The Bird Song Reflection The babies fittingly broke through their shells on Mother’s Day morning.  At least that’s when I first heard the tiny cheeps that sounded terribly new and fresh, the first day I also noticed the parent birds making regular food runs. The nest is tucked up in a far corner of my shed, a good 10 feet from the ground, so I won’t be peeking inside it as ladders are still out of the question for

A Different Kind of Resolution We come to church carrying many things—gratitude, worry, fatigue, hope. Some of what we carry is easy to name, and some of it we barely understand ourselves. Faith does not ask us to arrive polished or certain. It asks only that we arrive—present, honest, and willing to listen for God in the middle of our ordinary lives. The first week of January is a season of resolve. We tell ourselves that this will be the

Making Space for Jesus in a Crowded Life Our lives are full—full of schedules, responsibilities, notifications, and constant noise. Much of it is good and necessary. Yet without noticing, the fullness of life can leave little room for the presence of Christ. Jesus rarely forces His way into our crowded days; instead, He waits for the space we are willing to make. Scripture reminds us, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Stillness is not empty

Christmas and Grief: Finding Ways to Stay PositiveI was walking through AJ’s grocery store the other day.  If you shop there, you know they have all kinds of specialty items and beautiful gifts for every season.  Their best season is Christmas.  AJ’s was my mother’s favorite store, and even though she could not shop there on a regular basis, she loved to go there at Christmas time.  Every Christmas season, my mom and I would plan an outing to AJ’s

Living Under the Reign of the Manger Throne Our theme for Advent Christmas 2025 here at PWC is Manger Throne. Manger Throne invites us into a mystery at the heart of the Gospel: the King of all creation chooses humility over spectacle, weakness over worldly power, vulnerability over dominance. Jesus could have entered the world with fire, armies, and a global display of force—but instead He came in the quiet, hidden poverty of Bethlehem, cradled in the arms of

The Nights the Holy Spirit Came to Visit As many of you may know, I’ve had some rough years with knee pain.   This year in February, I had to have the knee replacement I had in January of 2024 taken out and a temporary spacer put in in its place.  You see, the first one broke and the knee had infection in it.  That infection caused an abscess.  The whole situation led to a 6 ½ hour surgery.  My recovery

The Meaning of Advent The Season of Advent is one of the Church’s most beautiful invitations. It calls us into a holy tension—living between the first coming of Christ in Bethlehem and His promised coming again in glory. Advent is not simply a countdown to Christmas; it is a season of expectant waiting, spiritual wakefulness, and renewed hope. At its heart, Advent proclaims this truth: God keeps His promises.  The God who once broke into history as a child

Crash of Blessings As we focus our hearts on Thanksgiving, we turn our thoughts to our many blessings. “Now we thank we all our God, With hearts and hands and voices…” [Martin Rinkart, Methodist Hymn] But this story dwells on a recent even in my life where a morning of gratitude turned into a moment of despair. I was running very late for the 6:00 a.m. start time for my job at Sky Harbor. Working the Information Desk at

What is Humility? To me, humility means recognizing that we are not always right—and being at peace with that reality. Webster defines humility as “the quality or state of not thinking you are better than another person.” We may possess a great deal of knowledge, but others may hold different perspectives or experiences that are equally valuable. As a teacher, I’ve seen how two instructors can explain the same concept in different ways. A student might finally grasp an

Butterflies I was barefoot, in my PJs and sweeping the porch.  My broom was worn and bent and flipping dusty bits of things around my ankles.  My thoughts were tossing around with mere bits and pieces of things as well in the warmth of the morning sun.  So the first tiny tickle I felt on my arm barely caught my attention as I (literally) shook it off. But then it returned.  And there was a second fluttery sensation.  And

Letting Go: The Path to Spiritual Freedom One of the hardest lessons in the Christian life is learning to let go — to release our grip on control, possessions, expectations, and even certain relationships or outcomes. Yet, this act of surrender is at the very heart of the Gospel. Jesus calls us not to cling, but to trust: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” — Luke 9:23

