Encouraging Deep Roots

John 1:16 ~  Because of all that the Son is, we have been given one blessing after another. Times can be hard and trials happen, but I am thankful this morning that God still showers His blessings down upon us. Some of that comes when we get out of our self-absorbed heads and begin to look around us. When we become aware of how God is working, we can begin to see so many good things. I remember when Dan and I worked for an inner city ministry. There was an African-American church that we attended. One of the dear older ladies there would start almost every prayer with "Thank you, Lord, for waking me up this morning and allowing me to breathe." The very breath in our lungs is a gift from God.  "Help me to be thankful, Father, for the gifts that you give." Here are some things I'm thankful for today. 🙏The fruit of my labor ready to be labeled for the market. 🙏 A fun afternoon with a friend. We went for a ride and then had lunch by the lake. ...

  I am a sponge. I don't mean a sponge for information, but an emotional sponge. I soak up the emotions around me and absorb them. I really hate this about myself. It makes me very empathetic which I believe is a good thing and God has used that in ministry. However, it's a bad thing in the sense that I honestly have a very difficult time shaking off those emotions even when they aren't my own. In ministry this is really a difficult thing because we deal with people on a daily basis who come to us with a wide range of emotions - joy, sadness, anxiety and anger. I'm fairly intuitive to people's emotions and my husband often tells me I'm an emotional barometer. I can feel the mood radiating off people even when they aren't expressing it. I have struggled this week in many ways. As I watch the news and see emotions riding high, I'm absorbing all that. As some in our own congregation are getting frustrated with remaining closed until we are ...

It's been such a weird, sad, eventful week and yet, we are only midway through it. I am thankful for the things in my life that bring me joy and are stress-relievers. Dan, Emily and I went off on an adventure on Monday which is Dan's day off. We headed to the Allegheny National Forest and went hiking there. Woods, sweet-smelling air, silence and scenic views were a balm to my soul. I find the stillness of the forest is the place I feel God's presence the most in my life. I go to the church most mornings to do much of my ministry work. Usually I'm back home by 1:30 to then get things done around the house.  I've been trying to make a batch or two of cookies a day for the market which starts next Saturday. They are in the freezer until the day before the market when I will thaw them and then package them. Spiced Rum Crinkles Coconut-lime sugar cookies I've been busy sewing both for my Etsy shop and the market. These a...

Our nation has been rocked and fissures have opened up. Grief, rage, distress have come pouring out. Add to that months of being isolated and living in fear of an unseen virus, and the building tensions have come spewing out of those cracks. I'm not sure they will ever be able to close back up.  However, I know One who can heal. One who can bring justice. One who can bring peace. The Lord can not just close the fissures, but bring healing. My heart is heavy this morning. My prayer is for healing to come. Justice to be served. Peace to be restored. This week I'm thankful for the blessings #3,812 - 3,822. 3812. I'm thankful that we had an enjoyable Memorial Day. Stephen came down and we were able to go hiking with him. 3813. We are close to the Alleghany State Forest and it's so nice to be close to forests and mountains again. 3814. I'm thankful for the patience of our congregation as they wait to be able to meet together again. Pray for your pas...

Acts 2:1-4 ~ When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. Today is Pentecost Sunday and in this passage in Acts we see that the disciples are gathered in Jerusalem and united in prayer. The Holy Spirit which had been promised to them came down upon each one. And there were flames of fire resting on each one. They had received the power of the Holy Spirit. As I read this passage today, this idea of flames brought to mind another picture. The flames of buildings being burned down during rioting. One is produced by the Holy Spirit who endowed the disciples with God’s power to go out...

On May 27, 2020 at 4:33 p.m. this beautiful lady passed away. My grandmother lived a long full life and was 96 years old. She was a gifted carpenter, artist, seamstress and could do almost anything she set her mind to do. She died peacefully in the nursing home where she had resided for the past couple of years with my mother by her side.  I was never close to my grandmother and only saw her once or twice a year. For most of her life, s he did not have a relationship with God. We often walked on eggshells around her because we never knew what would upset her. She was always happy to see us when we visited, but children were not her thing. So as I grew and went off to college, the relationship which was distant grew farther apart. However, in her later years, there was a definite change in her. She became kinder and was sweet to everyone she met. She would compliment everyone. When she saw me she would tell me how proud she was of me, how much she loved me and how beautiful ...

  Meditate, think, delight, remember. Psalm 119:15-16 gives us these four verbs as ways to handle God's word. I wonder how often we open our Bible and pick a verse or two, read it, maybe read a devotional that tells us what that person think it says, and then throw up a quick prayer. If that is all our interaction with God's word is then our spiritual depth will be lacking. We will only have scratched the surface. We are satisfied with sipping from a trickle when there is a gushing stream of water available.   It's easy to read a few words and check that "task" off your to-do list. Digging in and taking time to listen to what God wants to say is hard work, but the results are sweet.  I want to go deeper this year. I want to meditate on His precepts, think about His ways, delight in His statutes and not forget His word. I want to soar higher than I have before in my spiritual walk. There is something within me that is not ...