May 26: When to Stand Up, When to Sit Down...

Reasoning by Pastor Sherry Petro-Surdel

Our world is in a shift that is shaking us to our very core.  Even Mother Earth is quivering and rumbling.  Memorial Day is one way we honor our veterans.  Yet, we all are veterans of a challenging, sometimes scary, place called life.  In Thich Nhat Hanh's book, Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm, he writes, "Rooted in the moment, we have the capacity to restore balance and happiness..."  Knowing when we need to stand up and when to sit down, when to speak up and when to shut up helps.  Balance.  Click the link below to listen to and/or download Sherry's Reasoning:

WHEN TO STAND UP, WHEN TO SIT DOWN....

 

Reasons to Go Within (for Wednesday Night Discussion):

 

1. What was your "A-ha!" moment from the Reasoning?

2. What makes boundaries most challenging for you personally?

3. What are your opinions on the idea of setting boundaries?  Are they really needed?  Does the concept of fences help with understanding of the purpose of boundaries?

 



May 19: What Woud You Do If You Were Brave?

Reasoning by Rev. Salvatore Sapienza

New Thought singer/songwriter, Jana Stansfield, has a wonderful song entitled, "What Would You Do If You Were Brave?"  What if there were no boundaries and you could do or be anything?  What does your heart call you do be? One of the biggest reasons why people don’t achieve their goals is fear. Fear causes people to think small so that there’s a lesser chance of being disappointed. If you knew you could not fail, what would you attempt to accomplish? What fears are you letting hold you back from your dreams?  Click the link below to listen to and/or download Sal's Reasoning:

IF I WERE BRAVE

 

 

Reasons to Go Within (for Wednesday Night Discussion):

 

1. What "A-ha!" moments did you have from Sunday's Reasoning?

 

2. Mark Twain said, "Courage isn't the absence of fear.  It's the mastery of fear."  What do you think of this statement?  What effective ways have you found for mastering fear in your own life?

 

3. Neal Donald Walsch writes that F.E.A.R. is acronym for "False Evidence Appearing Real."  What do you think of this idea?  Can you find some "false evidence" in your own thinking?

 

4. The song, "If I Were Brave," asks the question: "What step would I take today if I were brave?"   What small step will you take today (or this week)? 

May 12: Random Acts of Courage

Reasoning by Pastor Sherry Petro-Surdel

Things that you never have attached the word "courage" to will become a "light unto your path."  Ernest Hemingway said, "Courage is grace under pressure."  What is your definition of being courageous?  What if courage was something as simple as loving?  "Being deeply loved by someone give you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage," wrote Lao Tzu.  Click the link below to listen to and/or download Sherry's Reasoning:

RANDOM ACTS OF COURAGE

 

Reasons to Go Within (for Wednesday night discussion):

 

1. Was there an "A-ha!" moment for you from Sunday's Reasoning?

2. What does the phrase "Adjust your feathers and lean into the wind" mean to you?

3. What three things would you do if you were part of the Random Acts of Courage experiment?  Remember, small and measurable things that would take you out of your comfort zone.

May 5: Courage is Being You

Reasoning by Pastor Sherry Petro-Surdel

In the first in a four-part series on courage, Sherry speaks on the most important and courageous thing you can ever do. Actually, it is not a DOING, it is a BEING. From the words of Rumi, "Don't be satisfied with stories of how things have gone with others. Unfold your own myth." Click the link below to listen to and/or download Sherry's Reasoning:

Courage is Being You

April 28: It's Time for a Picnic

Reasoning by Pastor Sherry Petro-Surdel

We have cleaned our windows, cleared out our closets, tended to our gardens.  Now, it is time for a picnic!  Just remember, there are often ants at the picnics of life.  See you, ants and all, at the picnic.  Click the link below to listen to and/or download Sherry's Reasoning:

IT'S TIME FOR A PICNIC

April 21: A Beautiful Garden

Reasoning by Pastor Sherry Petro-Surdel

"Inside each of us is a beautiful flower garden.  This is the garden of the soul.  With each lesson we learn, our individual gardens form a more tranquil paradise." (Sri Chinmoy).  As with any garden, our spiritual garden must be cultivated, cared for, weeded and nourished.  Remember the nursery rhyme, "Mary, Mary, quite contratry, how does your garden grow?"  Join us for some weeding and some nurturing to form a more tranquil paradise within.   Click the link below to listen to and/or download Sherry's Reasoning:

A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN

April 14: "Cleaning Out Your Closet"

Reasoning by Assistant Pastor Salvatore Sapienza

Spring Cleaning is a great time to clean out your closets, getting rid of things that you've outgrown, have gone out of style, or that just don't fit you anymore. It's also a great time to do some spiritual cleaning of our mental closets, getting rid of thoughts that no longer serve us or mindsets that just don't fit us anymore, so we can make more room for the new. Come learn how to clear your clutter and make space for your new wardrobe. "Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete." (Colossians 10).  Click below to listen to the Reasoning:

 

CLEANING OUT YOUR CLOSET

 

Reasons to Go Within (for Wed. night discussion):

1. Was there an "A-ha!" moment for your regarding Sunday's Reasoning?  If so, what was it?

2. How has "clutter" manifested in your life?  What kind of clutter is currently "clotting" your being in the flow?

3. What ways do you find most effective for "de-cluttering" your life?