Time With a Friend

by   March 1, 2026 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

Beautiful routines have been developing in my home with my best friend. We occasionally meet on the front porch together, often with our books in hand, to read separately or to observe the environment. We may or may not interrupt each other with conversation, but mostly, we end up in the same place, sharing space and presence.

Towards the end of 2020, my husband and I looked for ways to spend time together since we could not get away from home for many dates. We developed a new weekly routine of late-night tea time. Sure, we enjoy the little treats we would not usually indulge in, and tea is quite comforting. Still, more than that, it is simply having that uninterrupted time together. Sometimes the time includes reflections on the day, but the goal is to focus on each other, not even the tea.

Lately, now that we have teenagers who can manage, we sneak away once a week in the early mornings for coffee (for him) and tea (for me). These usually have an intentional purpose of looking at our calendar for the week, looking for ways to be productive, and talking about matters of importance.

These frequent, regular meetings did not occur with the expressed purpose of strengthening our relationship. They naturally happened because we enjoy each other’s company and can’t get enough of each other. There are times we seek each other for company and different times of intentional scheduling. Our focus is not on the words we will share; it is on shared time and communion, enjoying each other’s presence, and growing closer together. Making time for each other grows organically because we genuinely enjoy time together.

In the book “A Praying Life,” Paul Miller (no relation) compares our prayer life to a family meal – time together, no rush, enjoying each other’s company with laughter and discussions. We often approach our prayer time, if we even have one, as a duty, a daily checklist, or a Christian discipline. But, as Miller points out by sharing Revelation 3:20, God wants something more wonderful for us than that: “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Yes, he wants a relationship, but the God of Heaven also wants to feast with us! He is not waiting for us to approach with a perfect prayer framework, although those can be helpful. He simply sets the table and opens the door for us to spend time with Him.

Prayer is one of the most neglected works of the Christian, maybe because we look at it as work. In modern, hurried times where eating a meal is just a duty and necessity, we do not know what it is like to feast with a friend, slowing down, relishing the moment and the company.

All great, big things begin with a small step. What would happen if you took a small step to slow down, lean in, and find a small moment to talk to the King and Creator today? It may start with spending time with a close, earthly friend and tasting what that type of relationship is like. As I said, beautiful routines have taken shape in my home with my best friend, actually, two of them – my husband and my Lord!

Ashlie Miller and her husband, Chad, live in Concord, NC. You can contact her on ashliemiller.com.

Words of Encouragement

by   February 28, 2026 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

Words of Encouragement

            Our words have the power to lift people up or to crush them. The way we say our words and our facial expressions can communicate things that can affect someone’s day. Every interaction you have with someone, be it your boss, co-workers, customers, spouse, family members, service workers, or cashiers has the power to make or break someone’s day, week, month, year or even their destiny.

            As a teacher, I am keenly aware that my words carry power. I have always been aware of what I said and how I said it. Was I perfect? NO! I missed the mark more than once. I remember once coming down hard on a kid who needed discipline. After praying, I realized I came down too hard. The next day, I took the student in the hall and apologized to him. He was stunned. “What? You are apologizing to me? I never had anyone apologize to me before.” We talked for a minute, shook hands, and returned to class. It changed our relationship in a very positive way.

            I have seen how my words touched students’ lives. It isn’t always our words that make a difference. I had one student who took every class I taught. He asked me if I knew why he liked my classes, and I didn’t. He said, “I feel seen and heard in your room. You always answer my questions. You are always there if I need to talk.” In that case, it was my words and actions that made a difference in my student’s life.

            Coaches also have incredible power in their words. I have sought out students who were at practice to talk with them about their job. I told the coach I was there, took care of business, then left. I have heard coaches speak inspiring words to build up their players, pushing them to reach for their potential. Sadly, I have also heard coaches spewing out profanity and speaking down to their players like they were worthless. I have often wondered if those student athletes thrived or grew up failing to reach their potential.

            I wish we would stop teaching our children the lie that goes: sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” That terrible lie teaches children that their words will have no impact. We live in a society that constantly puts people down. I guess we think that our words will never hurt. Sadly, our negative and hurtful words may live in someone’s mind and heart for the rest of their lives.

            Politicians smear each other. The entertainment industry makes putting others down a sport. Comedians encourage us to laugh at others. What happens to those people? Do we care what our words do to others? The Bible tells us that we will have to give account for our words. God is telling us that the things we say and the way we say them are very important to Him!

            That’s why I want to live my life in such a way that I am building people up, not tearing them down. I love to catch my students doing something right. When I praise them, I get to watch their face light up. I see the smile of victory on their face, which encourages them and pushes me to work harder to help them grow.