If Jesus Came to My Door(Revelation 3:20: Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.)If Jesus came to my front door and knocked, he would have to wait while I shooed the old barking rescue chihuahuas into the bedroom. Then he would have to pause another moment while I attempted to hold back the slightly younger

Connecting with Your Christian Community Getting involved in a small group or bible study can help enrich our lives as Christians and develop our faith. For some, joining a small group can seem intimidating, time consuming, or simply not important compared to other obligations. Life is busy with our families, careers, and the lengthy list of tasks we are responsible for. Committing to a small group may often fall at the bottom of one’s list of priorities for a

I recently read a book called The Let Them Theory.  It is not a Christian book, so it was an unusual read for me.  I tend to read books about God, Jesus, the Church, heroes of the faith, and theology.  I never read novels or murder mysteries.  This was a nice change of pace for me. The author of the book is a woman named Mel Robbins.  The book has been on the New York Times best seller list for

A Reflection on the Parable of the Good Samaritan Luke 10:25–37 Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan is not merely a story of kindness; it is a radical call to reorient our hearts and lives around the command to love. When a lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, Jesus points him to the law: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart… and your neighbor as yourself.” But then the lawyer, seeking to

Biblical Courage in Every Season 1.  Courage in God's Presence Isaiah 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Psalm 27:1 – “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?” Deuteronomy 20:1 – “When you

Formed by the Gospel, Not by Political Ideology In our world today where political ideologies often shape the loudest voices and social media clouds the lines between truth and opinion, it is vital for Christians to stop and ask a foundational question: Where do my beliefs and values originate?  Are they fashioned primarily by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or are they shaped by the agendas of political parties, ideologies or cultural influences?  Do we look more to CNN,

Reflection on the Gift of Pentecost Every year one of the greatest Church celebrations is that of Pentecost. It is considered the birthday of the Church and what we have come to know as authentic worship. We strive to do it up big with some fun. We ask people to wear red shirts, we sing some of the greatest worship songs, and in the end, as the tradition goes, we shoot off confetti cannons so that we feel the

Pentecost: The Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit Pentecost marks the moment when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples, transforming them from fearful followers into bold witnesses of Christ.  Acts 2 describes how a mighty wind filled the room, and tongues of fire rested on each of them, enabling them to speak in various languages. This event fulfilled Jesus' promise in Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you

The Ascension of Jesus: A Reflection "Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple blessing God." Luke 24:50-53 The Ascension of Jesus is not just about His departure from earth; it is about His exaltation and His ongoing presence

HOPE I can’t imagine living my life without it. I wake up in the morning hoping I have a great day, by the grace of God. I think hope is what gets us out of bed each day.  Hope for our future, hope for our planet, hope for peace and hope for our families. Some families’ hope unfortunately, is about life and death. One of my grandson’s basketball teammates always seemed so sad.  Come to find out that his

Love conquers fear I wanted to write this reflection around the idea “Love conquers fear”. In the scariest and most fearful experiences of our lives, we question God: his motives for our lives, his existence, and we beg for the pain to stop. When we don’t get an immediate response to our prayers, we question our faith, our relationships, our purpose for life. My scariest and most fearful experience in life was watching my dad struggle through his last couple

As I sit here and think about what I want to write this reflection, I am thinking about some of the bumps in the road for me this past year.  Each of us in one way or another has had to face them.  Has it been a fun or enjoyable journey?  To be honest, I have got to say “no way, Jose.” Don’t get me wrong. It has not all been pain and the knocking me on my rear-end bad kind of way.  I

Holiday Dinners and Red Jell-O My family is small, so we try to celebrate every occasion with great warmth, but not a lot of formality. My sister Buffy and I grew up with holiday traditions steeped in the shining of silver and the endless hours of ironing linens and sharpening carving knives. Then many years ago, she and I found ourselves in Arizona, and we were glad to create new traditions. Fortunately, we married men who are happy if

In my most recent reflection, I wrote about my Joy podcast. It is now finished; and I am so grateful for being called to that experience, which allowed me to stretch my comfort zone. The guests in all 12 episodes shared their wonderful insights about joy and how they experience it. Now it is time (God’s perfect timing) to take those gems of wisdom that were shared and to apply them. Drawing on the collective wisdom that was shared