Center Lisle Congregational Church

05/31/2026

“Joy in the Jam” by Cher D.
Deacon’s Reading & Reflection for Sunday, May 31, 2026

Genesis 50:20 – You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

James 1:2-4 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

Reflection:
One of my favorite travel influencers has a saying – “Jams are fun!” Basically, travel interruptions create an unexpected space to experience something surprising.

Recently, my son and I were flying home from a trip to visit my sister and her family when events conspired against us to make us miss our connecting flight. While outwardly keeping my cool with the gate agent (who kindly booked us onto the next day’s flight and provided hotel and meal accommodations), I inwardly grappled with the fact that we were stuck without luggage for the next 24 hours away from family.

As I shared our travel woes with family and friends, a collective sentiment formed – “enjoy the unexpected time to be with your son”. Although I was tired and frustrated, I also tried to embrace the experience as an unexpected gift. So, we enjoyed some local cuisine, binged our favorite shows on his tablet, got a good night’s sleep, and swam in the hotel pool. Obviously, we did eventually make it home.

The whole experience made me reflect on how God always shows up in the unexpected. Maybe being completely safe in a fully paid-for hotel with nearly $100 to spend on a day’s worth of food is a bad example of feeling vulnerable, but God was present in my insecurity of being alone with a child in a strange place without our basic necessities. No matter what, God is always with us, guiding us, and providing for us.

If we had made our flight, I wouldn’t have an amazing appreciation for a wonderful gate attendant named Tiffany who made sure that we got a hotel with a swimming pool and free WiFi.

If we had made our flight, my son and I would have missed seeing a beautiful rainbow sculpture made out of suitcases.

If we had made our flight, I wouldn’t have a memory of my son helping an older lady figure out how to plug her tablet into a courtesy charging station.

If we had made our flight, we would have missed countless other moments of quiet joy found only by spending time with someone you love.

Perhaps there wasn’t a driving purpose to the series of unfortunate events that led to us missing our flight, but God can make anything good if we are willing to invite Him in and allow Him to shine His glory into the unexpected spaces.

Prayer: Let us pray – Heavenly Father, thank you for unexpected interruptions. May we find joy within the moment and allow You to turn all things for our good. Thank you for being present with us in our insecurities. Please help us to remember to seek you when we feel unsafe and that your blessings are all around us if we can only slow down and appreciate them.
In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

05/31/2026

05/27/2026

I had the honor of putting together a magazine for the American Legion Post 974 Whitney Point, NY celebrating their 100th Anniversary!

Thank you to all the businesses that supported the keep-sake, once-in-a-lifetime magazine!

Pick up a copy or read it online!
https://cortlandareatribune.com/files/archives/2026/2026-american-legion-web.pdf

Congratulations to the American Legion Post 974 Whitney Point, NY

05/17/2026

“Inner Child” by Cher D.
Deacon’s Reading & Reflection for Sunday, May 17, 2026

Psalm 127:3 – Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.

Matthew 18:2-5 – He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Reflection:
While talking with a friend this week, we were both understandably proud of the great sportsmanship our kids were exhibiting in their respective sports. We were both in awe of their willingness to extend grace and encouragement to both teammates and competitors alike. I even shared a story about when my son was in a preschool run club and always stepped aside to let the other kids cross the finish line first. Toward the end of the conversation, she said that witnessing kids’ compassion reminded her that she could be a better person too.
Her comment made me reflect more deeply about the idea of “faith like a child”. Generally, this only encompasses a pure, unquestioning trust in the Lord, but if we extended it to include “faith in action like a child”? What if we acted and treated others with faith like a child? Like a child who had not yet witnessed injustice, who hadn’t yet learned that life isn’t fair, who hadn’t experienced trauma, who still thought that their parents could still protect them from anything? How would we honestly treat other people if we didn’t have emotional scars controlling our insecurities?
As children of God, we are called to “change and become like little children to enter the Kingdom”. We are called to place others before ourselves, to make room for another driver to merge into traffic, to let someone else buy that last item off the shelf, and a million other things that show that we trust God to take care of our needs and to nurture our souls.
This week, I challenge you to notice when your insecurities motivate you put yourself above or before others. Perhaps ask yourself what you were afraid would happen? Then consider how you could have instead witnessed God’s goodness in your life or allowed God’s goodness to flow through you into someone’s life.

Prayer: Let us pray – Heavenly Father, thank you for letting us be your children. Thank you for loving, guiding, and nurturing us. Help us to remember to act with faith like a child, free from our worldly insecurities. We pray that you ease our selfishness and fill us with your peace. Open our eyes to ways that we can serve you and others better.
In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

(Picture Credit: Sculpture entitled "Love" by Ukrainian artist Alexander Milov featured at the 2015 Burning Man festival in Nevada, USA)

05/11/2026

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