            I had lunch with a friend the other day and we talked about where we are in our lives and the things we are doing. We talked about some ups and downs. When I was driving home reflecting on our conversation I thought about how our ears play such an important part of any conversation. My friend listened and offered his perspective on some things I was dealing with in life. His words brought understanding, comfort, and encouragement because he listened. It’s not just our words but our hearts and listening ears that can encourage each other.

            I want to encourage you to consider carefully the words that you say and how you say them. Your smile, your “thank you,” your “have a nice day,” your “I am here for you,” and your “I believe in you. You are going to make it,” might be the life preserver that someone needs. We all have the power to lift someone up, which in turn will help to lift us up. My pastor tells us that our words create worlds. Don’t you want to create beautiful worlds for others? Use your words wisely and be that source of encouragement that others need. Look for the good in others and help bring it out.

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

Trusting

by   February 27, 2026 with No Comments

By Ed Traut

Psalms 28:7 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.

  • If we knew what God was doing and understood all things, we would not need to trust Him.
  • We depend upon Him completely, because He is our defense and just by His faithful and wonderful nature alone we can depend upon Him.
  • Just because of who He is and His greatness we can be full of gladness and praise Him, regardless of how things seem.

Prayer:  Lord, I lift my hands in praise and thanksgiving to You today because You are the almighty God.  No matter what I am going through I trust in You, because You have never let me down.  I worship You.  Amen.
 

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Running or Not in the Snow

by   February 26, 2026 with No Comments

By David Freeze

Running or Not in the Snow! Winter Flight a Week Away.

   A recent article was in Runner’s World entitled, “You don’t need to run outside in the snow, I promise!” A woman wrote this after her area received a foot of snow. She gave all the reasons, which included things like you can’t run as fast, you’ll have to shorten your stride, the cold air could burn your lungs. She said those who have to run in the snow will have muscles get stiff and they have to worry more about maintaining balance than normal.

    For her final reason, one which doesn’t make sense to me, she said, “And please don’t wear shorts!”

    Sure, she had some good points, but as I have written a few times over the last 20 years, I don’t want to miss those snowy days unless it is physically unsafe. We get so little snow here that I see those days as a very special experience. The snow was predicted to arrive about 4am last Saturday and it was expected to be heavy. For certain, the cold air was already in place with the temperature in the low 20s.

   Up at 3am, I looked out to see that the wind was light, and the first flakes were falling gently. I got dressed quickly, with a weather resistant jacket, toboggan and shorts. I wanted this run more than most. I had five miles in mind and planned to run sideways to the increasing wind.

   On the road finally, I felt good footing with the granular snow. I never slipped, stayed sideways to the wind and got my five miles plus. Yes, I was a little cold but just marginally so.  A must-have run, and since I don’t have a treadmill and our Y is closed on Sunday, I was going to be OK if the forecast was right with the predicted 5-10 inches. Running in deep granular snow is impossible and Sunday would probably be a rest day, one that I was fine with.

    My final thought looks back at the author who got a sports medicine MD to verify that running in the cold and snow is harder than usual. My 45 years of running while never missing a snowfall day means plenty to me, and you can bet that as long as I can, I won’t intentionally miss one.

    I did end up with a rest day on Sunday but had long walks on Monday and Tuesday while the roads were cleared. It was back to running on the road on Wednesday morning with the air temperature between 29-31 degrees. There were some slippery spots and one very short walk because of it. One foot slipping on ice while running means little, but two feet slipping back to back likely means a hard body jarring fall on pavement.

     Winter Flight is next Sunday, February 15th and at this point, two intriguing male runners are coming to the race.  Jordan Schilit is author of “In the Long Run” Jordan has been running since elementary school and graduated from high school in Florida as one of the top distance runners in the U.S. He was part of Haverford s USTFCCCA Scholar Team of the Year and holds track PRs ranked in the top-5 All-Time in Division III, including his school record at 5,000m (13:59.21).

    34-year-old Josh Izewski finished eighth in the U.S. Men’s Olympic Marathon Trials at Gainesville, Fla. in a sparkling time of 2:11.09. By year’s end, he was ranked 13th overall on the Track and Field News marathon list.
   The numbers were even better for the half-marathon. Izewski, who competes for Zap Endurance, ran a headline-grabbing time of 63:22 in the Houston Half-Marathon (18th overall) to finish ninth in the year-end United States rankings. The only other American-born runner to double in the full and the half was Reed Fischer. “It’s always interesting to see stuff like that, with all the runners who have run so well all year,” Izewski said in a telephone conversation. “To be able to finish and be ranked like that. . .it’s special.”

