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My daughter, as a student and as a teacher, has always loved the start of a new school year. New, clean pages in notebooks. A clean calendar waiting for new entries. A new classroom. She must get that trait from me, because I love a new year. A new planner, a new start – this […]
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance . . . Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4 Tears. They always come easily to me. Good or bad. I cry easily. I remember watching […]
Ugly sweaters, white elephant gifts – our creative culture has figured out a way to make the worst gifts useable. Not valuable. Useable. Each of us can probably think of at least one gift we received in our lifetime which was a disappointment. It was not what we wanted. A friend shared that she and […]
Each summer for the last thirty-seven years I’ve had the privilege of serving a week or two at a girls’ camp in Illinois. While fun, it is quite a bit of work. But God’s blessings overflow and for Him, I keep going back summer after summer. A major component of our camping program is singing. […]
Have you ever noticed how many times trees are mentioned in the Bible? BibleGateway brings up 269 references for the word tree. (Don’t worry. I’ll just mention a few.) Trees figured prominently in Creation as God made trees bearing fruit and seed for future trees. Genesis 2:9 states that “out of the ground the Lord God made […]
Hebrews 10:23-25 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” […]
Do you want to be more compassionate? Look at the list of synonyms for this word: pitying, sympathetic, empathetic, understanding, caring, concerned, solicitous, sensitive, tenderhearted, softhearted, warmhearted, warm, loving, tender, gentle, merciful, lenient, tolerant, considerate, thoughtful, kind, kindly, kindhearted, humanitarian, humane, charitable, benevolent, good-natured, well disposed, big-hearted My definition includes giving grace. I want to show grace to people, which means I need to think deeper than what I see. A coworker recently came into my office and was concerned that […]
Heavenly Father, Thank You for my pastor’s family. Thank You for blessing them with three children, three unique children. Thank You for allowing us the privilege of watching these children grow and even giving us the opportunities to pour into their lives through AWANA and Sunday School. Or just smiling at them as we pass […]
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 I am now ready for winter to be over. Don’t get me wrong – I love snow. I love winter. […]
Pot Luck /ˌpätˈlək/ noun -used in reference to a situation in which one must take a chance that whatever is available will prove to be good or acceptable. -a meal or party to which each of the guests contributes a dish. One of the benefits of a small-town or rural church is the potluck meals. […]
