Locker Room Grace

By Cynthia Ruchti

Our adult small group left our open Bibles and notebooks and coffee cups to spend some time voicing our support of and prayers for the young people who met at the same time in another part of the church. We walked into the multi-purpose room to stand in an embracing semi-circle at the back while they worshiped in all-out abandon.

“We’re here and we care,” we wanted to say.

We had to hurdle something to get into that room packed to the wall studs with teenagers. It smelled like a locker room in there. Teens with lots of energy but too little deodorant and an excess of gym shoes and two-day-old socks.

Read more

Daily Resolution

By Gina Stinson

The last few years I haven’t made New Year’s resolutions. I used to make the common resolutions as I switched to a new calendar – lose weight, read my Bible more, spend less, get more organized – and each year, somewhere around January 15^th, I realized I’d already failed. I beat myself up, did some pretty degrading self-talk and sometimes even tried again. But, with only a few exceptions, I would eventually give up. What a disappointment!

For a couple of years I conveniently ignored all the hype regarding resolutions and just opted for a resolve-free year. That was a commitment I could keep. That worked well, until I realized what God’s Word had to say about New Year’s resolutions.

Read more

Ears To Hear

By Virginia Smith

Not long ago I was working on my laptop, and I had the strangest thought. It’s been a long time since I did a full backup of my data. I’d better do that. I know I should do regular backups, but it’s something I often don’t think about until after the computer is shut down for the night. So it had been several months since my last one. I responded to the nudge and backed up all my critical data.

Three days later while I was working, I heard a sizzle and pop and my laptop died. Gone. Unrecoverable. My first thought was, Thank you, Lord! I have a backup.

Read more

Gift of Joy

By Kathy Willis

You won’t find joy gift-wrapped and under the Christmas tree, but it is a gift indeed. Without the birth of Christ which we celebrate at Christmas, there would be no authentic joy. There might be temporary bursts of happiness, controlled by surrounding circumstances, but there would not be joy.

Joy can only come from the One who guarantees salvation, because with that, there is eternal peace of mind. When Christ becomes real in our lives, we begin to pick up His mannerisms, and if Christ was anything, He was joyful. It is one of those character traits I’m most thankful for receiving. The Holy Spirit living in me whispers joy to my heart and my mind when the outside world seems to be yelling negativity to me.

Read more

Wait Not Want

By Cheri Cowell

I’m terrible at waiting. Some people seem to possess a wonderful abundance of patience, but I’m not one of those people. Others who know me say I have a lot of patience and I’m good at waiting, but they don’t know what is going on inside. Inside I’m pacing, I’m making to-do lists, I’m thinking through all the possibilities, and I’m agitated. I’m not patient. I’m not waiting, I’m wanting. I’m wanting for the event to start, the situation to improve, or the circumstance to change. What is the difference, you ask? When I am truly waiting I have a peace about me that says I know the event, situation, or circumstance is a done deal. It is going to happen and I don’t need to fret or worry. There isn’t anything I can or need to do but wait. It says that I am not in control, but have submitted that authority to Someone bigger and better able to handle it than me. When I want, I feel I have control, and therefore, all the responsibility. Advent is a time to wait.

John says it so clearly: When Christ was born; True Light came into the world. That scene has been completed and is completed in us again every Christmas. Advent is our time to wait on the Lord, knowing full well that the gift will arrive on time. 

Read more

Next Page »