The Oriole - June 2010

THE ORIOLE

Our Pastor’s Message

Keeping Your Word

I did an Internet search of the phrase“Keeping your word.” Here are a fewquotations I discovered:From that iconic 20th-century humorist WillRogers: “There's no trick to being ahumorist when you have the wholegovernment working for you.”Nikita Khrushchev, known more for banginghis shoe on the podium at the UnitedNations than for his humour, noted:“Politicians are the same all over. Theypromise to build bridges even when thereare no rivers.”Then from the Broadway play

My Fair Lady:

Eliza Doolittle is courted by Freddy whowrites her love letters every day. ButEliza's response to all of his writtenpromises is frustration: “Words! Words! I'mso sick of words! Don't talk of stars burningabove! If you're in love, show me! Don'ttalk of love lasting through time. Make noundying vow. If you love me, show menow!”

Oriole-York Mills United Church NewsletterJune 2010In this issue:

Our Pastor’s Message:Keeping Your Word

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1Welcome and Thanks

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4Council News

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4Shop and Harvest SummerProduce for Lansing FoodBank

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6Kids M&S Art Contest 2010 – Let’s See Some OYM ArtWork

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7I am the Good ShepherdWord Search

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8Re-awakening the Spirit ..

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9Lorne Rides

Again

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They

Took My Home ButThey Can’t Take MyFuture

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11Thanks to Contributors

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13New Way to Save Treesand Money

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13Contributions andSuggestions

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13Warm and Crafty

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14Your OYM Calendar

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14Contact OYM

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If we admire people who keep their word, then we will resonate withEliza’s “If you love me, show me now.” Let me express her attitudeanother way. When we keep our word, we may mean many things butwe will mean at least the following:1.

We will do what we say we will do.

Whether in business or in our personal lives, we want to be withpeople who do what they say. I don’t remember my parentsmaking empty promises to me or to my brother and sister. I

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remember they kept their word to me when they said I would begetting a bicycle for my birthday – not a three-wheeler but my firsttwo-wheeler. That was a promise kept that I will never forget!Getting that bike meant I could trust my parents to keep their wordif they ever said they were going to do something.2.

When we keep our word, we show we are trustworthy and dependable.

A father was playing with his little boy, repeatedly throwing him inthe air and catching him. The child was obviously relaxed andhaving a great time. “Do it again! Do it again!” he said.A man who was watching asked the father: “Can you explain whyhe's so relaxed, even when he's out of control?”“It's very simple,” the father said. “We have a history together.We've played this game before, and I've never dropped him.” Theson found his father to be dependable and worthy of his trust.3.

When we keep our word, we are showing respect and even love toward the other person. We are showing we value the integrity of our relationships.

A student was looking for summer employment. She had two jobpossibilities. One she wanted very much and the other she reallydidn't want but would take as a second choice.

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As you can guess, the second-choice job was offered first. Shewanted to hold out for her first choice but she didn't know if it would beoffered to her or to someone else. So she accepted her second-choice. A few days later, as you also could expect, the job she hadhoped for was offered to her. She wanted to quit the job she hadalready accepted and take the job she really wanted. So she went toher father.“Dad, I have a problem.” She told him the situation.He looked her straight in the eye:“Did you take the first job offered to you?” “Yes.”“Did you promise you would work there this summer?” “Yes.”Her father then said, “Why are we having this conversation?”All of us want to associate with people who do what they say they will do,who are trustworthy and dependable, and who value our relationship withthem.Let me commend Jesus Christ to you. Today, Jesus is the presence ofGod through his Holy Spirit for each one of us when we love and obeyhim. God is approachable through Jesus who keeps his word through hisHoly Spirit. When Jesus keeps his word, he means at least the following:First, Jesus wants to do in our lives what he said he would do. Hewill do this in the midst of the personal situations in which we findourselves through his Holy Spirit within us.Second, while he was on Earth, Jesus always showed his followershe was dependable and worthy of their trust. He is worthy of ourtrust too, even as we face anxious and troubled times. Again, for us,he expresses his trustworthiness through the Holy Spirit.Then thirdly, through his Holy Spirit, Jesus shows his love andrespect for us even as we express our doubts and questions.

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