Mocha Mousse is the 2025 color of the year, selected by Pantone Color Institute. They describe the color as “a warming, brown hue imbued with richness. It nurtures us with its suggestion of the delectable qualities of chocolate and coffee, answering our desire for comfort.” The color invites a feeling of contentment, harmonious relations and thoughtful indulgence. ” <!–split–>

Did you know that we can find a Mocha Mousse verse in the Bible? Psalms 37:4-5 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him and he will help you.” (New Living Translation)  According to St. Augustine, the heart’s true joy comes from a focus on God’s goodness and presence. When a person delights in God, they are not seeking their own selfish desires but seeking to please God. As we find joy in God, our desires align with God’s desires for us. God grants those desires which are in harmony with  God’s best plans for us.

The invitation to commit everything we do to God involves a deliberate choice to depend on God and entrusting all our concerns in God’s care. The context of Psalm 37 addresses concerns about prosperity of the bad people and apparent triumph of the evil. Bible scholars noted that verses 4-5 are declaration of trust. “While the wicked appear to prosper through their own efforts, the righteous are called to trust in God, and they will ultimately find true success and fulfillment in His provision.”

As we face this new year, let us have our daily serving of the Mocha Mousse verses, entrusting all our desires, hopes and fears to our Almighty Living, Loving God!

A Blessed New Year to Everyone!

Spirituality is God hugging me. Spirituality is our direct relationship with God. It is our daily encounter with God. Believing in the Trinitarian God, ever-present in my life and in the entire creation, I feel God’s embrace. As I walk through life’s path, in all its joys and sufferings God is hugging me with grace, providing me the warmth of encouragement when I started to have cold feet; a tighter hug of comfort in times of despair and grief; a tender-loving care twenty-four hours a day. I feel God’s embrace also in the beauty of nature, cool breeze, flowers blooming, birds chirping, my cats purring and most specially with my family and friends’ laughter and tears. Spirituality is Group hug. Spirituality is the sharing of each other’s encounters with God. It is the collective testimonies of our faith journey. Each testimony is like an arm reaching out to another, expressing support and cheer. As we share our stories, we inspire each other, and our faith grows stronger. We lift each other’s burdens and victories in prayers. We come together in praise and thanksgiving. In embracing each other’s faith testimonies, prayers and worship, we create an ecosystem of peace, hope, joy and love. <!–split–>

Spirituality is an invitation to hug. Spirituality is an invitation to hug as God hugs. An invitation to embrace God’s creation with no buts, without reservations, no judgments, without superiority complex playing. What did Jesus say? (WDJS)

• John 15:12, “My commandment is this: love one another, just as I love you.”
• Mark 12:31, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
• Matthew 25:35-36, “I was hungry, and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.”

Spirituality is an opportunity to be God’s embrace for the needy, unwelcomed, sick, lost and forgotten. Spirituality is not a state of being, its is being in God’s loving embrace.

Share God’s hug today!

Last July 10, Bethel Wesley UMC family and friends went to Dubuque, Iowa to visit St Luke’s United Methodist Church and Steeple Square (formerly Saint Mary’s Catholic Church). Both churches were built in the 1800’s in faith by their growing congregations. Over the years they were both blessed with members who have deep appreciation of arts as shown in the architecture of the church building, stained glass windows, paintings, mosaic arts, sculptures, bells, pipe organs, and the exterior and interior designs. <!–split–>

St. Luke’s memorial Tiffany windows were remarkable. Louis Comfort Tiffany’s stained-glass artworks were unique of its own. The former Saint Mary’s Catholic Church steeple and interior paintings were amazing as well. The church’s steeple is one of the tallest in the area.

Today, St Luke’s is still a place of worship. “A place where faith can grow, empowering people to live lives of generosity, compassion, service and justice.” (stlukesdbq.org)  Steeple Square is a place of service, a center for culture, community and education. It houses a childcare center, culinary kitchen, and community center.

The tour is a showcase of God’s creativity through the people who, over centuries, have created and restored those artworks. It shows the amazing talents of artists and hard work of the laborers. It’s a showcase of commitment and generosity of people who made it happen. It shows the variety of ministries we can do as people of God. May we be inspired to be God’s partners in creating and making our world a more beautiful place.