This is the story of beauty coming out of ashes, how something extraordinary can emerge out of the most intense suffering. Young Francis Thompson, unable to fulfill the aspirations of his father, who dreamed his son would become a doctor, dropped out of Oxford College in late 19th century England and began writing. But his efforts brought menial remuneration and gradually Francis found…

Almost four hours to the minute after posting last Tuesday’s prayer letter, beloved Beverly Blumenfeld took her last breath here on this earth and transitioned right into God’s presence. 2 Corinthians 5:8 states for the believer, “That to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” It’s such a reassuring verse. Most of you have read the Facebook…

A week ago Friday, a little after midnight, hospice nurses caring for my sister-in-law Beverly, switched shifts but inadvertently allowed both house cats, Jack and Tiger, to slip through the door and bolt out into the night. A few minutes later Beverly’s husband Mark realized the cats were gone and ran outside calling them. Jack quickly returned but no Tiger. Mark called…

A Response – to the article on teen suicide I wrote last week:  “I will be praying for all concerned. My heart/compassion is with those teenagers.  I am praying that Pastor Sam receives wisdom from God on how to help each one. Nothing is impossible with God. Taking the authority that we have been given, I bind the spirit of death and loose the spirit of…

I’ve never seen Pastor Sam quite so sad. He walked into the staff meeting this morning like he’d lost his best friend. He explained, “It’s tough. I am dealing with 6 or 7 kid who are contemplating suicide. A few just started coming to the church. “ He held back tears as he shared how tenuous the lives of these kids are.…

From Sunday… I don’t think there is anything much tougher, nor more difficult to cope with, than rejection. Few things are more painful nor more debilitating. But every single one of us have suffered it. Rejection is a universal malady. Many of us have heard heartbreaking words like these: “I don’t want you anymore. I’ve found someone else. I’ve had enough of…

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your Name in all the earth. You, who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.” Psalm 8:1 “To Him who made the great lights, His loving-kindness is everlasting; the sun to rule by day, for His loving-kindness is everlasting; the moon and the stars to rule by night, for His loving-kindness is everlasting.” Psalm 136:7-9…

A Life-Changing Passage: Some of the greatest spiritual wisdom, and one of the most important passages in all Scripture, carrying a definite sense of urgency, is the call of consecration and devotion of our lives to Christ, found in Romans chapter 12:1-2: The verses below are taken from the NAS and Amplified Bibles. “I strongly appeal to you, in view of all…

Born to Create Beauty: I first met Ken Auster around 1980 when he became an exhibiter at the Sawdust Festival, a painter extraordinaire. He turned out to be such a dynamic artist and visionary that by 1989 he was President of the Board of Directors. Year after year he filled the Sawdust with beautiful paintings and his enthusiasm for the arts here…

I posted the “That’s My King” video a couple of years ago but it is so good I am posting it again as I have since then added many new people to my address lists. It was Sandy Davis who commented back then, “I always wanted to be a black preacher,” and Kori Kelso who said , “This is one of my…