Amusing Musings by the Lady Rev

By Carol Hermann

This book contains a number of the religious columns that Rev. Hermann has written over the years. Each column is written with the hope of drawing someone a step closer to Christ. They are written in a way that will hopefully connect people to their faith in God. Some of them draw on our sense of humor, and some are far more serious. But they are all written in a way that will bring joy and love into someones life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jan 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543471755

Carol Hermann

The Rev. Dr. Carol Hermann has been a Presbyterian minister for some thirty years and is now retired. She had been serving small churches in the south central area of Wisconsin. While she loves preaching, she also loves working with children and visiting shut-ins. Because of the many experiences she has had in her work, she started writing a column for a local newspaper. She often uses those experiences as a sort of parable to make a point about our Christian faith. Those columns became very popular with many people in the community in which she was serving a church at that time. She has had many requests to put some of those columns in a book, and this book is the answer to those requests.

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Copyright © 2017 by Carol Hermann.

ISBN:                Softcover                   978-1-5434-7176-2

                          eBook                        978-1-5434-7175-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 12/14/2017

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CONTENTS

Time for Giving Thanks

Remember to Remember

Two Shall Be One

At Home with God

Like It or Not

Always Pray

How Shall We Pray?

Showing love through hospitality

Doing Good

Knowing the Name

"No Pretense Needed’

The Most Holy Name

A Time for Giving Thanks

In God We Trust

Where Has Christmas Gone?

Keeping Christmas

Seventy times Seven

Lost and Found

Wrestling Season

It’s About Love

No Hiding from God

St. Patrick’s Day

In God’s Eyes

Beautiful Moments

Rough Bumps in the Road

Signs

The ‘I Do’ Month

Properly Dressed

United in Christ

Talking in Church

Follow the Leader

The Ice Bucket Challenge

Another Fish Story

Somebody’s Knocking

An Apple a Day

To God Be the Glory

Why Worry

Now is the Time

Test Questions and Answers

A Time for Treats

It’s Hard to Be Humble

Change Never Changes

Sink or Saint

God is Near

The Reason for the Season

The Best Gift

Unconditional Love

The Light of Life

Nest Building

A Fresh Snowfall

Guardian Angels

To Pray or Not to Pray

Learning to Trust

Choosing Grace

Zacchaeus, A Changed Person

A Stone in Your Shoe

A Special Time

Emptiness Filled

Random Acts of Kindness

Running the Race

Keep your Eyes on Jesus

Time to Say Thanks

Nests

Always Remember Who You Are

God Is Good—All the Time

Honoring Mothers

Making a Difference

Keeping the Peace

That All Important Water

Never Fear, God is Near

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

Freedom for All

Actions Speak Louder than Words

In God We Trust

Running the Race

Hand-me Downs

Promises, Promises

Christ, Our Co-Pilot

A Good Fish Story

Living in Harmony

WWJD

An End to Violence

Ring, Ring Those Bells

Bring out the Good

Safe and Secure

The Joys of Life

Only Love Can Drive Out Hate

Coming Together

A Bag of Bones

Feed the Hungry

Halloween Giving

Time to review

Remember Thanksgiving

Christmas Is Coming!

Christmas and Angels

The Lights of Christmas

The Perfect Gift

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

How Can We Not Believe?

A Word of Love

Time to Clean Up

Random Acts of Kindness

Spring Cleaning Time

The Storms of Life

Springing Forth with New Life

We Are the Church Together

Why Go to Church?

The Power of Prayer

The Hands of Jesus

A Wonderful Gift

Remember to Remember

A Treasure in Clay Jars

Sand Castles

E Pluribus Unum

Freedom for All

Time for Water

Our Amazing God

Promises, Promises

Like it or not

A Camp Experience

Always Be Prepared

Remember the Sabbath Day

Those Amazing Children

Those Industrious Ants

Footprints in the Cement

Making our Lives Complete

Those Rumble Strips

Showing Respect for God and Country

Time for the Children

A Whole New World

The One True Light

Time for Peace

A Time for Remembering

The Best Gift of All

A Special Story

Keep Jesus in your Heart

Bumps and Bruises

Lord, I Want to be a Christian

The True Source of Life

A Good Story

It’s Amazing!

The Children Speak

Easter People

How Much Are You Worth?

Building Nests

Beauty All Around

Remember to Remember

Help Has Come

God Bless America

All Are Welcome

Keeping in Touch with God

God Loves All of Us

A Lesson from Acorns

Time for Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving Day is the day that we are to count our blessings and give thanks to God for each and every one of them. It was back in 1623 that the first day of Thanksgiving was celebrated. There were 50 pilgrims and 90 Indians who gathered together to give thanks to God for their bountiful harvest. Many years later, Thanksgiving became a national holiday.

