 God With Everything Like many in our community since July 4, 2025, I have spent a great deal of my time and energy on disaster relief. And since July 16, 2026, I have continued to dedicate my focus to recovery for our neighbors in need. If there is anything that the last 14 months has taught me is that I am not in control. Jesus models for us the practice of letting go of control and earthly power. He empties himself at the cross, trusting in the goodness and love of the Father. God intends that we follow the same path. Yet, in situations both large and small, we find this incredibly difficult. Why? Throughout my life, my walk with Christ has been what I would call, “inconsistent.” Many periods have been filled with a shallow commitment on my part. Other periods have found me deepening my relationship with Christ by prioritizing my time in prayer, scripture reading, stillness with God, reflection and intention. I want to be an emotionally healthy disciple for Jesus Christ. Recently, I have been reading Emotionally Healthy Spirituality and The Emotionally Healthy Church by Pete Scazzero and I wanted to share some of the reasons he explores for why we lack in trusting God… 1. Fear. Is it any wonder God says to us over and over again in Scripture, “Do not fear?” 2. We worry that things will fall apart. That is true—at least the things that God never intended to remain in the first place. Regardless, we can only keep our plans and agendas from falling apart for a short time. “Unless the Lord builds a house, we labor in vain who build it?” (Ps. 127:1). 3. We worry that we will fall apart. Yes, that is true, and it may be a very good thing. Our false selves need to be dismantled by the Spirit. When we fall apart, it offers God the opportunity to rebuild us. 4. Our families of origin. For some people, things were out of control in their families growing up. So now, as adults, they resist letting go of the control in their life. 5. Past betrayals. A young adult recently shared how impossible it is for him to trust God since he was betrayed by so many authority figures in his life. “With humans this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt 19:26). 6. A distorted image of God. We serve a God who loves us with inexhaustible love and with no strings attached. Our heavenly Father seeks our good in any and every situation. Yet many relate to God as if he were an angry deity—demanding and consistently frustrated with us. It is hard to let go and trust that kind of God. 7. Lack of stillness and silence before him. Without a dimension of silence and stillness in our lives (two of the most difficult spiritual practices for me), we don’t offer the Holy Spirit space where he can tenderize our willfulness and turn it into willingness. 8. Perfectionism. Many of us who seek excellence carry the shadow of a driving perfectionism. When we begin to learn to let go, we find that God is passionate that we become excellent at letting go and trusting Him. And that is much more important to Him than having our environment marked by order and perfection. 9. A limited view of letting go. This is not about answering an altar call, having a crisis moment of surrender or praying once a day. Letting go of control and trusting Jesus is the core of the Christian life—every day, every hour, every moment. 10. Denial. A day is coming when our earthly life will be over. We will let go of everything—health, relationships, status, possessions. We are all very vulnerable. In a moment, our lives can completely change. To think that we are in control is simply an illusion. May we all seek to trust God with everything, and everyday. Blessings, Beth     Homebound Food Deliverers Needed for Mustard Seed and Mega! If you have an hour or two, once or twice a month to volunteer with our food relief ministry, contact Tina Box at (830) 315-6104. Thank you so much!   Lifeguard TrainingCongratulations to Katie, Tuesday, Jessica and Val!   Splash & Swim & Serve   MEGA & Mustard Seed JUNE   Changing Lives for the Better Every Day  Welcome, Grace Carlson! Hi! I'm Grace Carlson and I have the pleasure of serving at LOTH and KFUMC as a Health Navigator this summer. I was born and raised in Kerrville at KFUMC and am blessed to have it as my church home. I had the opportunity to grow up with friends in Sunday School, become a confirmed member of the church, play all-night laser tag at Youth Group, and so much more. Sermons, mission trips, and worship I observed in this church aided me in my faith journey tremendously, and even though I was terrified to receive a call to ministry my senior year of high school, Pastor David embraced me with open arms and showed me so much support.  With a few bumps in the road, I continued my call journey throughout college with the help of my Texas Wesley student ministry pastors. I recently became a certified candidate for ministry and graduated from UT Austin with my Bachelor of Social Work, and I am moving to New York City in the fall to pursue my Master of Arts in Religion at Union Theological Seminary, with the goal of being ordained as a deacon in the United Methodist Church and cultivating an outreach ministry. I am so grateful for all the experiences I had during college that showed me more of my calling, and one of the most impactful experiences I had was interning at a faith-based non-profit called Community First Village.  To finish a social work degree at UT, students are required to complete a field internship during their last semester, and there is a list of available organizations to choose from. When I read about Community First Village, it immediately went to the top of my list as my first choice, and I had a truly wonderful experience there. Community First Village was born as a second program from the organization Mobile Loaves and Fishes, aiming to implement a tiny home community for unhoused people in addition to feeding and clothing them through its food truck ministry. In the last 20 years, the Village has gradually grown and expanded into a community of about 500 people (neighbors as we call them) who were previously unhoused for at least one year and now can have a home for life. Community First’s mindset is that shelter alone won’t solve homelessness, but community will. The founders and expansive staff have a goal to “empower communities into a lifestyle of service with the unhoused,” and that is reflected in the physical layout and the culture of the Village. There are community-wide events, a recreation room, art house, community garden, and so much more that aim to bring people together to build connections and relationships.  I made many connections with neighbors and my fellow interns and colleagues at the Village, and I saw firsthand how devoted the staff are to make every neighbor feel equal in dignity and worth to others, because all of God’s children were beautifully and wonderfully made. I had the pleasure of working as a case manager for some neighbors, and we worked together to accomplish tasks such as renewing SNAP benefits, acquiring wheelchairs, finding food and rental assistance, and more. I will never forget the joy on my neighbors’ faces when they felt joyful and proud of themselves, and that immediately made all the hard work worth it.  There is also a committed group of volunteers that regularly help with food drives, village events, home building, and more. The neighbors touched me so deeply when I worked there that I returned to volunteer a few times this spring, and I could not recommend it enough. Whenever you’re in Austin, consider signing up for a volunteer shift at Community First Village, because one day there can completely shift people’s mindsets about the unhoused community. The people at the Village are truly the hands and feet of God, serving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and changing lives for the better every day.
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Light on the Hill at Mount Wesley is a Texas nonprofit corporation recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (Federal Tax ID: 83-3263624).
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