Posted by cschnaath
“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:4
There have been so many times in my ministry as a parish pastor that people have given thanks to me for just showing up. Sometimes there are no words…
Posted by mlawrence |
When I’m feeling depleted — which I am — and the weight of life seems too much to bear — which it does — I turn to writers whose words lift me up.
Lysa TerKeurst is one of those writers. And because I have no words to give right now, I’m borrowing some of hers. This was from her Facebook post on Saturday, Jan 4. It speaks to me, and I hope it does to you.
“When…
Posted by svanbaale |
Do you remember all of the chaos and concern as the new millennium approached? Everyone feared their computers and appliances with dates would shut down and fail to work again, as they only were set up to go to 1999 when they were created. What would happen when the first two digits changed to 20? No one knew, but a large amount of fear ensued.
We all survived that chaos, and here we are…
Posted by wcanady |
In just a few days we will be singing that old song, “Auld Lang Syne,” and welcoming the new year. Before we set our focus on new year’s resolutions, goal setting, and, of course, dieting, let us take a moment to thank God for the year that we have survived. The reality of the ending of 2019 is that this year had highlights and drawbacks.
Personally, this year began on a high note,…
Posted by enelsondixon |
I love Christmas. Everything about it. The smells, the food, the music, the many different ways to worship; I even love the cold weather! Hats and sweaters and gloves, oh my!
I have always loved my family traditions like overflowing stockings, the fireplace roaring — regardless of weather — family games, and Christmas breakfast together. It’s all wonderful! But as the 25th draws…
Posted by hlewis |
I grew up in a military family, moving every 1 to 3 years, leaving friends behind for new adventures. I learned from my parents to take lots of pictures, keep addresses and phone numbers, and stay in touch by sending Christmas cards every year. When we lived away from our grandparents, which was almost always, my mom wrote long letters to them every weekend to keep them updated, as long-distance…
Posted by tgraham |
Driving to my youngest daughter’s house for our traditional family Thanksgiving dinner, I was thinking about the prayer I would deliver and how wonderful the day would be. At some point we would hold hands and sing, circled around the Christmas tree just like the citizens of Whoville. Expectations rarely, if ever, live up to the hype in my head. First of all, one of my son-in-laws was asked to…
Posted by cschnaath |
Where is God? This past Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, I preached about seeing glimpses of God’s kingdom. There were all kinds of glimpses in our worship Sunday at both services! Did you catch them? Were you paying attention? At the font and at the table, in the pew and in the aisle (a child dancing in the second service), in the watching and the speaking, in the singing and the praying — glimpses…
Posted by mlawrence |
I needed a little inspiration for this Staff Trax, so I went to my Bible app. The Verse of the Day was from Galatians 1:10, “Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” I think I can work with this.
These next seven weeks are generally THE time of people pleasing. There…
Posted by svanbaale |
If you love your country, thank a vet.
If you cherish freedom, thank a vet.
For the price they paid, for the sacrifice they made.
If you love your country, thank a vet.
— From “Thank a Vet” by Mike Wilson
I first heard this song when my daughter sang it with her choir in the Veterans Day program in elementary school. My husband and father-in-law,…