As we go forward into the new year of 2012, I have already learned something new that I wish to share with you.

We all probably know that when lion trainers/tamers go into a cage with one or more lions, that the trainer carries a whip, a pistol, and a stool. I have always wondered why they carried a stool into the cage, and I just learned why.

The trainer holds the stool by the back and thrusts the legs toward the face of the lion. The lion tries to focus on all four legs at the same time. In trying to focus on all four legs, a kind of “paralysis” overwhelms the lion. The lion becomes tame, weak, and disabled, because its attention is too fragmented.

I believe that we humans can experience the same thing. We may want to accomplish many worthy goals in 2012, for ourselves, our family, and / or our business. But if we focus on too many goals at once, we will not be able to focus on any goal.

Let us make sure that we focus on only those things that we can handle at once. It may be 3 things, two things, or only one. But staying focused as we go forward will enable us to accomplish many things.

As always, I look forward to seeing you, especially in worship.

Paul Goodrich

One of the greatest Christmas gifts that we can give to God and to others is a gift from our heart. It does not have to be anything pretty, big, or expensive.  It only needs to be something that we feel deep in our hearts that we want to give / do.

Corrie Ten Boom told a story that makes this very point. It is a story about an old monk who sang a Christmas song every Christmas Eve for all the monks in the monastery and for the visitors who would come from the village for the special services.

The monk’s voice was not very pretty. In fact, it was ugly. But the monk loved the Lord, and he sang from his heart.

One year the director of the cloister said, “I’m sorry Brother John, we will not need you to sing this Christmas Eve. We have a new monk who has a beautiful voice.”

That Christmas Eve night, the new monk sang beautifully, and everyone was happy. But later that night, an angel came to the superior and said, “Why didn’t you have a Christmas Eve song?” The superior was very surprised. “We had a beautiful song that was inspirational. Didn’t you hear it?”

The angel shook his head sadly. “It may have been inspiring to you, but we did not hear it in heaven. The old monk with the raspy voice has Christ in his heart and he sings from his heart. The young monk was singing for his own benefit.”

As we consider what special gift to give to God and to others this Christmas, let us make sure that it is a gift from our hearts.

I look forward to seeing you, especially in our worship services on December 18,  Christmas Eve at 6:00pm, and on Christmas Day at 10:30am.

Maggie and I wish you a very merry and blessed Christmas.

Paul Goodrich

Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us. I love this time of year more than any other. The sights, sounds, smells, and food are all wonderful. Our worship services are some of the most beautiful in all the year. (I hope that you will be present for all 4 Sundays in Advent, especially December 4 when we will have our Advent Celebration with the Scriptures and carols of Christmas.)

One of the other main reasons I love this time of year is the change of attitude for most people. People will be more thankful and generous over the next 6 weeks than the other 46 weeks of the year combined.

I am not a “list” person, except for the list of things to do that Maggie always gives me, but I am going to make 2 lists for myself as we enter the Thanksgiving and Christmas season, and I encourage you to do the same.

One list will contain all of the things for which I am thankful during this past year. This will include everything from people and experiences, to sights and sounds. I want to save the list and refer to it throughout the coming year to keep my “thankful attitude.”

The other list will contain the names of at least 4 agencies / groups to whom I can make special gifts over the next 6 weeks. I want to be very intentional about this, and not let the “busyness” of the season get in the way of being giving and generous.

I wish that our attitudes of thankfulness and generosity would last throughout the year, but it never does. Perhaps it will last longer if we all do our part to make it last.

As always, I look forward to seeing you, especially in worship for Thanksgiving Sunday and our 4 Sundays in Advent.

Rev. Paul Goodrich

What will be on your list?

We all know that our mere presence can have an important impact on others. This is true whether we are present for a meeting, a performance, a wedding or funeral, in a waiting room, or even a worship service.

This is certainly true for our children, regardless of their age. Just “being there” can have a lasting and profound impact, especially the younger the child is.

I recently read an article that made this very point. It was entitled: “The Parent Who Truly Cares is A Parent Who Will Be Available to Give Applause.” The author said that children take delight in performing if they know that their parents are in the audience.

A preschool teacher in the article shared a conversation that she overheard between 4 children about to perform in a play. The conversation went like this:

Child 1: “My daddy is a doctor, and we have a swimming pool.”
Child 2: “My daddy is a lawyer, and he flies to Washington and speaks to the President.”
Child 3: “My daddy owns a company, and we have an airplane.”
Child 4: “My daddy is here!”

Needless to say, which child do you think was happier at that moment? I believe that the presence of parents is a visible symbol of caring that is far more important than any amount of material things.

For those of you with young children, be there for your child at every opportunity. Your child will remember your presence far more than your presents.

As always, I look forward to seeing you, especially in worship, where your presence definitely makes an impact.

Paul Goodrich

Leave comments or questions about this post below!

A survey by the Barna Research Group has pinpointed the top reasons why Americans choose a church to join. The company did a nationwide sampling, asking people to rate 22 factors that determined whether or not they returned to a church they visited.

The top six reasons for joining a church, in order of importance, were: theological beliefs, how much people care, quality of worship, friendliness to visitors, mission outreach, and quality of children’s programs. Similar results have been found in survey after survey, year after year.

I am very grateful that our church excels in all these areas. The theological beliefs of the United Methodist Church, and our church, are very centered and open. We have one of the most caring congregations that I have ever served. We make every effort to care for each other when someone is sick, lost a loved one, or has some other special need.

Each and every week, the entire staff prepares for the worship service to be as focused and uplifting as it can be. While we do not want to “overwhelm” those who visit us, we do contact them in 2 or 3 ways to let them know that we are happy that they chose to visit us, and that we hope they return. We seek to greet everyone, member and visitor, when they arrive for worship, as well as in our Ritual of Friendship.

Troy and his missions committee, Jeff and our youth, and Kim and the children, have us involved in many mission projects throughout the year, as well as whenever there is a catastrophe, such as a hurricane, tornado, or fire.
Our children’s ministries and programs are fantastic. From our School for Little People and all our choirs to our Sunday School classes and Wednesday activities, children are welcomed and nurtured.

Who is responsible for all of this? You are, the members of the congregation. John, Kristen, Kiyo, Kim, Lee, Jeff, Troy, and I could not possibly do all that we do as a church by ourselves. It takes volunteers in every area in the life of our church for our church to do what it does.

So, I want to thank each of you for doing your part to help make our church the great church that it is.

As always, I look forward to seeing you, especially in worship.

Paul Goodrich
Senior Pastor

Leave a note below about questions or insights you gleaned from this post. . .

I recently read an article about trust and faith, something all of us need in life. It was about Ben Patterson and 3 men who set out to climb Mount Lyell, the highest peak in Yosemite National Park. To get to the top, they had to cross a glacier.

Two of the men were experienced climbers, while Ben and his friend were not. The two experienced men soon began to open a wide gap between themselves and the other two men. Being very competitive, Ben began looking for a shortcut to beat them to the top. (more…)