Have you ever met a really tall person? I am relatively tall and when I meet someone really tall it catches my attention. The young man in this story is very tall and he has a beautiful, kind heart. He also has a heart to serve others. Watch is story and ENJOY!!!!
By Graham Cooke
By Ashlie Miller
The month has been overshadowed by much tragedy – horrific headlines, violence, and the anniversary of 9/11. The door is widening for conversation among young people in particular, and the door is being pushed open to go back to church.
I am hearing stories from Christian friends and neighbors of peers and family reaching out to them, asking to read the Bible or to have conversations with them, or even to say yes to visiting their church with them.
Some are hesitant because of past experiences or stories on how churches seem to be closed off and unwelcoming. I cannot speak to each of those testimonies or on behalf of those churches, even as a pastor’s wife myself. It is disheartening to say the least. But we cannot let those stories or even our experiences be the roadblock. There have been plenty of those in recent years.
After nearly half a decade of checking out physically and only checking in virtually, people are looking to visit church for the first time or get back into actual community. If I were in a position of having to look for a church, here are some things I would consider:
Expository preaching. In a world that continually extracts sound bites to post on our favorite platform, we know how drawn we are to sensational statements or parts of phrases to boost our case, or in the case of our heart, justify our actions. When studying larger passages, we can learn original intent, and what we observe about God and His character, humanity, sin, promises, and much more. I need more than a sermon that makes me walk away feeling good about myself; I need truth that is not going to be twisted based on who is using it.
Pastors who see the kingdom of God beyond their facility and position. I would want a pastor who has encouraging connections with other churches and ministries, celebrating their work. Look how he disciples and equips his leadership team. What are the marks of kingdom work like: evangelism, international and domestic missions, and connecting with neighbors?
Fewer programs and more equipping. Before asking for suggestions of a church to visit and then requesting specific programs, consider reframing that to: How is the church equipping the congregation? Is it a community of hospitality? How are people being discipled toward growth, encouragement, and accountability? Do they excel in entertaining or equipping?
Reevaluating my preferences. If a church lacks a program I desire (children and youth ministry seem to rank as the top request, followed by lively music), what is it that they are really doing well? What are they investing in instead? How could God use a church quite different from what I want to cultivate maturity in my life?
And give each church a fair chance. It is amazing how we will subject ourselves to abuse of miserable service and experiences in almost any other area of life except the one that matters most. That is very telling, isn’t it?
Ashlie Miller is a pastor’s wife of a church plant in the University City area. You may contact her at mrs.ashliemiller@gmail.com.
By Doug Creamer
Finding God in the Everyday
I like going for walks, working in my garden, and reading on my front porch. These are peaceful activities that allow me to quiet my mind, spirit, and soul. The world is loud. The world is crazy and getting crazier all the time. The news is mostly negative. Some people can be angry and impatient. Worldly pressures push me towards being quiet. It all seems counter to my personality, which is more outgoing and positive.
When I meet someone new, I always seek to find the good in them. I believe that there is good or at least the capacity for it deep inside each one of us. Sometimes life struggles and circumstances have caused people to bury the goodness. It’s there waiting to be called out. We are created in the image of God and He places the seed of His goodness inside each one of us. We have to choose to let that seed grow within us.
I think it comes back to what we are feeding ourselves. If we listen to the news all day long we are going to struggle with depression because the news is depressing. If we listen to music with angry lyrics then we are going to be angry. If we spend hours scrolling through social media and see how perfect everyone’s life appears compared to ours, then we are going to be discouraged. We tend to forget that people only post their best moments.
If we feed our hearts and minds these false impressions of the world around us then it’s going to give us a negative outlook on life. True, there really are some bad things going on in our world. True, some people may get to take great vacations. True, we might need to examine our choice of music and not allow the negativity to infect our spirit. We need to stop and consider what we are feeding ourselves.
When I go for a walk I can see and appreciate the beauty God created. I can also stop and meet my neighbors. We have great neighbors who are kind, friendly, like to laugh, and are real people with joys and sorrows. Meeting the neighbors removes the mystery and helps me discover the goodness of God in their lives and gives me the opportunity to be a blessing or sometimes to be blessed.
