Category: Uncategorized

By Melanie Kauffman I’m sure that most of you have read or are familiar with the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. The final book in the series was eagerly awaited; everyone wanted to know how it would end. Would Harry and his friends defeat the evil Lord Voldemort? Will the war finally be over?...

By Fae Hicks One morning I was pondering how vast and great our God is. I considered all of His creation….the planets, stars, sun, and moon and the complexity of our bodies. All of it was just spoken into existence by Him. It was too much for me to comprehend and I was overwhelmed to...

By Tim Shaw What traditions do your family enjoy? Mine looks forward to the start of baseball season, vacation each summer, eating our favorite foods during the holidays, decorating the Christmas tree, and watching the Olympics. Not only do we look forward to these things, but we work hard to maintain our traditions, no matter...

By Lindsey I had the opportunity to go on New Life Dresher’s 2017 Beach Weekend in September. During this retreat, Jesus revealed himself to me in many new ways, one of which was in Proverbs 3:5-6, which reads: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all...

“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...

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...

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...

By Becca Muilenburg Full. If asked for one word to describe a typical week in our family, “full” is the one I would choose. With children, jobs, school, and all the other little errands and appointments which seem to multiply overnight, my husband and I are always searching for snippets of time when we can...

by Charlotte Gleason My husband, Jamie, grew up in the type of small town depicted in countless country songs. Wildlife and open space was more plentiful than people. And although we would be the first to debunk any romanticized notions of “country living,” we can both attest to something small towns do well: hospitality. So,...

By Sarah Gammage I am not a big “retreat person.” But when my daughter asked me to go spend some quality time together on the NLD mother-daughter retreat at Victory Valley Camp this year, how could I resist? (I need to snag these opportunities with her while I still have them!) Neither one of us...

By Tim Shaw When we moved from New England to Pennsylvania, we arrived in July, in the middle of a hot, dry summer—most plants were dead, and most lawns were brown. But the following spring, thanks to the hard work of our home’s previous owner, it was amazing to watch many perennials burst forth all...