Community, Compassion, Service
We shall not live as “Prisoners but as Colonists.” That is the phrase C.S. Lewis once used in his book “The Problem of Pain” to speak about the church’s approach to the suffering of the world. It is to us to plant the flag of the kingdom of God in a world that looks into itself – we are to be the people of hope, love, faith and grace as we follow Jesus, and not […]
By Missy Smith My kids are perfectionists! They want so bad to please their teachers, coaches, dance instructors and peers. They get so upset when they make a little mistake. They want to do things well and make sure that everyone is proud with their performance. They often get really upset when they don’t do something well. I know exactly where my girls get this from, as I do the same thing. One day, my oldest […]
Day 20: Pastor Tony “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21 Not long ago, during a casual trip up to Asheville, I walked into one of my favorite coffee houses up that way — the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. […]
By Carol Ann Hoard Life comes at you fast sometimes – things where you have no control like hurricanes, floods, and …. cancer. During our recent encounter with life, I have learned so much. Joel and I have walked through a storm of life, when just recently he was diagnosed with leukemia. We were taken back because Joel is so healthy. However, we knew whatever the outcome of this storm, we were going to be […]
By Holly Sweat The Lord continues to carry us through a difficult storm. The last couple of days have been trying, it began Wednesday when I came home from work and found Dan completely disoriented. Phone books were thrown all over the counter in Dan’s attempt to reach me at work. He couldn’t figure out how to use the phone or his cell phone to contact me or anyone else for help. He was having […]
By Carol Ann Hoard Tuesday, thirteen members of our FBC Youth Group and I, along with our Student Ministry intern, Holly Strother, set out for a Mission/Service Day. We planned to cut flowers from the community garden, bake some cookies, make greeting cards, and take them to five people. We divided our preparation time into three groups: flower cutting and arranging, cookie baking, and card making. The flower group had many, many flowers and only […]
By Michelle Moser I met my husband on a blind date on Easter weekend of 2015. My mom’s friend thought it would be a good idea for us to meet, and needless to say she was right. One thing that bonded us early on was the strong desire to start a family. With both of us in our mid-thirties, we were ready to start a new chapter in our lives. Bruce and I dated for […]
By Missy Smith Here we go again…. It’s another morning and my alarm goes off. As I reach to silence it…. I take a deep sigh and I cringe. I know that when my feet hit the floor they will not stop until I come back to this bed in the late hours of the night. As I lay in my bed I quickly think of all that must be done. I need to pack […]
By Jim McSwain The following encounter is of an experience I had with a patient in the hospital. This encounter was a significant personal moment in my ministry as a chaplain at CHS-Cleveland. I was paged to the maternity ward and as I entered the room I saw that the patient was a young mother. Her husband was sitting next to her on her bed. The mother was holding to her chest, underneath a white cover, […]
By Sue Smith Don and I had both just retired. We were settling well into God’s intention for service from a “retirement point of view.” I had always held fast to the challenge from scripture, “This is the day the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24), and God was giving us reason to rejoice in each new day. Don was enjoying regular golf outings and serving the Lord through […]
