Keysville United Methodist Church

08/24/2026

08/01/2026

Be on the lookout for some new opportunities for fellowship starting in September. Be sure to check in, and see what's going on!

08/01/2026

Home

Last week, our family embarked on a great adventure – flying almost 4000 miles to Alaska, and discovering the beauty of it by boat, train, and bus. The mountains were huge and steep, and so close you felt you could reach out and touch them. We saw whales, moose, a caribou, sled dogs, sea lions, and bald eagles – and best of all, Mount McKinley on a rare, clear afternoon.

We met people from all over the country and all over the world. Everyone was eager to know, “Where are you from?” and to share what they had seen on their trip. It was a very different place from anywhere we had ever been: beautiful, still wild, and mostly visited only 4 months out of the year. The rest of the time it’s too harsh for most people to live there, and I can certainly see why.

We had planned our trip months ago, and as luck would have it, our week was “unusually” cold and rainy - all week. I have never been as cold as I was the day I was standing in a river, trying to catch a salmon in the pouring rain. (And I don’t even like to fish.) I started to long for home, where I’m not surrounded by people pushing against me in a crowded airport, and I’m warm, and safe from wild animals. Home. What a beautiful word.

But I didn’t want to wish away this chance of a lifetime to see a place that you really do have to experience in person to believe. I loved riding the train and thinking of my grandfather and how much he would have loved it too. I loved seeing our son-in-law catch a salmon and then all of us eating it for lunch. I loved sharing it all with our family and seeing it through our grandchildren’s eyes. Yes, it was cold and exhausting, and hard – but isn’t life sometimes? We’re only here for a little while, as the saying goes, and we need to treasure the people and experiences God gives us. We’re not home in heaven yet; but it sure is good to be here.

Take care, Ree

06/04/2026

Perfect

Yesterday I was talking with my daughter while she was picking up the kids from school. Fourth-grader Bennett climbed into the car; and Sharon asked him, “How did the SOL’s go?” “Fine,” he said, “but Campbell is still in there, working on hers.” Sharon explained to me that Campbell is a great student – so good that she got every question right on last year’s SOL test. And now she’s determined to do that well again – even though a perfect score isn’t required and doesn’t really matter. It only matters that she pass; and maybe that she doesn’t demand so much of herself.

As I thought about that later, I saw myself in Campbell, at so many times in my life. Trying to get perfect grades, trying to be the perfect wife and mother and daughter and friend. And most of all, trying to be the perfect Christian – and failing at all of them, usually every day. Why? Wasn’t I trying hard enough?

It took me most of my life to really understand that we are all very imperfect people, living in an imperfect world – and that that’s OK. God never asks us to be perfect; He just wants us to do our best and try to follow the helpful instructions in His Word. If I were perfect, I wouldn’t need God, or His help, or His Word. I would do just fine on my own. And if I were perfect, I wouldn’t have much patience or empathy or sympathy for everyone else, who struggle in their own ways.

God “knows that we are dust” – very imperfect people who need a Savior, and a Helper, and a Friend to walk beside us and show us what to do. I’ve learned to be more patient with myself, and to laugh at my mistakes – every day – and to be eternally grateful that God loves me anyway, just the way I am. I’ll never understand it; but He sees me as His perfect child, just because I’m His.

And so are you.

Take care, Ree

04/28/2026

How Do You See God?

Many years ago, while I was in college, I worked two summers as a camp counselor in Tennessee. Every Friday night, the campers and counselors met around a campfire, and awards were given out to the girls who had excelled in their activities that week. One of the most coveted awards was for keeping the neatest cabin – every item stored away, every bed made, and every blanket perfectly straight. The cabins were inspected and graded during the week while no one was there. We never knew when the inspectors might come; so we did our best to make sure our cabin was ready at all times.

Is that how you think of God? As someone who is always watching, always looking for mistakes, and always grading you for what you do?

A few years after college, I was talking with a friend who was adding on to her house. Soon she would have a real dining room, and she told me she was “praying” for a new dining table. Was she really asking God for one? Or was she just hoping for something she really wanted?

Is that how you think of God? As someone like Santa Claus or a genie, who can grant your fondest wishes?

We know that God loves us completely, and we can talk to Him about anything that’s on our minds. And He truly loves to give us what we hope for and need. But sometimes we forget who God really is: the Creator of the world, the Sustainer of all that lives, and the One who knows us better than we know ourselves. He’s so much greater than our minds could ever conceive, and He loves us with an unconditional, everlasting love.

Yes, He’s watching over us constantly – but with the loving eyes of a parent and not an inspector looking for flaws. Yes, He wants to give us what our hearts long for, but also so much more than we think to ask Him for. God is great; God is Love; God is always good.

Take care, Ree