Good afternoon church family! Kids grow up fast. Seems like only yesterday Mandy and I were worried because Gracie was a year old and wasn’t yet walking. I think she knew we would carry her, so she just didn’t see the need. Tomorrow we will have two teenagers in our house. Timmy turns 13 tomorrow,…

Pruning – “to trim by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.” The past few months have been a season of pruning for me.  In my last post God led me to share about the journey He brought me through to begin to cultivate a spirit of forgiveness. …

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 With the Memorial Day holiday fast approaching, I thought it would be appropriate to express what this holiday, other than a day off, means to me. Freedom and sacrifice are two words that come to mind. I…

There is an obscure verse in the Old Testament, from the book of Deuteronomy, that has helped guide me through challenging times. This verse was shared with me by a mentor while I was in seminary, and goes like this: The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed…

The first instruction given to man and woman as a family is found in Genesis 2:17, “But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”  The home then becomes a place of teaching—God teaching parents…

One of my fondest memories of childhood is spending time at my grandmother’s house with my older sister and two cousins. There was always an adventure to be had and we had plenty of them. Like any good grandparent, my grandmother spoiled us rotten and she let us get away with way more than she…

One of my favorite scriptures is Isaiah 61:3 “to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness”. Such a beautiful promise that I have seen God fulfill in my life. I am so very thankful that God can use all the hurt, scars,…

Since we are focusing more on prayer as a church, I have also been working on my prayer life. You may ask, I know I should pray more, but how and how much more? In Ephesians 6, Paul reminds the Ephesians that The Christian armor, while it is very important, is not enough. We also…

Let me be honest here: parenting is hard! Some days I fail miserably. Thankfully, the days of joy outweigh the days of struggle, and even in those days of struggle, I’m learning there is grace available even then. There are many duties in this life that demand our time and attention, but perhaps none is…

I am continuing the series that I began on February 18.  Is the Home-Made, Purchased, or Given? The home has brought the best from people, and for it men and women have given their all.  For it, men have fought, bled, and died, simply because it represented everything they had, and was their most cherished…