Category: New Life Notes

By Nancy Unks A potter friend shared some clay with me that was quite different from any I had used before. First, its color was dark red from its high iron content. Then, it was very coarse in texture because of copious amounts of sand—grog in potter’s lingo—mixed into it. That’s the feature that affected...

By Ward Shope I’m reading a book on humility.  Please don’t applaud. Over the last months, I’ve been astounded at my own levels of irritation, frustration, and anger at almost everything and everyone.  Debbie has convinced me that our dog is not bright enough to actually carry out conspiratorial attacks against me, but he has...

By Ward Shope New Year’s resolutions are challenging this year.  Many made new commitments to exercise when the pandemic set in.  So apart from the holiday bulk we’ve managed to swallow, we’ll just be getting back to what perhaps we were doing before.  There are always the well-meaning faith resolutions such as: more consistent Bible...

By Jane Highley A mistake can be an opportunity. About four years ago, when I realized it was too late to make and send Christmas photo cards, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to create New Year’s Day cards instead, with plenty of time to spare and less pressure. And that has been the...

By Ward Shope The giving and receiving of gifts around the holidays can be a complicated affair.  There are those among us who naturally excel at gift etiquette.  They can find the perfect gift for that “special” curmudgeon and find unequalled joy in wrapping and presenting it – melting their target with a knowing twinkle...

By Ward Shope Thanksgiving Day marks the end of November, But the good news is just starting as we move through December Toward the birth of our Savior, the king who redeems And restores all things beyond our wildest dreams And coaxes us his powerful promises to remember. While the pandemic rages and threatens to...

By Ward Shope 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Phil 4:6-7) These are anxious times.  No matter where you are in the...

By Shannon Keenan Most of the time we hear about adoption from the adoptive family side, but I am here to tell you that the other side, the birth family side, can be just as beautiful and just as redemptive.  After all, God is in the business of redemption. In 2018 I found out I...

By Ward Shope I don’t know about you, but the Shopes can be easily persuaded to watch a movie “based on a true story.”  It sounds authentic, real.  On the other hand, there probably should be some sort of rating system that tells you how close the actual story is to the movie’s story.  Frequently...

By Nancy Unks We all know what ‘virtual’ means. We do virtual meetings and virtual classes and virtual visits every day. Our many virtuals would not be possible without computers and the Internet. So I was surprised to run across a definition for the word in a pre-Internet dictionary that sounds very 21st century; it’s...

By a New Life Member Everyone knows that there are two topics that should never be discussed in mixed company…religion and politics. Lately, it seems like society has tossed that particular rule right out the window. You can’t go anywhere without hearing someone talk about the state of the nation and the upcoming election, often...