I believe the goodness of God is just waiting to be discovered in our neighbors, in the beauty of nature around us, and even in the mundane things of everyday life. Many people see the goodness of God in the beauty of fall as trees put on their magnificent show of color. People will travel long distances to drive through the mountains and take in the beauty. It is hard to deny the creativity and majesty of God when spring begins to wake up in all of its splendor. Most of us can see God’s fingerprints in nature.
How do you find God during the mundane moments of life? I think God is with us all the time; the problem is that we are unaware of His presence. I like to talk with Him while I am washing the dishes or cutting the grass. I believe He is with us when we are cleaning the house, doing laundry, pulling weeds, washing the car, and driving to work. The Bible tells us that He will never leave or forsake us, so He must be there but we just aren’t paying attention.
Some people might say we need to tune our spirit to His so we can receive His presence. I believe God wants to draw close to us and in fact He is very close to us. We are simply too distracted by our daily tasks to realize He is right there with us. He cares about us and for us. Recognizing His presence and opening our hearts to Him can turn the mundane tasks into a time of sweet fellowship with Him.
I want to encourage you to open your hearts and minds to God’s presence in the midst of everyday tasks. He doesn’t live in your church; He lives in your heart. He is as close as your every breath. When you begin to look for Him, I believe you are going to find Him. Look for His hand as you watch the leaves turning. See his handiwork in the next sunrise or sunset. See if you can find Him the next time you wash the dishes or cut the grass. He is waiting to be discovered in the wonders of nature and in the everyday activities of your life.
Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com
By David Freeze
Today, August 5th, has been the longest day of my Great Lakes adventure, and I don’t have much to show for it. I ran very early this morning in Belgium, Wisconsin. To those who saw my Day 5 report, I felt lucky to grab a reasonable room just at the interstate exit and north of afternoon rush hour traffic for Milwaukee and Chicago. Just as what happened in Detroit on the way north, my history has included getting caught in bumper to bumper, inching along traffic with people who do it every day! I dreaded Chicago. I have been in their traffic many times over the years and knew this time would likely be the same.
The motel was good! I kept my watch on Eastern Daylight Time while everyone else in Wisconsin is on Central Daylight Time. I ran, showered, checked out, got gas, a breakfast biscuit and ice before 6:30am local time. Driving through Milwaukee’s interstate was a dream. No issues.
I heard on the radio that three tractor trailers had collided overnight on the Dan Ryan Expressway, one of the major interstates around Chicago. Authorities were rerouting traffic, so my GPS sent me on Illinois 41. I was scheduled early to ride about 50 miles on the Dan Ryan. I got a two-mile notice to change to 41 and soon the radio started to tell others to do the same. After an hour of barely moving, I finally cleared the downtown area only to get stopped again by those brush and vacuum trucks that were cleaning the side of the interstate. Massive traffic that should have had three lanes had only one. One total hour added to my trip home.
Then in Indiana on Interstate 65, a portion was closed for an accident cleanup. All traffic was rerouted for about six miles of country roads. Another hour added to travel time. But the rest of the day went well, and I am spending the night in Charleston, WV. Only about 253 miles of the 988 going home from Green Bay remain.
Here are some thoughts on this wonderful trip. I saw over 1200 miles of shoreline or as close as possible from the nearest road. The weather was perfect every day. As always, the people were the real stars. The very first person that I met this time on the Great Lakes was Peter Ashwin Patel at his motel in Port Huron and the conversation was wonderful. The owners at the Gateway Motel in Newberry were fun too. Hard to beat was Steve Russell, the man who fixed my brakes while we shared thoughts on the world. But just like on a regular bike trip, I met nice people throughout.
I ran and did some purposeful walking every day too! I didn’t want to come home after missing eight days of running as I am still chasing 2,000 miles for the year. It was generally cool and comfortable but most often humid, which I am sure goes with the nearby mass of water. I didn’t get to ride the bike as much as I wanted to as time was always tight, but I found that I need more future miles to build up my pedaling muscles. I had not been on a bike for more than a year and a half. Porter at Skinny Wheels did a great job getting the bike ready for this trip.
