by Tara Wiley Scripture: Deuteronomy 14:2 (NIV) For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession. Reflection: Spring arrives messily where we live. Winter months of whipping winds layer trash through … Continue reading
by MaryAnn McKibben Dana “Mommy, can I have an Instagram account?” my daughter asked from the back seat of the van. We were on our way home from a retreat I’d led for a church in South Carolina. I’d decided to bring the family with me—the retreat was in Myrtle Beach; enough said—and they’d … Continue reading
By JMK If you go to a church that has a “Children’s Moment” in the worship service, and if your child participates on a regular basis, you know the tension of wondering what your child might say or do in any given week in front of the whole entire congregation. This pressure magnifies when you … Continue reading
—Jennifer DiFrancesco Scripture: John 9:1-11 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. … Continue reading
by Chris There seem to be moments where my reality is struck by sentimentality, and the world around me carries with it a deeper, emotional meaning. I have come to value those moments as divine. It is as if God is prodding me to see life with a renewed set of eyes, all of a … Continue reading
–from Joanna Harader Scripture: John 4: 4-42 –Check out this animated re-telling on YouTube. Thoughts: During Jesus’ day, the Jewish people and the Samaritan people did not get along. They had a difficult history with each other and they had different ideas about God. So it is surprising that Jesus would stop in Samaria and … Continue reading
~by Julia Roller We went to see The Lego Movie at the drive-in a few weeks ago. Popcorn, Reese’s Pieces, beanbags and blankets in the back of the car–it was a sublime evening. The whole way home, all four of us kept humming the movie’s theme song, “Everything Is Awesome.” A few days later, my … Continue reading
