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Soon our church will hold our yearly Christmas event for our community, Christmas in the Valley. We love to host this event! In the coming weeks, Christmas decorations will be gathered and put in place. All will be made ready to celebrate the sights and sounds of Christmas with our neighbors! Several years ago, a…

As November rolls around, I love the conversations my daughter, Bethany, and I have shared about her wishes for Christmas. Last year, she had hoped for clothing, devices, and Stanleys. What is a Stanley anyway? I had to ask. Apparently, a Stanley is a container for beverages she has assured me will cause her to…

Growing up, I loved watching pageants, especially the Miss Universe Pageant. I definitely had no interest in being in any. I just loved the beautiful dresses and hearing the different accents as the women spoke. I would always pick my favorite contestant to win, and sometimes they would. Part of the pageant involved an interview.…

“What I want to do, I don’t do, and what I don’t want to do, I do.” How often have I been frustrated with myself because I have messed up again. Losing patience, I respond with an unkind word. I complain about what I do not have, rather than being thankful for what I do…

My last month and a half have been incredibly busy. With a conference and a major women’s event, I have worked long hours preparing. My mind has been filled with tasks needing done as well as thinking through needs that may have been overlooked so everything is ready. I dreamed about the conference at least…

To me, there is nothing better than a hike through the woods. The path I hike to get to deeper woods at the Arboretum takes me down hundreds of stairs, along a narrow path, until I have to cross a stream. Rocks are scattered throughout the stream, and as I venture across, I have to…

Have you ever felt like everything around you is falling apart? Another crisis has come, bringing feelings of fear, hurt, and anxiety to the surface. Struggling with what is ahead, you have no idea how you will make it through. Can you have hope and joy even in the midst of a crisis? Habakkuk’s prayer…

As we step back into his story, Habakkuk remains on his watchtower, his sacred place, where he recommits to his continuing trust in God. As God returns with His response, He instructs Habakkuk to write down what He is about to say. God wants the people to clearly know His plan will take place in…

Have you ever walked through a time in your life where you just didn’t understand what God was doing? You wanted to understand, but your thoughts led you to wondering where He was. Did God even care? He was being quiet at a time when you needed to hear His voice and sense His overwhelming…

I have never had much trouble with my eyes. Actually, I had never been to the eye doctor much until in recent years when constant work on the computer led me to need glasses for reading. Even after receiving a pair of reading glasses, I skipped a year before I went for an annual checkup…