I did most of the planning the night before visiting a certain area, same as on an extended bike ride. I used my big and bulky 2023 Road Atlas and a Michigan Great Lakes guidebook that is filled with great information. Every day was filled with problem solving, including what to go see and making it work with available time. Big surprises were Marquette, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin for all there was to see and do.
Every motel room has its own story, and I love playing the game! I am in a Quality Inn high rise motel in Charleston tonight. I spoke to the desk clerk on the phone before coming here and got a certain price. The same clerk was at the desk when I arrived but still tried to charge full price. I reminded her we had already agreed on a price. I have a nice 7th floor room. I can ride 100 miles a day on a bike but still must find the right motel deal to finish the day.
The lighthouses stole the show, just as I knew they would. Some I knew about as part of my early planning, others were surprises like the one in Manitowoc that I would have missed if not for a small sign on the interstate and Siri’s help. If you are wondering, I now have done about half of the Great Lakes shoreline over three trips, so there is much more to see. These are big lakes, and the rest of the shoreline will be high on my list!
As the final exploration for this journey, I ran in Charleston on Wednesday morning. August 6th along the beautiful Kanawha River, something I always wanted to do. After checking out of the hotel, I went exploring around the magnificent West Virginia State Capitol building. I walked and took photos for 1.3 miles on the capitol grounds and saw my first ever black squirrel, and statues of Abraham Lincoln, Stonewall Jackson and one for the Union Soldiers of the Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln was the major player in helping to establish West Virginia, largely filled with his supporters after receiving fewer than 2000 votes from Virginia for his election in 1860. He signed the West Virginia statehood bill in December 1862.
Another adventure is done! This one will total just eight days, including the first with all driving that didn’t count, and it was great fun! Final mileage covered on this adventure was 2669. I hope you find your own adventures and thanks for letting me share this one with you!
By Lynna Clark
One of the greatest treasures during this time of grief has been former students sending words of comfort. One student wrote a long letter describing a happy memory in David’s Bible class. I will treasure it forever. She used phrases like, “gentle, quiet, and fatherly smile” to describe him. I don’t know how things work in Heaven, but I hope he got to hear those beautiful words about his time as a teacher. Sometimes he wondered if his twenty years in the classroom meant anything at all. This beautiful note would confirm that his time mentoring was not for nothing. I also got a text from our niece who was one of his students. Here’s her recollection:
“Here I am, off to fight it out with ornery people in court again. You know Uncle David told me in 6th grade that God would use my argumentativeness for good… one day. But he said it wasn’t now. In other words, I needed to shut up.”
This child was so driven to make good grades that she was probably explaining to him something he didn’t want to hear about a test score or such. But he was right. All that determination came in handy as she is now a lawyer, championing the rights of the elderly. However, while she was in his classroom, he wasn’t having it.
I think the sweetest compliment I heard was during our “Funeral Party.” A young lady hugged me with tears in her eyes as she whispered. “He gave me so much grace.”
May the same be said of us all.
“He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths bring honor to His Name.” -Psalm 23:3
Us as chaperones at one of the Junior/Senior Proms.
By Ed Traut
Psalms 42:8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me– a prayer to the God of my life.
Prayer:
How I praise Your holy name, that You love me and have done and still
do so much for me. That I bring my praise to You continually I worship
You. There is no one like You Lord. Hallelujah! Amen.
Ed Traut
Prophetic Life
Steve Hartman tells the heart warming story of a young woman who didn’t have someone to walk her down the isle… ENJOY!
By Ann Farabee
Help from Haggai
*Consider our ways.
How can we consider our ways? To consider means to think carefully about something. Ways means our way, our journey, or our manner. As we consider our ways, we could ask ourselves this question, “During my time on this earth, am I more concerned with my own needs than I am with fulfilling God’s will for my life?
Lord, help us to understand that we belong to You. Help us to consider our ways and make serving You our top priority.
Repeat as needed: Consider my ways.
*God is with us.
