By Jane Highley There is a huge bulletin board in my classroom with the words “Famous Failures” in the center. Around that title, there are more than a dozen examples of how historic heroes and pop-culture giants have failed. I created this bulletin board to convey a singular message: failure is valuable. The more I...
Author: Andrew Bors (Andrew Bors)
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It’s Not Simple Math – The Session Fall Retreat
“It’s just simple math. Take 525 people and divide them among the 17 elders and you get roughly 31 people they need to shepherd,” declared one elder (with a little embellishment on my part). Makes sense, doesn’t it? – until you realize how difficult shepherding really is. At the Session retreat last weekend, we mapped...
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The Eternal in the Now
By Debbie Shope There are beach people and there are mountain people. Occasionally there are beach/mountain people, but they are a rare breed. I am a beach person. I was born in southern California and family lore has it that, from a very early age, as soon as I set foot on the beach, I...
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Peace to the Lost
By Melanie Kauffman When I was in sixth grade, I befriended a boy who for privacy’s sake I’ll call James. The early years of our friendship were pretty typical for a couple of pre-teens, but as we got older it became apparent that James was a bit of a lost soul. I entered our tumultuous...
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Longing for Freedom
By Todd Hill Anyone who has watched the movie Braveheart can’t help but immediately think about the iconic scene at the conclusion of the movie where William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson, cries out in his death: FREEDOM! There is something about this scene that sears into your memory. While there is a certain gruesomeness...
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Shooting through the Screen
By Ward Shope Early one rainy morning this summer, I spotted a bear outside our vacation lodging place. It was cool and still somewhat dark and I found myself torn between waking Debbie up so she could see the bear, or letting her get the extra rest that we both longed for. The bear kept...
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Perfume for Jesus
By Charlotte Gleason Recently, I read Mark’s account of the woman who poured “pure nard” (14:3) over the head of Jesus. I realize this passage blends and contrasts with the other gospels: Luke describes the woman wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair, and John claims the woman was Mary. My Martha-mind likes to believe this...
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What Are You Bringing?
By Dave Almack (This blog was originally published on “FaithLit”, Dave Almack’s Blog. You can find the original here.) So, I have a confession to make. I am a huge fan of potluck picnics. For those not familiar with this particular tradition, this is a combination of a typical outdoor barbecue with the twist that...
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A Summer Update
By Jane Highley Summer is not over (hardly), yet the end feels dreadfully near. The back-to-school ads have been consistent and catchy ever since we feasted on burgers on Independence Day. But they only serve to remind us teachers this universal truth: summer is unjustly the shortest season. I wrote a post about six weeks...
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Boldly Unashamed of It All
By Ward Shope “…it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Phil 1:20) Yesterday afternoon, I called Debbie on the phone. “What are you doing?” I asked....
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Thankful for the Longing
By Debbie Shope I recently was offered an old, beat-up aluminum pitcher which I was happy to accept. My husband, not so much 🙂 As I admired my new acquisition, I looked at the bottom — why, I don’t know — and discovered it was 99% aluminum. Not bad, eh? But this triggered a familiar...
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My Chair
By Ward Shope It’s 4 o’clock on a Friday afternoon and Fae and I are closing up shop at the New Life office. “Have a good weekend, Fae. I’ll see you Sunday.” “Thanks”, she returns. “Do you have any plans?” “Not in particular,” I reply. “I think I’ll sit in my chair.” Fae chuckles with...