by Val Black     In Luke 15:8-10 it tells the story of a woman who lost a coin and in reading, it seems as if she's very disturbed about the loss. Have you ever wondered why a simple lost coin would be such a concern to a woman that she would rejoice when she found it? Here is the reason why: When a woman married in those days the bridegroom would give the bride a gift of silver coins which the bride would wear hanging from her forehead as a decoration and as a sign to others that she was ...

by Teresa Foo     Have you ever whispered? Most of us have. What makes a whisper different than a regularly spoken word? Years ago, as a young tot, my best friend, Cassandra, taught me a simple truth. We joked a lot and she was full of humor. She once told me that a whisper is more effective than a yell. As years passed, I realized the impact of that statement.     As a child in a classroom, do you remember your teacher standing still, waiting for all of you to listen? What if your teacher yelled at you ...

by Teresa Foo     Do you know your value? What exactly do we base that on? Hmm, well, in my case, I think about the fact that we have five beautiful children and two wonderful Sons-in-law. We also have three grandchildren that are BEYOND cute! No words could describe them! We love them so much!! So, is that where I find my value? I just don't think that's enough. I can't take credit for all of that because God is the Creator, not me. Although, He did see me worthy of such a blessing and I am sooo thankful ...

by Teresa Foo     It's time, time to let go! That's right, the time has come to forget the past and move on to bigger and better things! Have you ever heard that saying before? I know, so have I. The intentions behind it are meant to strengthen us and give us hope, which is comforting. It is nice to know that others truly care and are concerned about our well being. I may be the exception to the rule, but at times, those words of encouragement are just words. I know that seems rude and maybe unacceptable to ...

by Brenda Black     I recently had a conversation with a woman regarding her father. Her father told her the reason he would not go to church, except for the occasional holiday program, was because the same men he sat with in the bar on Saturday night were the same men he had seen sitting in church on Sunday morning. It made me wonder how many other people allowed the behavior of others to dictate their own decision to attend church. Later as I thought about our conversation I saw the contradiction in his statement. What was the real ...

by Brenda Black     I like things neat, organized and clean. Now don’t get me wrong, if you come to my house you will find small piles of “to do’s” and even dust! I will get to those things after I get done with the current projects I have going on, so for now, the piles and dust will have to wait. Our spiritual lives are like that. We long for perfection and cleanliness and a straight path so we make the best out of what we have, as imperfect as it may be. We pick and choose to ...

by Brenda Black     In this world, there are many opportunities to become distracted. So many things want our attention. Whether it is money problems, relationship problems, health issues or any other assortment of “issues”, distractions are available to all and they come in all shapes and sizes. Not all distractions are negative, some come wrapped in pretty packages, say money, for instance, fame, promotion or power. Did you know that it is okay to have money, fame, and power? As God’s children we are called to be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, are ...

by Jerome Yaw Boachie-Danquah, Ghana, W. Africa     Find joy in the little things, for there are so very many of them. In every day there are countless opportunities to be joyful. Those small moments of joy and happiness will add up. They’ll keep you pointed in a positive direction. Big achievements are the result of small efforts added one by one to each other. In the same way, lives of happiness and fulfillment are built piece by piece, one small joy at a time.     Don’t be too quick to place judgments on events as they unfold ...

by Teresa Foo     "One person's junk is another person's treasure." Have you heard that saying before? Well, I think it's worth thinking about. Why would my junk be a treasure to someone else? After all, it's junk in my eyes. Okay, what is the definition of junk? Basically, it is defined as old or discarded articles that are considered useless, or of little value. So, why would my discarded articles be of use to someone else? This brought me to a memory I have of an old trunk that I noticed one day when we lived in Indiana ...

by Brad Black     A while back I was in church worshiping and I thought of all the churches that "glam up" their worship services with lights and the best sound equipment.  I'm not judging the use of those things because I believe that those can be tools of worship as much as singing and living.  But I just thought of God's heart, how complex yet simple He is, and I thought, "Would I be worshipping the same if all these lights and microphones were stripped from this room?  Would I be worshipping God for who He is, or ...