When you read the title of this month’s message, what came to mind? The word dash can define many different things, from a splash (dash) of water, to a small amount of an added ingredient for a recipe, to a footrace usually shorter than a quarter-mile. However, I have a word of wonderful encouragement contained in the word dash that comes under a totally different heading. A dash of… Picture a tombstone and you will see two dates separated by a hyphen (dash) in the middle. The first date on the left is the date of birth. The second date […]

I recently heard a pastor who was talking about three spaces: the first space is where people are like you, the second space is where you have connections with others who may not be like you, and the third space is an environment where you have no relationships. He referenced the story in Acts 17:17 where Paul wanted to reach the Romans in Athens. The first place he went was to the religious. You might ask the question, how he was going to reach the Romans if he went to the church? This first place he described was our comfortable […]

The New Year offers each of us a chance to forget the old and move forward into the new. I am not a great fan of New Year’s resolutions, but I fervently believe in writing down our goals and reviewing them regularly. I encourage you to write out your goals for 2016, including those for your personal health, and then periodically check in to see how you are doing. “For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing” (Jeremiah 31:25 NLT). Our habits determine the patterns of our lives We know that life is short. The […]

This time of year most people are starting things new: fitness programs, a new diet or health plan, starting new relationships or drawing closer to God. New commitments, fresh motivation and renewed resolutions take place all over the world as we start a new year. Of course, I have a few of my own as always; we all do. One thing I’m reminded of and keep forgetting is that necessary endings have to happen in order to be able to start new things or to allow room for new things to take place.   Biblical endings The Bible references pruning, […]

(Scroll down to leave a comment on how you grow in Christ.) You stand at the threshold of yet another brand New Year. Have you considered what you would like it to look like by the time you come to the end of it, if God is pleased to give to you 365 more days of life? Have you spent any time considering what God would have you do in 2016 with all He has given you to do it with? To be sure, last year has run its course and a brand new year is calling you forward. So, […]

Reversing roles with our parents is surreal. It is not easy to assist our parents as we witness their decline physically and mentally.  We find as parents age, the Mom who patiently taught us to cook or the Dad who taught us the no-fail way to parallel park are no longer the same. I recall my mother telling the story of my father being stationed in Korea. Knowing my father only by his framed picture, I greeted him with, “You’re not my Daddy!” when he returned from serving in the Korean War. If your parent is declining, you too may […]

A new year and new opportunities. However, many only see new unknowns. The unknown and the unfamiliar tend to produce fear in most people. Fear of what will happen next and where? Fear, worry, anxiety, stress, they are all the same. These are issues people have faced since the beginning of time. The original terrorist was Satan with the fear he pumps into our minds.   What makes us afraid? As little children we are afraid of the dark and the boogeyman under our bed. Perhaps this is why a movie like “Monster’s Inc.” can be so successful. We all […]