel light. We should always relate to our stuff in such a way that if we lost it our essential self would be able to carry on peacefully. Psalm 62:10 gives this advice: “…though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.”

This is just something to ponder a year later.

Religion - Traveling light

The edge of eternity

By Pastor William Jenkins

September 14, 2006

We were sobered recently when we learned of the death of our modern day Tarzan, Steve Irwin. To many people he was entertaining; to all he was daring. He was totally fascinated by the animal habitat and the personalities of the creatures that live there.

If there is any consolation, it is that he died doing what he loved to do.

His death made me think how fragile and uncertain life is. We take for granted the hours we have to work and play and be with our family and friends…to enjoy life. All too suddenly these bright blessings can be gone.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 is a favorite passage to many people. It blends together the events of life. Everything has it’s time. It’s time does not last long, however, because the river of life flows on.

Religion - The edge of eternity

Meeting Mason

By Pastor William Jenkins

September 7, 2006

His name is Mason and he is fourteen years old.

Mason was climbing a tree when he fell and broke his back. He was paralyzed from mid –chest down.

When I arrived at the hospital I found him in his wheelchair returning from the gymnasium.

I expressed my regret about the accident that had put him in the wheelchair. I then asked how he was dealing with his new situation. He replied, “Well, I’m not mad at myself for climbing that tree and I’m not mad at God because I fell out of it. It’s just something that happened.

I told my mother if I ever walk again I’ll climb that tree again. She thinks I’m crazy.” Then he added, “I guess she’ll have to drive me to school for awhile.”

What an inspiring attitude! There was no bitterness, no self-pity, no anger or second guessing his actions. His was an attitude far beyond the maturity of his years. I left there believing that Mason would one day climb that tree again.

I wasalso wondering how many people are not at all like Mason. When misfortune overtakes them they turn bitter and blame themselves, the world, or God. Here was a young man who raised the bar for surviving a tough time.

Where does a young man get such a positive disposition? He also told this preacher, “I say my prayers every morning and every night.”

Just something to ponder.

Labor Day

By Pastor William Jenkins

August 31, 2006

Labor day: the day we celebrate something by ignoring it. In 1889 Jerome K. Jerome wrote this familiar line in a work called Three Men In A Boat: “I like work; it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours.”

When I was in my early teens I was a gangly fellow with an Alfalfa cow-lick and front teeth that would rival David Letterman. A beloved aunt once paid this complement to my younger brother: “He is such a handsome boy.” Realizing too late that I was in the room she quickly added, “And Billy…(now she knew she would be lying if she said I was handsome too) Billy is such a hard worker.” That was the best she could do!

What a bummer; I would rather have been handsome. I received some consolation from these words of Teddy Roosevelt, “Far and away the best prize life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.” I learned to take pride in a good work ethic and a satisfaction that the reward of a job well done is to have done it.

Working at a “filling station” in the summer of ’67 I was daily exposed to a placard posted in the window. It still hangs in the window of my memory.

It said: “Don’t think of this as just another day, but as a way of life.” From those days onward, with every employment opportunity, I have been engaged in “a way of life.”

In Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 we discover that it is attitude that makes the difference between enjoying work as a way of life or resenting it as an intrusion on life.

Something to ponder this Labor Day: If you cannot do what you like, make up your mind to like what you do.

Education begins at home

By Pastor William Jenkins

August 24, 2006

Whatever your feelings, ask yourself two questions: Who is at the center of your children’s education? Who is doing the most to shape their growth and development? Their teachers? Their peer group?

Wise King Solomon had no doubt who it should be: the parents. (Proverbs 1:8) Education begins in the home.

Second question, what is the focal point around which their education revolves? Is it the arts and humanities? Is it the natural or applied sciences? Once again, listen to wise King Solomon: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1:7) This is where the foundation of a good education begins. The more we marginalize religious faith in the education of our children the more evident is Solomon’s wisdom in this matter. Solomon’s premise is that an educated mind is sterile apart from an educated soul.

The education of the soul must begin in the home with the parent. Parents that feel inadequate for the religious training of their children can receive help from the numerous churches in our community.

Clipping the tongue

By Pastor William Jenkins

August 17, 2006

John Wesley was the founder of the “Methodist” movement that eventually became the Methodist Church. Wesley was a popular preacher and a great reformer. He was also known as a rather faddish dresser.

One day he was preaching while wearing a bowtie with long streamers. A lady walked up to him after the service and said, “Mr. Wesley, may I talk to you please?” “Certainly,” he said. She proceeded, “I find your tie quite offensive. It is way too long and it speaks of worldliness to me.”

Wesley looked around and asked, “Does anyone here have a pair of scissors?”
Someone handed him a pair of scissors. He gave them to the lady and said, “Go ahead, cut it off to suit yourself.”

And she did: she cut it off to suit her taste of propriety. After she finished Mr. Wesley said, “May I have the scissors please? Lady, would you be so kind as to stick out you tongue. I find it offensive because it is way too long and speaks of worldliness to me.”

Ouch! How often are we caught being long-tongued and in need of a good clipping? I have a vivid 45 year old memory of a lady chastising a young girl after church because of the way she was dressed. Along with the pastor, my friends and I had gone to great lengths to get that girl to attend our church. She lived right across the street from the church, but she never came again.

The Bible teaches us that we will be judged in the same manner as we judge others. That warning ought to clip our tongues considerably. God gives us instruction to be gracious, loving, merciful, and kind. Use your tongue to praise, encourage and honor others…and leave the judging to God.

Religion - Clipping the tongue

Waiting for the tide

By Pastor William Jenkins

August 10, 2006

One summer while on the southern coast of England Reverend Malcolm Groom was driving me to a meeting of the Circuit Preachers in Chichester.

