Rec Min | January 2022

January rolls around once again the advertisers for health, fitness, and well-being have been bombarding us with fitness and diet advertisements on every tv channel, social media outlet, and text messages from unknown sources!

These programs will get you highly motivated and feel as though you’ll be twice as muscular, half your size, and able to compete in the summer Olympics by March.  Folks, let’s not fall into that trap. God created our bodies and they are amazing, but there is no fitness program, no diet, no well-being program that will work that fast. 

When we are born, God created us in his own image - from the dust in the ground.  We are born as infants and we grow for 18-20 years before our bodies are for the most part, finished with physical growth. This is not a quick process and He did not create it to be either.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Romans 12:1-2

Take your time to set realistic goals. Your goal for any physical and health change should be for it to become a normal way of life -- not a quick change that will only serve you for a short while. Gradual changes take time to transform your body permanently. Spend as much energy and time with God as you do on these goals. Let Him change the way you think and transform you into the person you are meant to become.

Marcia K. Gibney,

Director of Recreation
Christ United Methodist Church

Rec Min | December 2021

December is here along with all of the busyness of the season that this month brings.  This month will fly by quickly and before you know it, it’s the start of a new year.  How do we slow down and truly focus on the real reason we have Christmas?

Last week I received my third invitation to a Christmas party from a friend (3 of the 4 weekends in December!). To have the energy to go to these parties (and bring a dish), get my Christmas shopping done, plan and attend family gatherings, and let’s not forget the rest of the everyday household things that have to be done – usually on the weekends, is unfathomable. For years I stressed over these types of things and I would come near to collapse by the end.  No anymore. After going through a major life change and recently losing my dad, I now make choices to only do things that enrich my life and bring me closer to love and family. These types of major life events will certainly have you reconsider how you spend your time. Don’t wait for a major life change-do it now.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)

So, how do we slow down and focus? Pray for peace and discernment in your life and in your choices. Rethink all of those events and find the ones that would truly mean the most to your heart. Don’t feel the pressure to attend them all in the short season. You can always plan something another month for the purpose of visiting. When you have a peace about that, you can truly slow down and enjoy this season and its true purpose.  When you plan your friend or family gatherings, plan to make that celebration focus on why we gather at this time. After all, Jesus IS the reason for this season and how we can spend eternity in His loving arms.

Marcia K. Gibney
Director of Recreation Ministry
Christ United Methodist Church

Rec Min | November 2021

Having conversations with my teenage son is actually enlightening sometimes. Not that it’s not enlightening ever, but let’s face it, we don’t always like the same subjects or even understand some of the same language we speak in the same house!  One of our conversations recently was about a friend of his. After a discussion about this friend and what he had done, I asked, “What is his last name again?” and Tucker responded, “I don’t’ know.” “How do you NOT know his last name if he’s a friend!?” was my response. My son reminded me by tartly asking me if I knew Noah’s last name.  I told him I wasn’t sure which Noah he was referring to because if I did, I would certainly know his last name. He meant Noah, as in the Noah who built the ark. Seriously?! Did he just turn that around on me?

Now, this is probably a 3rd or 4th time during other conversations in the past that I’ve asked him if he knew a friend’s last name. The answer has always been the same – “I don’t know”.  When I grew up, we knew everyone’s last name! They were also known by their parent’s name such as John Anderson’s daughter or Rachel Smith’s son.  Is it that ironic that these younger generations have leaned more towards a one name society?

The other side of that conversation - going back to the friend who did “something” - went more in the direction of a devotion (which really warmed my heart as a mom). What do we want our only name to mean to others if they only know our first name – by something we did? If we did good, good! If we did bad, did we confess and correct and be known by that?

We all know one name and a last name is not needed to know Him. His name, His story, and all that we do through Him, because of Him, is all we need to know.

“So as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Col 1:10

So maybe a last name isn’t as important as we have made it to be in society. Maybe how we live our life is more important.

Marcia K. Gibney

Director of Recreation Ministry

Christ United Methodist Church

Rec Min Message | October 2021

Well, we all try to not be anxious but so many outside influences work on us daily.

In one of my earlier newsletter articles, I wrote about my 21-year-old daughter. She’s a senior in college – a double major and a scholarship dual athlete who has also landed her first job (before graduating) head coaching 3 teams (a varsity, jv, & middle school volleyball team) during her own sports season, as well as helping her boyfriend get to his sports practices & workouts who is unable to drive due to a temporary medical issue. The ability to balance all of it and her school work is tremendous, and impressive, but this makes me anxious.

When I arrive at work each day, I see our C-Sports fields. Due to many factors over the last year or two, they are looking bad, um, well, let’s give it a more positive description…they are in “transition” right now.  It’s soccer season so we have hundreds of little and big feet on them every day of the week and we’ve had some really impressive amounts of rain. The chemical part of the “transition” has caused the ugly stuff and getting to the point when we can put down the visible treatment (laying sod) so it can be pretty again will have to wait a couple of weeks when the season is over. I know it’s only going to look worse before it gets better and then it will be beautiful. This still makes me anxious.

