Fall: Changing of Seasons Fall has always been one of my favorite seasons of the year. Growing up in Iowa, everyone looked forward to fall by the leaves, and trees changing colors. The crimson, gold, forest green and orange foliage seemed to sprout up everywhere setting the stage for cooler months ahead. The month of October definitely begins the rush for fall decorations, planting of fall flowers, the smell of apple cider, caramel apples, pumpkin coffees, cookies, candles or

Today I want to share with you my time of Praise and Worship that I try and do daily.  I find it also a time of prayer, a time of connecting with God by praying through hymns and worship songs.  I really feel like praying through music it not only opens a door for me to talk to God, but also a time for the Holy Spirit to talk to me.  What more can I ask for?  When I decided

The Christian Church today has become emotionless. So many denominations have lost the passion, joy, and intense love the early Christians seemed to have had. It was passion that drove the early apostles to take the message of Christ to places they never dreamed of going. St. Paul was on of the most passionate believers who ever lived. His passion led him to suffer, sacrifice, serve, and preach even when it put his own life in danger. And, through it

As a young adult I realized that I was being called to live a committed single life rather than being called to married life. My faith was strong. I believe that was the result of receiving the gift of faith after asking for that gift at a Life in the Spirit seminar shortly after high school. However, lacking strong family bonds, I came to focus on my non-blood relative(s) friendships as the ties that bind. I made sure that my

We Shall Never Forget As I sit down to write this reflection, I am mindful that this week we will mark the 22nd anniversary of the tragedy of 9/11. Today I share with all of you in living out the rally cry, “WE SHALL NEVER FORGET. In the first days after the Sept. 11 attacks, a team of scholars around the country set out to capture the moment’s “flashbulb” memories: the vivid, enduring mental snapshots formed at the instant

One Day Changes Everything...There is a song that I enjoy listening to when life seems overwhelming and chaotic, it’s called “One Step Away” by Matthew West. The message behind the song is that you are always one step away from God, nothing in your life is bigger than God, and God always wins!When I found out that my reflection was going to post on 9/11, my first thought was I need to recognize what that day means to our country

Miracle BrideSome people call it fate, some call it destiny, and some people say you create your path. Others call the things that happen to us miracles. Some say we are given doors of opportunity every day. The ones we decide to open and walk through make up our life. I happen to believe in God and miracles, both!I graduated from Bloom Township High School (Chicago Heights, Illinois) in 1966 and went to college for a year. I was bored

The Real Thing…They said you could taste it – when it was the real thing.  It was back in the 1970s.  And it was the marketing theme of a soft drink competing in a jumble of other similar products all claiming to be just as good as “the real thing.”  And, suddenly, I began to even hear the catchy little song that went along with it (“It’s the real thing … la de da, la de da …“).It came back

I was shown an article last week entitled “Five Things That You Should Never Say to Your Kids.”  Considering Father’s Day, I thought this might be a great one for me to read.  I was really hoping as I read the article I would never saying any of those things to my own children.  Here is the list that was shared: “I don’t believe in you.” Research has shown that knowing that someone (in this case a dad) believes in

Revival I am talking a lot about revival.  Or, as I like to refer to it, “revive-all.”  You might be wondering why I am talking about it at this time.  There are two main reasons: There seems to be some kind of movement happening in our country. It started in a strong way at Asbury College and is now pouring over to other colleges and universities. My inner spirit tells me we are at a critical point in our

Comfort Comes from Unexpected Places For anybody who has lost their child, it is difficult to know where relief can be found. Family and friends do what they can with the words they can summon. Some may disappear because they are uncomfortable with the entire situation, not because they are truly indifferent. The casseroles and flowers arrive, and are accepted with both gratitude and numbness. It is a surreal time, even if the death of a son or daughter

A Reflection on Psalm 23 All are the first line of the Psalm 23. “Yahweh is my best friend and my shepherd.  I always have more than enough.” The Passion Bible. “The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing that I lack.”  New American Bible. Also Catholic Study Bible. “God, my shepherd: I don’t need a thing.”  The Message Bible. “O my beloved.  You are my shepherd; I shall not want.”  N. Merrill’s Praying the Psalms. Read each one

