Your Road Home

When I pause to reflect on Jim, and all he was to so many people, I could list many things; brother, husband, father, grandfather…but he was also friend, mentor, boss, and the friendliest customer at Walmart! He was ONE OF A KIND!  Everyone that knew him, loved him.  He may have had a different role with the people in his life, but one thing was constant: he brought humor and joy into every relationship!  As a counselor or a family man or friend, he was compassionate and wise

Our choir is singing some beautiful songs for this year’s Cantata. One of my favorites is this one, “Start at the Manger” (Words & Music by Robert Sterling & Deborah Craig-Claar Word Music  Nashville, TN)    Let me quote just the first few lines: Start at the manger on a cold winter night. Look for the star in the sky, and follow its light. It leads to a Savior for a world that is lost. Start at the manger, then go to the cross. Listen to it at   https://www.youtube.com/watch

“Advent, (from Latin adventus, “coming”), in the Christian church calendar, the period of preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Christmas and also of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ.  ( https://www.britannica.com/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419 ) As the definition indicates, this is the period of 4 weeks before Christmas where Christians focus on preparing for the time of celebration of the birth of Christ. Typically,

As we have just celebrated a day of Thanksgiving, to pause and be thankful for our blessings, let us renew our resolve to develop a consistent “attitude of gratitude”.  As we turn our focus off of the troubling circumstances, and remember His blessings (as the Pilgrims did on the first Thanksgiving), it opens our hearts to see life in a perspective, one that God would want us to see. To recognize Him as the sovereign God that He is, and honor Him by having a thankful heart! I

“The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork.” (Psalms 19:1 NKJV) And so it does!  In the beauty of sunsets and sunrises, clouds and sunrays, as well as in the beauty of God’s creation in nature! They all make you so aware of the majesty and awesomeness of God! But, I want to share now about another very real “glimpse” into the reality and presence of God: that of seeing the faith of a dear friend who only has a very short time left on this eart

Nehemiah was “cupbearer to the king”, in the citadel of Susa, when some men from Judah came to him. He asked them about the Jewish remnant in Jerusalem that “had survived the exile”. This was their response: 3 They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.”4 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and f

When first thinking about this entry, and the topic of grief and subsequently God’s comfort,    so many thoughts and feelings came to mind. I’ve heard it said (and experienced) by many, that often feelings of grief can strongly be felt in the 2nd or 3rd year after the initial loss. It isn’t a “once and done” experience of going through some stage of the grief, and “moving on”, as if you won’t need to experience it again.  It is more of a circular (rather than linear) concept.

We all have hopes, dreams, expectations for ourselves or those we love. I think it is actually  healthy for our sense of well-being, to be hopeful and anticipating good things for the future. As Christians, we probably are (and should be) asking God to give us the ‘right’ plans and dreams, but even so there are and will be ‘set-backs’. They may only be a temporary delay or a ‘detour’; but sometimes they can be much more significant. How do we respond to these situations? In L

At Christmas we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who came to be the Savior of the world.  After His short life and time of ministering to the people, giving them the truth of God’s love and way of salvation from their sins and disease, prophecies of old were fulfilled: “He came to His own and they received Him not.”  (John 1: 11) During the time of the Passover feast, He was betrayed by one of His own disciples, killed and buried. But, as foretold, on the third day, He arose fro

Stuart Townend How deep the Father's love for us
 How vast beyond all measure
 That He should give His only Son
 To make a wretch His treasure 
How great the pain of searing loss
 The Father turns His face away
 As wounds which mar the Chosen One
 Bring many sons to glory Behold the man upon a cross
 My sin upon His shoulders
 Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
 Call out among the scoffers 
It was my sin that held Him there
 Until it was accomplished
 His dying breath has broug

In the traditional Christian Church calendar, we are now in the season of Lent. According to one resource, it is a “period of preparation and fasting…observed before the Easter festival since apostolic times, though the practice was not formalized until the First Council of Nicaea in 325 CE.” https://www.britannica.com/print/article/336104   It begins on “Ash Wednesday” and lasts for the 40 days before Holy Week. Different churches observe this season in various ways, but it

We have now completed the first month of 2022, time seems to pass so quickly! The past few weeks have included joys and sorrows, births and deaths, health and serious illnesses. Although people experience different events, we all have one thing in common: we are all that much closer to the glorious appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18), when He will take those who believe in Him and “are His”, to be with Him forever!!!  Until that day, (which many belie

Standing at the threshold of a new year. What will it be like?    “We don’t know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future!” Do you know who holds your future? As a Christian, it is easy to quickly respond, “God does”. But, do we truly let God be in charge?  That involves some honest soul searching. (Psalms 139: 23-24;  II Corinthians 13:5a) In this segment, I want to focus on some aspects I have been working on in my own life: Revive and Renew Revive:  A few ye

At this time of year, we often look back at the past year and are thankful for what it brought, or thankful that it is over and hopeful for a new year with better days ahead.  I am reminded of some great verses & promises, “Blessed is the one …whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither-- whatever they do prospers.” (