    The 43rd Annual Forum Fitness Winter Flight 8K, 5K and Fun Run are ready to roll at Catawba College on Sunday and the forecast looks good. Racing starts at 1:30pm. There is a race to run or walk for everyone. The historic 8K course has just been recertified and the most exciting race day in Salisbury and Rowan is just ahead. All proceeds go to Rowan Helping Ministries. Look for more information on the race and how to register at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org. Call me at 704-310-6741.

Gotta’ Run: Running or not in the snow! Winter Flight a week away

Everyday Heroes

by   February 25, 2026 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Fishing with much younger buddies at the Outer Banks, daddy lept over a steep washed out shoreline into the surf. Snatching up the twenty-two inch puppy drum which had fought its way off the hook, he made his way back up the embankment to the amazement of his friends. My brother-in-law Milton said he caught sight of daddy in mid-air as he took quick action not to lose the catch of the day. One of the guys asked, “How old did you say he is?” “Eighty!” he responded as they all shook their heads in wonder. Daddy’s a little bit amazing.

He called me last night and we had the best visit. He wanted to thank us for the Veterans’ Day card. I said, “Thank you daddy, for your service!” His reply was puzzling to me.

“I never have thought of myself as ‘serving.’ But I guess somebody had to do it. I was just on an aircraft carrier during the Korean War. I didn’t really see action.”

Everyday heroes are my favorite. Folks who just do whatever’s needed without any fanfare. Steady in the day to day, serving behind the scenes, making things easier on others.

Maybe you are that person.

Someone’s day is better because you made coffee. No big deal, except for the person who needed the coffee. [You may have saved a life or two!]

Your wife has a happy heart because you made dinner.

Currently you’re teaching your toddler where her nose is. That’s sure to come in handy one day.

Your pastor is not quite as weary because you gave him a word of encouragement.

The prisoner you know has a little speck of hope because you dropped him a postcard.

Everyday heroes are my favorite…even if they aren’t agile enough to snatch puppy drums from the surf.

My always interesting daddy!

“Lord, when did we ever see You hungry and feed You? Or thirsty and give You something to drink? Or a stranger and show You hospitality? Or naked and give You clothing? When did we ever see You sick or in prison and visit You?”

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you were doing it to Me!” –Matthew 25:37-40

As I Enter My Senior Years…

by   February 23, 2026 with No Comments

By Susan Berry

As I enter my senior yearsI often ask myself, “Have I done all I can do for the Lord?”

My heart longs to share all that God has done for me with others. What is our life’s purpose? How many ponder that question sometime during their life? To have purpose and direction is a wonderful thing. To know that purpose is even greater.

Sharing Gods grace and love is the most fulfilling path in life. I have many gifts and talents given by God and I endeavor to use those gifts to bless others. At the end of my days I hope to have peace knowing that I have shared Gods love with as many people as possible.

God in His infinite wisdom made us His vessels to carry His love to the lost and hurting. We each have an assignment, to love and bless one another. May we finish our assignment with victory and hear Father God say, “Well done.”

The Time I was Not in Trouble at School

by   February 22, 2026 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

Decimals – little marks that make a huge difference in answers. I’ve been helping my daughter work through decimals recently in mathematics. I introduced her to the concept of multiplying or dividing by 10s, 100s, or 1000s, which simply means how far over you move the tiny little point (.). She got it and enjoyed that that was the extent of the lesson.

It reminded me of when I was first introduced to them myself. How could anyone recall something so trivial? Well, it was the circumstance in which I was taught. I was attending a local Christian school at the time, which included elementary through high school. My 4th-grade teacher was married to a junior high school teacher. One day, she came to me during recess and asked me to come with her for something. Maybe she told me why, but being a compliant child who made good grades and didn’t get into trouble, I heard nothing about the details after she called me to come with her. That was usually a sign of trouble (or bad news). I was already shy, and now I was pretty frightened. However, we made it to the trailer classroom where a math lesson was already in session. I was brought to the front of the room by the chalkboard, with my teacher by my side. Her husband began explaining decimals and their placement when multiplying or dividing. After the brief lesson, he handed me a piece of chalk and asked me to demonstrate where to place the decimal in the equation. As an adult, I probably would have thought it a trick question, but at the time, it was easy to just quietly but confidently answer. I looked at my teacher, who smiled down on me, her husband thanked me for the answer, and I left with my teacher. Although uncertain of what took place when I left, I imagine he must have then said to his students something along the lines of, “See, it really is simpler than you are making it.”