This is powerful. To even begin to understand that God is always with us is more than
the heart can take. We are a friend of God. Do we deserve to be? No. But we are.
Lord, help us to truly grasp that You are surrounding us and that the Holy Spirit is living inside us. When we begin to understand, we will never be the same.
Repeat as needed: God is with me.
*We can be strong.
How can we be strong when we are so weak? We can be strong because God is with us. God gives us strength. Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord will give strength to his people. That’s who we are – His people.
Lord, help us to see that we do not have to toil or labor for our strength. Help us to remember that you give strength to us. It is a gift from our heavenly Father.
Repeat as needed: God will make me strong.
*In this place God will give peace.
How can we have peace when our lives are not peaceful? Peace is inside us. God gives it to us. Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord will bless his people with peace.
Lord, help us to remember that You have blessed us with peace. Not just tomorrow’s peace, or yesterday’s peace, but peace in the place we are today – this place.
Repeat as needed: God will give peace in this place.
*The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former.
Haggai spent much time encouraging the people to make the work of rebuilding the Temple their top priority. It can be so easy to falter and without even realizing it not put God as our top priority – even though He makes us a top priority.
Lord help us to remember that this life is not about our earthly home – but is about the glorious kingdom not built by man. Thank you for the promise that You will make all things new and that the end will be better than the beginning.
Repeat as needed: The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former.
This has been brought to you from the book of Haggai.
Read it.
It is only two chapters.
By Ashlie Miller
They say that rain on your wedding day is a good luck sign for a solid marriage. If that is the case, what does it mean when there is a large power outage during your wedding? That will be a follow-up question years from now for the bride and groom of the wedding my husband attended last weekend.
It was an overcast day, but as we approached Mooresville, it was clear that rain would put a damper on the plans. I checked the wedding website, theknot.com, to see if there were alternate plans for the outdoor wedding on the greens of the golf course. Nothing was listed. Well, this could be interesting, I thought.
Things were not looking up as we approached nonworking traffic lights, the closer we came to the venue. Very interesting, I thought. We pulled into the world-class golf club and walked with an umbrella over our heads in the slight drizzle to wait with no specific direction under the awnings of a building. Suddenly, “Okay, it’s happening, let’s go!” a photographer announced. Still unsure of where we were going, we walked towards an outdoor area, watching employees wipe down seats with pool towels. The fans and paper parasols intended for a hot late summer evening were only as much help as shielding from the slight drizzle. There was at last enough of a reprieve that a condensed – but still legal – wedding ceremony commenced. After the I do’s and a kiss, the happy couple bounded up the aisle, followed by a large ribbon of lightning across the horizon. Yet, no one bolted up the aisle. With joyful decorum, the wedding party exited up the aisle.
I do not know how many of us were concerned over the reception menu as we waited for the wedding party. There were hors d’oeuvres, and people gathered to chat. One only noticed that it was dimly lit because there was still plenty of clouded daylight. We sat down at a table with candles that were now valued more for their functionality than their ambiance; the chandeliers only glistening thanks to these humble lights below. Caesar salad before me, glancing at the menu (filet mignon and chicken), I wondered how they were going to pull that off. Answer: They couldn’t. After the ceremonial dances, the father of the bride announced, “Things haven’t gone as planned, aren’t going as planned, and won’t go as planned.” With a smile, he hinted that he would know what’s for dinner at the same time we would. I began to hear whispers of “Chick-fil-a.”
Surely enough, the servers brought CFA nuggets and what my refined French fry palate determined to be Wendy’s French fries (do any others stay so crispy upon delivery?). A server elegantly brought out Heinz ketchup packets in a silver creamer. There was no overly apologizing for what was not being offered, but service with excellence. No one would have known it was the club’s first time dealing with such a crisis on a wedding day.
Who was really there for the food anyway? We delighted in conversation and seeing the happy bride and groom celebrating this long-awaited day.
What a metaphor for marriage: Life hasn’t gone as planned, isn’t going as planned, won’t go as planned. But that’s okay. We can serve each other with excellence and care, and joy can be in making it through it together, with a smile and a dance…and maybe some chicken nuggets and crispy fries.
