Musings

By Pastor Dave Holland “Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’ When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous man.’” Luke 23: 46-47  Jeff was a regular...

By Sean Dietrich We were newlyweds, living in a grungy apartment. Each morning, I would wake before her. I would pass my morning hours writing poetry on a yellow legal pad, sipping coffee. Mostly, I’d write the kinds of god-awful things you’d expect newlyweds to write. I’m talking painfully corny stuff. I’d...

By Sean Dietrich The misperception about New Year’s is that it’s supposed to be a happy occasion. Sort of like Christmas. Or a birthday party. But it’s not Christmas. New Year’s represents the end of something. And goodbyes are not joyous. New Year’s is also a beginning. Beginnings are not entirely happy...

By Sean Dietrich The Third Day of Christmas. My three French hens must have gotten lost in the mail. The weather was a stolid 34 degrees. The water in the dog bowls was stone. The sun was out. Waffle House was warm and inviting. The parking lot was mostly empty except...

By Gueary Clendenning What was your perfect gift you received as a child during Christmas? You know, the one gift that stands out in your memory even after all these years? I remember my perfect gift was a fully loaded red, chrome Schwinn bicycle! How many of you from my generation...

By Sean Dietrich “It’s all gone.” That’s what the lady on the news said. She was an older woman, being interviewed by a reporter. Giant news camera shoved in her face. The lady sounded like she was in a uniquely frantic state, poised somewhere between panic and absolute exhaustion. It is a...

By Pastor Dave Holland The boy felt the awful sting of poverty. He was about age 10 and lived in a small Midwest town in the 1930s. The Great Depression wreaked havoc in the nation, and drought ruined the farmers. That’s when the boy caught the news the circus was...

By Sean Dietrich Sunrise on Lake Martin. I’m usually the first one awake. I rarely have any company in the mornings. I wake up with the chickens. Most mornings, I sit on my porch alone. Just me and the feral cats. This morning, however, I had company. I heard small feet walking...

By Pastor Dave Holland As a 16-year-old new Christian in 1970, I was expected to go to the new youth group Bible study on Friday night. Our church leadership was oblivious to the real world and didn’t realize that anybody who mattered went to high school football games every Friday...

By Pastor Doug Stauffer Did you know that the Bible says that God intended elected representatives to be “God’s ministers” (Romans 13:6)? It even explicitly states HOW they are to provide for the welfare of others: Each politician is to be “a minister of God to thee for good” (Romans...