The American Dream versus the God Dream
August 13, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
Lately, many of our church people have been beset by foreclosures and financial problems beyond what you’d expect in this recession, plus losing a key person, identity theft, legal problems, citizenship problems, a car catching on fire on the freeway, a stroke, cancer—I don’t want to add any more. And we’re a small church!
Sea Shells
August 2, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
Since childhood days I’ve enjoyed walking along the beach, hunting for seashells. The beauty and variety of shells still amazes me. God created such details in these miniature homes. Yet the animal that made the shell leaves it behind, making a larger home with no need of the old home. The shells left behind are so beautiful that children and collectors seek and treasure them. The sea creature simply abandons the shell, moving on to the newness of the present.
No Thornless Roses
July 22, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
No one ever said being a Christian would guarantee us a bed of thornless roses. This week proved that point for me. How can so much heartache befall a people at one time without their hearts bursting from the pain? I could list several things that have afflicted us as a church family over the past two months, but I'll just mention the most recent—a close friend in church passed away quickly from ovarian cancer and septicemia. She was just 50 years old.
Doubting Faithful
July 11, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
Have you ever felt like a hypocrite at church? I have. There are days when doubt overtakes me, when the mountains seem bigger than my faith, and the road is filled with more obstacles than I can imagine. Sometimes I feel so small. Then the voices of doubt are louder than my voice of faith. I hear the voices in my head say things like, “If He loved you that much, you wouldn’t be going through all of this”, and “Look at that person over there. At least she’s having fun.”
Blackberry Patch
June 30, 2024 by admin
Filed under Personal Growth
One of the hidden benefits of buying our home was discovering we owned the woods behind our fenced backyard. My husband is clearing out the brush to create various paths. One thing he isn't clearing out is the wild blackberry brambles. During this entire process we've eagerly watched the blackberries mature and ripen. First we saw the blossoms, then the fruit appeared, and now the mature fruit is ready to be picked. But one thing I noticed in this maturation process was that the blackberries didn't all mature at the same rate. Some berries ripen slower than others. Some of the fruit is smaller than others. Worst of all, some fruit never ripens, but dies on the vine before it ever matures into a plump, juicy, flavorful berry.