As we passed over a bay bridge, I noticed there was no water in the bay and all the boats were stranded in the mud. I commented to Rev. Groom that this was a dumb place to launch a boat. He laughed and informed me that the tide was out.

Familiar with the Gulf Coast I wanted to know, “If there is a tide, where’s the water?” He grinned with amusement toward his foreign passenger and answered, “Oh, about a mile south of the roadway. Things will be different when we come back this way.” (This I had to see.)

Three hours later we crossed over the same bridge and, sure enough, the boats were floating in ample water. The tide was coming in. We observed the same phenomena at Basham and other places along the English Channel. Each time we saw boats sitting in the mud I would think, “They’re waiting for the tide.”

It occurred to me that life is often like those boats…sitting in the mud, waiting for the tide. When you find yourself in the dry basins of life remember three things:

1. A boat in a dry basin is no less a boat than one in deep water. It may not be in its intended habitat, but it is still a boat with inherent potential.

2. Jesus keeps company with us when our boat is grounded. He doesn’t say, “Well, this boats not going anywhere so I’m bailing out.” On the oceans or in the muddy basin Jesus is with you.

3. The tide always comes in. Just as there is a natural law which never fails to bring in the tide, so there is a spiritual law that never fails to bring an abundance of buoyancy to those who wait patiently with the Lord.

Ponder this: When the tide is out, do not abandon hope.

Religion - Waiting for the tide

Best friends

By Pastor William Jenkins

August 3, 2006

A favorite Broadway character is Tevye from the musical “Fiddler on the Roof. He just talked to God like he would his best friend, and he told Him just what he thought. Sometimes Tevye would laugh with God and sometimes he would cry.

Sometimes he would complain to God and sometimes he would rejoice. But always he told God what he was thinking and he knew deep down in his heart that God was listening…and that God cared about him! Tevye believed he and God were friends…close friends!

Wouldn’t that be the ultimate tribute for someone to say, “He, or she, and God were best friends.” When our days are finished on this earth and when people think back and try to recall our best quality, wouldn’t it be great for them to remember us as best friends with God?

Religion - Best Friends

Honoring one another

By Pastor William Jenkins

July 27, 2006

Gary Smalley is one of America’s best selling authors and most popular speakers on human relations. In one of his seminars, he does a very interesting thing. He pulls out his old violin. It’s obviously an antique and also obviously in need of repair. It doesn’t look like it could be worth much at all. In fact, it really looks like a piece of junk.

He holds it up high for all to see, and then he says, “Do you have any idea how much this violin is worth? This may surprise you, but it’s actually worth close to a million dollars, because if you look through the opening on the face of the violin, you see inside some very special words: 1722 Stradivarius.’”

When he says that, the audience goes “AHHHH!” Then, he goes on, “If you will honor other people like that, it will change your life. It’s the greatest relationship principle I know of. I want you to go home and write on the forehead of your mate, your children, your friends the word ‘Stradivarius’, because they are much more valuable than any violin.”

Much of the unpleasantness in our relationships comes from considering other people to be of little value. Whenever I am tempted to think poorly of someone I remind myself that God loves them. If God loves them He must know something about them that I don’t know. If I knew what God knew about them, I would love them too; therefore, I should see the Stradivarius within them and honor them.

Religion - Honoring one another

Texans helping Texans — “Rebuilding Futures” Mission Trips to ease the devastation left by Hurricane Rita

From League City United Methodist Church

July 27, 2006

Almost everyone in our area knows of the devastation caused by Hurricane Rita, but many of them make the assumption that funds have been distributed, repairs have been made and all is back to normal.

“It’s just not so” declares League City resident and League City United Methodist member Kevin Sicking. “While FEMA relief is on the scene, often it’s not enough for people to get their homes back in livable shape. We hope to help restore those people’s hopes and dreams for the future they saw for themselves before Hurricane Rita paid them a visit.”

Sicking is spearheading a mission program called “Rebuilding Futures”, which coordinates skilled volunteers and sends them to the hardest hit areas in Texas to roof, frame, sheetrock and paint. Experience in rebuilding is not a pre-requisite, and skilled workers are often paired with others with less experience and form teams to maximize their efforts.

“There are all sorts of opportunities to help” Sicking adds. “Besides the actual building skills, we need folks to get materials, check resources, do clerical and organizational work—the list is endless!”

During the last week in July, the mission team will be stationed in Orange, and will stay at the First Methodist Church’s Malloy Center. Other trips are being mapped out throughout the year.

For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the church website at www.lcumc.org. To contact Kevin Sicking directly, call 281-332-2958 or email ksicking@ houston.rr.com . League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street, one block east of Interstate 45.

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org

Religion - Texans helping Texans — “Rebuilding Futures” Mission Trips

The whistler

By Pastor William Jenkins

July 20, 2006

One day at the country store in the middle of the little town, Tex mentioned something about the whistling Mr. Gentry. One of the old-timers asked, “Do you know why Mr. Gentry always whistles when he is outside in the yard?” Tex replied that he had no idea. The old-timer said quietly, “His wife is blind.” It was then that Tex understood why Mr. Gentry always whistled. His whistling was a message to Mrs. Gentry, “I’m out here, Dear…now I’m over here…now I’m in the back yard. If you need me, call and I will hear you. I’m not far away, I’m not going to leave you alone.”

In much the same way God is whistling to let you know He is not far away. In Isaiah 58:9 we have this promise: “Then shall you call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry out and He will say, ‘Here I am’.” Listen for God’s whistle today.

Religion - The whistler

League City United Methodist Church is located at 1411 Main Street (FM 518), one block east of Interstate 45. For information, call the church offices at 281-332-1557 or visit the website at

HYPERLINK - http://www.lcumc.org