Thankfulness for joy giving, rather than joy getting. We often need to be reminded for the greater effort invested in giving because our natural inclination is to think about what we “get”. “What is in it for us?” Â we tend to think. It takes time and training to be generous and magnanimous. It stretches us…
lovely to think
Rahab and Ruth, Thankful for Inclusion
Our inclusion in a family is one of the most basic needs for mankind. All our group ideas stem from that basic unit. Tribe, nation, creed are all forms of belonging. Rahab was included through gratefulness of the Israelite spies, and Ruth was included through love; they became woven into the destiny not only of…
Thankful for a Glimpse of the Spiritual World
Most of us have dreams, and sometimes nightmares, and it feels like we enter unknown worlds. Jacob had a dream that revealed a vast spiritual world that was beyond anything he had imagined. He saw a ladder that reached between heaven and earth and saw the angels traversing back and forth on it. Jacob’s Dream…
Thankful for Vision
Genesis 15:5 And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to tell them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. Vision of the human spirit reaches far beyond what eyes can see. People with physically perfect, 20/20, vision may not…
Thankful for Hope
First Sunday Of Advent: Candle of Hope Hope is the light at the end of the tunnel, it is an anchor in the unseen. The first day of Advent celebrates the words of the prophets who pointed to Christ, and this candle of hope is sometimes known as the candle of prophecy for that reason….
Love Casts Out Fear
Love and fear cannot co-exist within the same heart. Fears abound in this world, and at times threaten to swallow up all the hope, trust, and love. Not surprising since those who manufacture fear have found it to be one of the best ways to bend people to their will. The antidote to such fear…
Candle of Love Sunday
What kind of love surfaces within the story of Christmas? God’s Love… coming from heaven, bringing salvation to mankind, reconciling across the great divide between Holy God and sinful man. A Mother’s Love … Mary’s love for the newborn Jesus, a child she did not expect to have, coming at an unexpected time, beset with…
Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
Do we want joy in our lives? During this season when the night comes early, there seems too much to do and not enough time to do it… we can become weighed down, or at least a little flustered. So … what about that joy? In the “Joy” hymn is the answer and that is…
Peace Within A Word
Maybe everyone has them, words of scripture that are special for their lives. Mine stood out to me when I was very young, perhaps 12 years old or so. Now that I am a sixty something, you can appreciate that this is a long time to have a particular scripture hold such an important place…
What Shall I Give Him?
If you could ask for one thing that others would give you that is not of a material, physical substance, what would you want the people around you to give?
