This is one unique Thanksgiving Holiday! We are being advised to limit our very traditional joyful Thanksgiving family gatherings. Some find this time troubling and COVID risks wanting to fill our hearts with worry and anxiety. A couple of weeks ago I received an email that gave me pause. It shared a message of how we need to be … [Read more...] about The Blessings of Gratitude
IN PRAISE OF USELESS BEAUTY
“…Once you have been touched deeply by beauty, in a lily or a human face, it is difficult to resist engaging the kind of justice that clears the way for more beauty in the world.”[1] There is a tension in our lives between two poles: Mission and Beauty, imperative and invitation. Sometimes we take to the streets, sometimes we gaze in wonder. We carry the water of mission … [Read more...] about IN PRAISE OF USELESS BEAUTY
Finding Peace In The Storm
Recently I visited a store and was excited to use a gift card I had received. After several unsuccessful attempts to complete my purchase, the cashier called the manager over for help. I followed the manager to the Customer Service area as instructed, but he was no more successful than the cashier. After calling the main office, he told me that my gift card had a zero balance … [Read more...] about Finding Peace In The Storm
The Great Disappointment?”
You don’t have to be a student of the history of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to understand what is meant by the phrase, “The Great Disappointment.” As we know, the early pioneers of our denomination were a part of what has been referred to in American history as the Second Great Awakening. This was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United … [Read more...] about The Great Disappointment?”
True Colors
Psalm 139:23,24 NIV Autumn is my favorite season of the year. The heat of summer wafts away as cool breezes lift leaves from their branches and flutter them to the ground. Their chlorophyll has done its sugar- producing work; sweetness flows down to the tree roots to provide energy for winter. Now the leaves show their true colors. Conifers, such as … [Read more...] about True Colors