Living without Comfort As we prepare for Pentecost, I have been reflecting on my Lent and Easter season. The day after Ash Wednesday, I injured my finger and quickly found myself not being able to use my left hand. As an independent woman, who is used to taking care of myself and others, I started asking for help with the littlest things, and I realized I was really uncomfortable, but didn’t know what to do next. When Fr. Dale hosted

Change is in the wind. Apply that to our local environment and it could be change is in the stillness and dry heat of the desert. A couple of months ago, during Lent, our Praise and Worship Center (PWC) offered a series entitled the School of Change. I like to think of myself as a lifelong learner and I look forward to all of the amazing “Schools” that are offered. This one was no exception. We even had an exceptional

Motherhood Since this is the month of May and Mother’s Day is May 14th, I decided to choose Motherhood as my topic in line with Mother’s Day. Becoming a mother has been the most generous blessing God has given to me, and one I share with so many women. “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.” Psalm 127:3 (NIV) “The definition of motherhood is the state of being a mother. A person enters motherhood when

Civility, Manners, and Compassion What has happened to civility, manners, and compassion? Ephesians 4:32 states ‘to be kind and compassionate to one another forgiving each other just as in Christ Lord forgave you”. Has this gone out the window? We now have to deal with a decline in civility and have replaced it with hostility, gun violence and fear. Have we become so desensitized because of social media and politics? What has happened to fellowship and friendship that used

Father Dale started a wonderful adult series on “Change” a few months ago.  I do believe if we don’t constantly change, we will become like robots.  If God wanted us to be that way, He wouldn’t have given us free will. Sometimes we take the wrong road, but He is right there helping us all get back on course. Prior to this class, we started a new format of learning and teaching in our Women’s Bible Study.  This was

Seeing God’s Hand in our Family Well, here I am again with another reflection. This time no Alaska trip dialogue.  How about I get really personal! Karen and I just returned from an eight-day trip to Vancouver BC Canada.  Then on to Whistler, Blackcomb skiing, shopping, and babysitting our ever so cute 2-year-old grandson Theo, son of our son Scott and his wife Michelle.  Scott’s wife Michelle and Theo are obvious results of God working in my and our

Trust in the Lord Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6 There have been too many times in my life that I have unequivocally experienced God’s hand guiding my path and my decision making to question whether or not God accepted my request to take the wheel.  The song Jesus Take the Wheel resonates with me because I know

I Am Simply His Some of you have heard me say that my husband’s cancer journey gave me a new set of lenses to see life through, to live each day fully present. But losing him gave me a new child-like perspective to live life in. Being thrown into a different role, a different life…It stripped away every idea of who I was and caused me to question, who am I now? Learning my new role in motherhood, being

Every person celebrates special days and events, birthdays, graduations, marriages, these dates are significant because they are packed with emotion and help place our lives in a context of change, fulfillment and meaning. The people of Israel remembered the events of their freedom from oppression in Egypt and the joy of the harvest, the times when God redeemed them and delivered them from their enemies. Holy Week is more than a remembrance of distant historical events or reenactments of

To Act Justly, Love Mercy, & Walk Humbly with our God As we have opened our doors at Recovery Café Arizona and began our ministry, I have had many people ask me, “How many members do we have?”.  To some I have replied, “Remember the Shepherd left the ninety-nine and went after the one who was lost.”  But it is not about the numbers.  We miss so much if we measure our success by the number of people who

In Search of the Outcast Do you ever feel like you don’t belong? Perhaps, for whatever reason, you feel like an outcast from society and you’re on the outside looking in. Maybe you’re not part of the popular in-crowd and it feels like everyone else is included except for you. Maybe you feel that you are being judged by the color of your skin; the cloths that you wear, the political views you have or the church you attend.

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the death of my dear friend Spencer.  I truly believe that I will never fully recover from his death.  He was “my boy” and I enjoyed having him in my life.  We talked several times a week, and even though we were very different, we had a deep love for each other. I don’t know exactly when it happened, but at some point God gave me His heart for Spencer.  I no

The Present Moment So many of us are so busy in life we fail to encounter a new life that awaits.  I've been guilty of this.  Focusing on a future that either gives hope in something not real, or frozen in a past that causes lament, regret, shame. Either one of these ensures that we miss out on the only place where we can encounter God - the Present moment.  Then wonder where God is in our lives yet