Our country needs a time of national revival. I was shocked, as I’m sure you were, by the attack on the Capitol Building on Wednesday, January 6. I wasn’t happy with the results of the national election in 2016 but it never occurred to me to try to overthrow the government because of it. Even …
From Worship Experiences
Ring the Bells of Praise to God
We are just through the Christmas season and I’ve been thinking about bells. Have you noticed how many Christmas songs have bells in them? “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” “Jingle Bells.” “Carol of the Bells.” “Come On, Ring Those Bells.” These are just a few of the songs with bells in the titles. …
Grace-Full in the New Year
Do you have a resolution for 2021? I am going to be more grace-full. I have never been a particularly graceful person, despite being born on a Tuesday (“Tuesday’s child is full of grace”) but maybe the rhyme was talking about extending the grace of God to others. That is what I want to do …
Merry Little Christmas
How was your Christmas? This year we had a merry little Christmas, with the emphasis on little. Most of the things I consider Christmas traditions went by the wayside. I didn’t even attend a Christmas Eve service in person. Tom and I watched three of them online, but it just isn’t the same, no matter …
One Size Fits All With Jesus
Have you ever ordered anything “one size fits all?” Did it fit? I must be an odd size because nothing like that ever fits me. Even when things come in sizes, I often have a hard time getting the right size, especially when it is a gift. For instance, I ordered a really cute sweatshirt …
Give Him an Inch and He Will Take an Ell
Have you ever heard the expression “Give him an inch and he will take an ell”? I had not. I am more familiar with the American expression “give him an inch and he will take a mile.” I ran across the expression in a chapter of C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity.” An ell is an old …
You Only Taste the Water, I Taste the Gift
Recently I made some chocolate peanut butter cookies, which are Tom’s favorite. I started them early in the morning and had several trays of them cooling when Tom got up. He picked one up, tasted it, and said “These taste funny.” Not really the first thing I wanted to hear about these cookies. Rev Karen …
Top Ten Thankful List for Thanksgiving
Today I am posting my top ten thankful list. 2020 has been a difficult year full of challenges that aren’t over yet. Plans changed and our traveling has been very curtailed. But there are still so many things for which I am thankful and I thought I would share my top ten. Top Ten Thankful …
Dancing in Praise of God, Moving to the Spirit’s Beat
At one of the outdoor worship services at Lewis Center, the “Band on Hand” played a very lively praise song. I don’t remember which one it was, but I was tapping my toes and bouncing in my seat in the car. Most of the adults were content to sit in their seats. One little girl, …
God Covers the Trees in Glory
I have been loving this fall and the way God covers the trees in glory. Every morning when I take my walk, I remind myself to appreciate the beauty all around me. If I am looking down at the path too much, I deliberately look up to admire the colored leaves and the trees around …