But something has happened to this day on which we are to give thanks to God for our blessings. Other things have interrupted our time of giving thanks. There are the football games that have become the center of our attention. Many will be gathered around their TV’s to watch the game of the day. And then there are the sales for Black Friday, and this marks the beginning of our commercialized Christmas. We are encouraged to get busy and do our shopping. Is this really what Thanksgiving is all about?

As we sit down to our bountiful feasts, let’s have it be a time for remembering our blessings. Let’s count our blessings and give thanks to God for each and every one. Then, as we count our blessings, let’s ask God to help us be a blessing to someone in some way each day. We give thanks, not only by saying our thanks in our prayers, but we give thanks by the way we live our lives. Giving thanks is important, and it can become a way of life for us. So count your blessings. Happy Thanksgiving! Happy Thanks-living.

Psalm 136:1 – O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. (NRSV)

Remember to Remember

When Memorial Day approaches, we are been bombarded with just lots and lots of sales going on, and if the weather cooperates, there will also be lots of outside activities. Have we forgotten the real meaning of this holiday? It is the time to remember all that others have done on our behalf. Memories are so important. As Bob Hope put it, Thanks for the memories. Some memories may be sad while others may be happy.

When World War II came to an end, people were dancing in the streets with joy. But while many were dancing in the streets, even as a small child, I remember that my parents were sitting at the kitchen table, crying. I wondered why they would be crying at such a happy time. It didn’t take me too long to figure out that they were crying tears of joy because my two older brothers, who were both fighting for our country, would be coming safely home. There were many who were not so lucky. There are national memorials to honor them.

Memorial Day is really a time for us to remember. We will want to remember and give thanks for all that has been done in faithfulness to our country. It is because of those who have given of themselves that we can enjoy the freedoms and liberties that we have in this country today.

We are called to live out that in which we believe. We are all called to live with courage so that our nation can always be called a nation blessed by God. May all that we say and do give glory to God. May each one of us give thanks to God for all that has been done for us. Let us remember to remember.

Two Shall Be One

June is the wedding month. Many couples choose this month in which to be married, and they often use some symbolism for showing that they intend for the two of them to be as one. They may use two lighted candles with which they light the wedding candle, thus showing that the two have become as one. If they blow out the original two candles, it definitely represents the two becoming one. However, if they choose to leave the original two candles lighted, it symbolizes that they wish to keep their own identity as they are joined together.

One time, I married a couple and the groom was a real ‘neat freak.’ They did the lighting of the wedding candle, but when the bride blew out her individual candle, it didn’t quite go out and the wick kept smoking. The groom, the neat freak, couldn’t stand it and wet his fingers to put out her candle for sure.

The lighting of the candles is a visible sign of the two becoming one. Some use sand, and some even use water to demonstrate this same thing.

Since I was married for almost 54 years myself, I can attest to the fact that there is an invisible sign that is even more important. God is that invisible sign.

Not everything in a marriage is always as sweet as honey, but when we are connected to God, all differences can be resolved and love will reign. We will want to keep God in the center of our lives.

May God bless all marriages, both new and old.

At Home with God

A little girl came running into our church for our after school activity. She was anxious to be the first one there. As she ran through the door and jumped down the stairs, she plopped down on the floor, spreading her arms out like an eagle and saying, Hi! I’m home, honey. For her, the church was like a home.

In Psalm 84, we read about this very thing. The sparrow finds a home; and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.

Home is supposed to be the place where we always feel welcomed and loved, no matter what. This is exactly what we believe about God—that God always welcomes us and loves us, no matter what. As the psalmist continues, For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than live in the tents of wickedness. Since God is everywhere and not confined to one building, we can be at home with God at any time and in any place. We simply need to trust in God.

Let’s be resolved to live up to our Christian values so that we can make this world a better place. God intended it to be good. Now it is up to us to make it happen. Let’s be at home with God at all times in our lives.

Like It or Not

Talk to any youngster today and we are likely to hear a certain word repeated on a regular basis. That word is, Like. When my teen aged grand daughter visited me recently, I counted five likes in a single sentence. She claimed that she was trying to stop using the word so much. But like it or not, there it is.

Interestingly enough, Jesus used that same word a great deal, as well. Often when he told a parable about the kingdom of God, he would say, The kingdom of God is like … Of course, he meant that the kingdom of God can be compared to something else. He said that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, or like yeast, or like a net thrown into the sea. Yes, even Jesus used that word with a great deal of frequency.

As much as Jesus used the word, like, there is another word that is very similar to that word upon which Jesus put even more emphasis. That word is love. Look at how similar those two words are. The meanings are also similar. Jesus told us that we must love God with our whole heart and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. The thing is that we may not necessarily like our neighbor, but we must love our neighbor. So let’s be a blessing to someone today and tomorrow by the things we say and the things we do. That’s what the kingdom of God is like. As someone has said, Love of neighbor is a manifestation of love of God.

Always Pray

The Apostle Paul is the one who tells us that we must pray in all circumstances.