Let’s not forget to mention the bills that come in every month, the “oops, mom, I know it’s 10:30pm but forgot I have a project due tomorrow and I need poster tonight” from my 16-year-old son, I need to tend to my yard projects I want to do with the plants I bought two weeks ago, the ability to be in two places at one time because only I can do the things at those two places and it has to be done at the same time.  All of these make me anxious.

Just proof reading this article makes me anxious just from sharing a few things that make me anxious – this list doesn’t come close to everything that makes me anxious.

My greater anxiety comes from not being able to sit quietly and breathe in the word of God and let Him have control over the things I think I can control. I know I have to STOP to breathe and rest in my faith that “All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” --Rom 8:28. That scripture is where it starts for me. The issue I feel for my daughter – I let go of that because she’s working through it and learning how to balance life.  It’s the same thing for those C-Sports fields – rely on the professionals who are doing their job. Finding the blessings in the bills – I have a nice home that keeps me safe and a good car that gets me places.  The fact that my son didn’t just not do that project and get a zero for a grade. Knowing I can accomplish one thing with better care & quality rather than trying to divide myself up and give half to two things.

Give me an anxiety and I’ll show you my faith.

One simple practice of giving yourself time to sit and be with God to release that control and those anxieties is really all we need to do. We must do it regularly. For many, it is hard to make that time at first but I can assure you that making it a regular habit will give you a greater amount of peace than any amount of anxiety you have had or will get in the future. Sit with God. Find the blessings. Breathe.

Marcia K. Gibney

Director of Recreation Ministry

Christ United Methodist Church

Rec Min Message | September 2021

Watching my oldest child blossom into an impressive young woman these days is amazing to watch - a tremendous leap from a teenager! She is a senior in college, a scholarship volleyball athlete, coaches 3 school volleyball teams-middle school, JV & Varsity, and has a wonderful relationship with a young man I absolutely adore-whom she is having to help a bit (he is unable to drive for six months due to a medial issue). Between schoolwork, her practice, coaching her 3 teams’ practices, managing her household, and helping drive around her boyfriend who is also an athlete with a tight schedule, even I get overwhelmed at all she has on her list to do.

Although I worry, I also know her strengths and I am especially familiar with her determination! She calls me every day and we talk through some of the stressors. A big list we make is priorities. Once the priorities are set, it is then a matter of action. Teaching her to take care of herself has been an important item to put on her list of priorities. Just because she is young doesn’t mean she is indestructible!

Mark 12:30-31 says, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  Loving your neighbor as you love yourself means you must love yourself and treat yourself well. I encourage her with this verse often. We need to remember that we cannot do what we love, with those we love if we aren’t well physically, mentally, and most especially, spiritually. That is where we will fail if we fail ourselves. Pray for guidance, wellness, peace, and balance. Most of all, pray about everything - take your heart to the Lord before anything else. He is #1 priority!

Blessings,

Marcia K. Gibney,
Director of Recreation Ministry

Christ United Methodist Church

Rec Min Message | August 2021

August 2021 Newsletter

As we prepare for the upcoming fall and winter months when we normally see a surge in illnesses such as colds and flu, it seems as though this Delta variant, another strain of COVID-19, will be added to our precautions. Last year we were completely overtaken with COVID and the unbelievable experience that consumed us and the entire world.  The world shut down to prepare to battle and try to control this disease.  Slowly, we were able to open back up and start working towards more normalcy. But then, Delta variant…here we go again?  We could possibly see a repeat of shutting our doors again. What did we learn? Will we panic? Are we more experienced in how to deal with this – not only medically and physically but psychologically?

If you look back over history, viruses have never been a “one and done” type disease.  They too, become wiser each time and will change to meet their needs of spreading. We in turn learn how to treat and battle these diseases and become wiser with each one. This time around maybe we won’t have as much panic as before and we can calmly go through this with purpose.  We all know in emergencies that if we remain calm, we make less mistakes, avoiding creating more chaos during the chaos.  Maybe our own personal calm about dealing with this will spread as quickly and we can have less stress and chaos. I believe we will. My faith tells us we will.

Prov 9:9 says, “Give instruction to the wise, and they will become wiser still; teach the righteous and they will gain in learning.”  Long before COVID guidelines we had instruction on becoming better and wiser with each lesson in life. Just as in life, every experience we go through makes us wiser (we hope) and we are better prepared the next time we have a similar experience OR we are able to avoid it altogether. When we know better, we do better.

Take care, be safe, be a blessing, be blessed.

Marcia K. Gibney,
Director of Recreation Ministry

Rec Min Message | July 2021

When I open my news station’s website, almost all news articles are negative happenings - shootings, robberies, critical vehicle accidents, etc. The next are more or less “entertainment” articles which are usually about the wild lives of current social media people, actors, or athletes. When I get to the bottom of the page, I see the benign articles.  Why is it that the media chooses the negative over the positive? Is it because this is what entertains us, excites us, motivates us or even worse/better – influences us?

