Family Blog
Take It With You 01.29.2023
Gortyna Gazette Radical Changes; Cultural Sway Beautiful Crete, the largest island off the coast of Greece, boasts of its mountainous terrain and lush valleys. Today I am in Gortyna, the Roman capital of Crete, to interview Titus, a Greek convert to Christianity, who is now the leader of the Christian churches throughout Crete. Meeting up […]
Take It With You 01.22.2023
We all know, I hope, that our works do not provide our salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says: “For it is by Grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” I honestly find comfort in […]
Pastor’s Perspective 01-10-2023
My heart was glad but cautiously so as I watched people pray for the professional football player, Damar Hamlin, when he suffered a cardiac arrest during last week’s Monday night football game. The game stopped, players huddled and prayed and for a moment a life mattered more than a game and the legal prohibition of […]
01.01.2023
I love to walk, but I’m the Mom of a runner. After watching many cross country and track meets, Hebrews 12:1 became much more of a visual for me. Extra weight, lack of focus, not staying on the course…all of these hinder a runner. “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud […]
Take It With You 12.25.2022
Peace is a tricky concept. It takes only moments of watching the news or scrolling the headlines on any given day to know that our world is not a peaceful one. Parts of the world are being torn apart by literal war; it seems like not a day goes by without hearing another report of […]
Pastor’s Perspective 12-20-2022
December 19, the day I am writing this Perspective, is the birthday of Mrs. Bessie Snyder, the matriarch of Snyder Memorial Baptist Church. Her great-grandson brought this to my attention earlier this morning. Mrs. Snyder and her husband, who had been the pastor of First Baptist Fayetteville, had felt the need for a new church […]
Take It With You 12.18.2022
Jesus’ obedience means a total, fearless listening to His loving Father… We will never understand the full meaning of Jesus’ richly varied ministry unless we see how the many things are rooted in one thing: listening to the Father in the intimacy of perfect love. Henri Nouwen, Show Me The Way (p.112-113) Time after time […]
Take It With You 12.11.2022
This Sunday is Gaudete Sunday, Joy Sunday. We are joyfully awaiting the advent, or arrival, of Jesus Christ. It may seem obvious that this is a most joyous occasion, but I think we rarely stop and truly consider the joyful implications of the incredible fact that God became man. On the eve of that fateful […]
A Pastor’s Perspective 12-13-2022
Christmas should be a time of comfort. However, Christmas can be painful for those of us who are experiencing the loss of a loved one. In fact, it can be painful even years or decades after the loss. How we celebrate Christmas has a way of rewinding time quickly, then suddenly reminding us of a […]
Pastor’s Perspective 12-07-2022
It is hard to pick a favorite – like the best cookie in the world. What is your favorite part? The cookie part or the chocolate chip part? If you miss one piece, it ceases to be the best cookie. So, it seems with my first Singing Christmas Tree. I cannot pick a favorite part. […]