What do you do with an idea? – St. Nick’s News May 31, 2024

Full St. Nick’s News for May 31, 2024

Dear friends,

Jeremy and I were enjoying one of my top 5 favorite dates the other day.

A bookstore. My favorite kind of date. The time spent talking about books – which ones we have read, which ones we love-love-love, the ones we never hope to see again! Leisurely browsing through the store – in awe of the imagination of so many different people. I bought a couple for my summer reading list and a couple for friends who need some encouragement and love. It was a fabulous date.

In my world, books are friends and mentors. They guide us, we can revisit their wisdom, and they (as long as they stay on our shelf or get placed onto one of the overflowing piles of books on one’s desk) never leave us.

Like all good stores, this one, had placed a prize of a book close to the registers. Jeremy was more than ready to go. According to him, I had touched or perused every book in the religious section and hew was done. One of likes to read the other likes to audiobook. Anyway, Kobi Yamada’s 10 year anniversary book – What Do You Do with an Idea was on sale. What a perfect gift for our children’s library at St. Nick’s.

If you haven’t read it, it is delightful! The art work is stunning and the story is inspiring. I highly recommend taking four minutes out of your schedule and reading this book. You can read it/see it here on YouTube. I remember reading it to some upper elementary children when it first came out. We wondered together if God might have anything to do with our ideas taking shape? Does God bless us with ideas and if so, what do we do with an idea?

It is awesome to think that just a few years later, God blessed me with the idea of St. Nick’s and planting a church in an area that didn’t have an Episcopal presence. God set upon my heart to start a church where people of all ages would be empowered to share their ideas, their faith, their love of God with others. God set it upon my heart to plant a church where we love our neighbors with generosity so we might live sacramental lives sharing God’s abundant love. We are nurtured and fed at church and we then go and nurture and feed others. We become living sacraments to the love we have found in Jesus through St. Nick’s.

God is amazing! The great inspirer and idea giver!

This summer, you will notice a turn towards living out our faith in new and exciting ways.

The first thing is our Youth Mini-Mission to Austin. Jeremy, Jena, and I will be taking nine youth to Austin to serve at El Buen Samaritano an outreach ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. We will also host a half-day Intergenerational VBS for Jubilee Episcopal Church Plant in Austin. God’s idea is coming true – we are being the hands and feet, the heart of Jesus for others in our world. God has opened a way for us to share the love and joy we have found here and share it with others. Please keep us in your prayers as we go to our neighbors in Austin June 9th through the 12th.

The next thing you will notice is an Outreach component to JOY Camp this year. This year’s JOY Camp is June 26th – 28th. We will be celebrating Christmas in June – almost July! All ages – from 9 months to 99 years  – are invited to come and join in a time of learning, creating, playing games, eating awesome food, and on Friday having Winding Branch Ranch bring some of their petting zoo animals. This year, everyone is invited to bring a gift for the work of Rescuing, Reviving, and Rehoming animals at Winding Branch Ranch. We will have a giving tree up and want to gift Matt and Tim (the owners of the ranch) presents and supplies for their animals.

You can also serve and help by signing up to clean-up, set-up, help with an activity, and invite your friends. JOY Camp is a fun filled time for all ages and definitely a time to invite friends and family. I mean, who doesn’t want to eat Christmas cookies, have Christmas movie themed dinners, and hear about God’s great idea to reconcile the world through His Son, Jesus our Savior?

And that of course, gets us back to stories. God is the author of our lives, our faith, the world. God blessed us with an invitation into the story of Jesus. Jesus’ story begins with His birth (well technically it’s more complicated than that – so pick up the best book the bible and read…) and leads us through his baptism, ministry, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Isn’t our faith story simply the best?!? It pretty much leaves you with the question What do you do with Jesus? What do you think? How about share Jesus? Invite people to join in at St. Nick’s. Go out into the world and love, serve, and feed people. Invite a new friend to lunch. Trust God to bless you with an idea that just might grow and grow – until you don’t recognize it and it changes the world!

God’s Peace, Love, and Blessings,
Beth+