We are all attracted to shocking information and how we respond is usually on target with what the media probably expects. So, if we read an article about a fatal car accident, do we say, “I bet the driver was under the influence or texting…” or do we immediately stop and pray regardless of who did what?

It is important is how we respond to this type of information and what we do with it. Ephesians 6:12 says, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."  Also, Ephesians 4:29 tells us, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”  While the media may control what is put out there first and in abundance, don’t allow that influence to change your perspective on how you respond to the information.  Pray for the individuals and pray for the truth and pray God’s will to prevail over it all. When you are discussing the current events, do so in such a way that others are also first in prayer over the news. Let’s do our part to change the narrative in the negative. Tragic events bring us closer to God and from that relationship with Him, we must find the blessings and use that for His good moving forward.

 Blessings,

Marcia K. Gibney
Director of Recreation Ministry

Rec Min Message | June 2021

More than 4,000 years ago, the ancient Babylonians celebrated the New Year not in January, but in March. This is when they crowned a new king, or reaffirmed loyalty to the old king. Centuries later, the ancient Romans had similar traditions to ring in their new year, which also originally began in March and as they gradually became less warlike, the switch from celebrating the New Year during March (associated with Mars, the god of war) to January (associated with Janus, a god of home and hearth). In 1740, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, invented a new type of church service called Covenant Renewal Services or watch night services, held during the Christmas and New Year's season as an alternative to holiday partying. Worshippers sang, prayed, and reflected on the year and renewed their covenant with God.

As you can see, historically the New Year’s resolution gradually changed from March to January and from political/military purposes into healthy and wellness promises. So why do we currently limit ourselves to only once a year and only one resolution? Why can’t we make promises to become better in many ways more than once a year?  Many of those resolutions take time and many times, they need revamping. Maybe consider starting a new tradition of adding a June resolution - sort of a halfway point for the sought-after goals. A spiritual reset is the most important in setting and maintaining those goals. Our faith is our true strength and without it, the struggle to reach other goals can be misleading.  We can convince ourselves that our bodies or minds weren’t meant to be a certain way when in fact they can. Give yourself some grace and strengthen yourself in the word of God. Once our spiritual life is reset, we can focus our strength on the goals with a renewed sense of purpose. Evaluate your perspective to keep a focus on the living Christ and how He is always moving in your life.

Blessings,

Marcia K. Gibney
Director of Recreation Ministry

Rec Min Message | May 2021

During one of our staff devotions our Ministries Leader, Brad Boland, shared a devotion with scripture from Isaiah 43:19,

 “I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

 When we have to change what we do because of things beyond our control or out our usual comfort level, blessings beyond our ability to perceive can come from that change.

 In our CUMC Recreation Ministry’s
C-Sports, each season our participants “do a new thing”. This is a great opportunity for change. Some of them find their love of a sport. Some find that they love being on any type of team that does something good together-even if they don’t like the sport. Some find a new friend.  Whole families connect where they normally wouldn’t have even met.  They learn about Jesus or they learn something new about Jesus through a shared experience.

 Our volunteer coaches are ministers to these participants and these families during the season and they are also the influencers to create change—beyond the actual sport—through the weekly devotion time. Unbeknownst to them, this time they spend coaching and teaching through that season can be life changing and produce blessings that will continue to flow even for many generations. These are our greatest ministers and we are all blessed by their willingness to be a part of our ministry.

 Don’t forget to find the blessings even in the hard parts of life. Forced change beyond our control can put us out of our comfort zone but it can sure teach us new things we never imagined would be blessings!

 Blessings,

Marcia Horn

Director of Recreation Ministry

Christ United Methodist Church

Rec Min Messge | April 2021

April is a month we all seem to love and despise all at the same time. The beautiful blooms that provide such an array of color that provokes smiles on all of our faces while at the same time, that yellow powdery stuff makes our eyes swell and our nose overreact and we are miserable. Then there are the on and off storms that come from the quickly changing temperatures of spring’s arrival. We love that the rain washes all of the pollen from our cars but we despise the terrifying experience of the storm’s torrential downpours and tornadic winds and damage, not to mention the lightening striking so frequently.  We quickly forget the beauty that April brought us when the storms come through.  It hammers down those azalea blooms and strips the new tender leaves blooming on the trees.  We forget the beauty while grimacing at the ugliness left behind. We have to remember the recovery process is quick and very soon new buds are forming and the beauty of renewal is blooming right before us again!

 “Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord; as certain as the dawn is his coming. He will come to us like rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.” -Hosea 6:3

We don’t always have the beauty of life without going through the harder parts first. There is hope in renewal and without those storms of life, we don’t seem to appreciate the beauty of that renewal. Even through these hard parts we should strive to find the blessings in them (the pollen was washed away).  Having faith and knowing we can “bloom” again is the greatest gift we have been given.  Have faith, embrace the storms, live in the beauty of that renewal.

 Marcia K. Horn,
Director of Recreation Ministry
Christ United Methodist Church