This is not so much a story about one’s self-confidence as it is about the confidence others have in us. I am grateful for teachers in my past and friends in my life today who have seen strengths where I see weaknesses or press me on to do just a bit more than I think I would be comfortable with. I’ve been spurred to lead students of various ages, speak in front of others, get into running, get into writing, consider homeschooling, and many more things that have challenged and enriched my life. I wonder at times how long it would otherwise have taken me to embrace each of these things on my own.

While there are several passages in the Bible about stirring up and rekindling flames already within us, there are likewise several that prompt us to encourage others toward love and good works. For many of us, we need someone else who can see what we are capable of and hand us the chalk. Church leadership refers to this as the ICNU (“I see in you…”) principle. Often, when we let people know that we need them to use their gift for the sake of someone else, they will step up even if it is reluctantly. But reluctance can lead to confidence and growth! And particularly in the kingdom of God, it can lead to building up a whole body of believers.

When is the last time you encouraged a friend, peer, or student towards something you knew would enrich their lives as well as the lives of others? When is the last time you reluctantly accepted a challenge that a friend or leader knew would be good for you to help others? Are you ready to take that next step?

Ashlie Miller attended Christian elementary school in Salisbury, NC. She currently lives in Concord. You can email her at mrs.ashliemiller@gmail.com.

Seeking Comfort

by   February 21, 2026 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

Seeking Comfort

         I used to wear a tie to work almost every day. I have quite a collection of nice ties. I have special ties for the holidays, including an extensive collection of Christmas and snow ties. I would always wear the snowflake ties to indicate to my students that snow was on the way. I like my ties but my desire for comfort caused me to leave the ties at home…and I haven’t missed them.

         I also have some nice dress shirts. Clothes have an impact on the way we feel about ourselves. While I enjoy being dressed up, I would rather wear casual clothes. When I retired from full-time teaching my wife found me some shirts that I call my “retirement shirts.” They are comfortable and I feel so good in them. I have comfortable dress shoes for work but I can’t wait to take them off after work every day and put on my tennis shoes. If I had my choice, I would be in my jeans, tennis shoes, and my retirement shirts.

         We all know that chicken soup is good for you when you are under the weather. After a stressful day or when you aren’t feeling good, what foods bring you comfort? Lasagna is a comfort food for me. Besides the fact that I love it, lasagna reminds me of my Mom and the comfort of home. For many, desserts like pies, cakes, cookies, and ice cream are comfort foods because they taste so good.

         The older I get the more I find myself seeking comfort, whether in clothes, food, and especially, furniture. I recently got a new chair for my home office. I went to the store and tried lots of different styles of chairs out but it came down to comfort. Now don’t misunderstand me, I want things to look nice, whether it’s clothes or furniture, but I think comfort has become increasingly important.

         Our homes and cars are filled with things to make us feel more comfortable. The world has become an increasingly more uncomfortable place to live so we want our comfort and security at home. We find ourselves wanting to retreat to comfortable places.

We don’t like things that make us uncomfortable. The news is filled with all kinds of bad things that happened somewhere in the world. Don’t get anyone you know started talking about politics because that is a very divisive topic. Churches aren’t immune from divisive behavior, which can make the most faithful uncomfortable.

If you are like me and you desire to find comfort and peace, where do you look? I am fortunate in that there is comfort and unity in my church. But I believe the best place to find comfort is in God’s word. Whatever problem you are facing there is a promise from God’s word for you. He promises to comfort us. He promises to be with us and guard us. He promises to guide us and protect us. He promises to answer our prayers. There are more promises in God’s word then there is space in the paper to include them all.

When I find myself struggling, I often turn to Psalm 23 and Psalm 91. There is so much comfort for us in these Psalms. Isaiah 55 and Ephesians chapter one are also places that can encourage us in difficult times. I imagine you have your favorites, too. We have to learn to seek God in our dark moments and allow His word to be our light and hope. Leaning on Him and trusting that He’s got you can bring a comfort that nothing in this world can offer. The Bible tells us that we will have trouble in this world, but we can know that God is keeping a close watch on each one of us to comfort us in our difficult times.

I encourage you to seek comfort in God’s word and in His presence. I pray that God will make you more aware of His presence every day so you can be confident that He is watching over you. We may find ourselves troubled in our minds, but we have to listen to our spirits and find the comfort we need in God’s promises. He is closer than our breath and assigns angels to watch over us. God’s peace and comfort is available to us if we will keep our eyes and hearts focused on Him and not the circumstances that surround us. I pray God’s peace and comfort to you as I remind myself of the things I have just written!   

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
 

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