“Need to Know” about Treasures
By Tony Tench The church where our daughter and her family serve the Lord have a phrase they use each week in the children’s classes. They point the kids to the day’s “need to know” — it’s the focal point of the daily lesson from the Bible. So, over these few years we have often […]
Revival Reflections: What Have You Heard God Saying?
Re·viv·al – improvement, activation, reawakening, restoration! All of these words live in the definitions of what “revival” is all about when it is underway. They are words that characterize the movement of God to speak to our hearts about the life of faith before us as a congregation and as individual Christ Followers: The “improvement” of […]
Sweeeeeet….
…..Potatoes! And, white potatoes too! Regardless of the type and the time of year they are harvested, the ministry of the Cleveland County Potato Project has been a sweeeeet blessing to the people of our community. Co-founded by Doug Sharp, Bill Horn and the Holy Spirit, the Cleveland County Potato Project came into being in […]
Vespucia, Vespucia — God shed His grace on Thee….Wait what?
By Tony Tench on July 4, 2019 On the birthday of our nation we proudly sing, “Vespucia, Vespucia, God shed his grace on Thee…” Wait, what? Of course that’s not right, we sing of “America!” But, it could have been Vespucia. Either way, I am glad our continent carries this name! Two hundred and forty-three […]
The Hats A Mother Wears
As mother’s we wear so many different hats….
“Blessing” in Any Language– ESL Celebration 2019
Though we have missed our Director, Cindy Canoy, due to illness this semester, our faithful team of teachers and encouragers have met each Monday since January to teach English to our Cleveland County neighbors who have come from around the world. Flavored by wonderful international foods prepared by our students and featuring their grateful words […]
Donuts for Dads: A Reflection About Being the Parents Our Children Need
A Mother’s Morning Out Fellowship at First Baptist Church by Tony Tench Annually, about this time of year, our Mother’s Morning Out (MMO) ministry hosts a Friday morning fellowship called “Donuts for Dads.” Since MMO is not in session in June when Father’s Day rolls around, like they are in session in May when Mother’s […]
First Things First: The Joy of Serving in the Nursery
by Tony Tench “Thinking of God as living only in the past is one of the early mistakes of a ‘child’s theology’ which must later be corrected.” –William L. Hendricks, Theologian and Educator The reason behind the thinking expressed above is that since we read stories about God and his work in the world from […]
Giving Thanks for the Recipe!
By Tony Tench, Thanksgiving Day My Mother is a great cook! She always has been able to bring the skills to the kitchen. We all have our favorites from her culinary repertoire. There was a day when she would make cakes to order and she was in such demand that it liked to have worn […]
“Mommy, We’re Having a FEAST!!!” — a Thanksgiving Reflection
by Tony Tench Enjoying the pace of retirement from teaching, and getting in all the time possible to be an encouragement to Erin and be with our grand-girl and grand-boy (yes, ain’t life grand!), Janet was recently down in Greenwood, SC. She and Erin, our daughter, were parked in line to pick up Mattie from […]