Marg's Musings Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, I’m never sure if the letter/writings from your pastor is supposed to be educational, thought provoking, or entertaining. Maybe it becomes a little of all three. I’ve decided to call my newsletter articles “Marg’s Musings.” I borrowed the word “musings” from the writings of a fellow pastor so that is not an original idea. Sometimes I also borrow what I share with you from something I’ve received via another source or the Internet – such as the story about the fork I shared with you in my first Sunday sermon. I tend to do those kinds of things when something I’ve read really strikes me. My first musings comes from a conversation I had with a colleague of mine. This morning I was working at the Farmers Market, filling in for Ken as he was at Germfask UMC popping corn for their Strawberry Festival, when a fellow pastor came by. I mentioned to him that all I had to do today was work the Farmers Market till noon, finish writing my sermon for Sunday, write an article for our newsletter, and fix a dish to pass for the fellowship dinner following worship Sunday. I told him I had shared this info with Ken this morning and his reply was – “Well, you’ve got all day.” We laughed and then my colleague jokingly says, “You need to write about the dish you are going to pass.” And that got me to musing! 1) United Methodists are great cooks. 2) We take great pride in providing good dishes for our potlucks. 3) And the majority of us enjoy sampling those dishes.. 4) But there are those of us who can only eat certain foods . . . a. Because of allergies b. Because we are on a diet c. Because we don’t like certain foods d. Or because of a myriad of other reasons that we don’t want to explain to anyone. Which leads me to an observation. If we are honest with ourselves – we want our dish to be the dish that everyone raves over; plus we want our bowl to be licked clean – no leftovers. In addition we secretly watch to see who is eating what, and if Martha* (*Fictitious name – to protect the innocent. J ) doesn’t take some or ours, we are offended. Think about it. This takes place in every facet of our lives. Scripture says it this way, New International Version – Matthew 7:1 & 2 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. I like the way The Message says it – “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. In our walk of faith, each of us are at different points in our relationship with Christ. We don’t see things the same and we don’t feel the same way. So let’s step back and give each other a little slack – let’s not point out that speck in someone else’s eye and ignore the log in our own. I’m going to step on someone’s toes, sometime in the near future. I won’t mean too, but it will happen. Forgive me if I do and mention it to me so I can either rectify it or apologize for it. Love me for who I am and what God is making me into – and I will do the same with you. And by the way – pass that salad, it’s the best I’ve ever eaten . Grace then Peace