Every other month, our United Methodist Women in Faith meet for a Prayer Breakfast. It’s become one of our favorite parts of church life. There’s coffee, good food, and the kind of laughter that comes when friends gather around a table. But the heart of the morning never changes. One of our activities is to ask one question and formulate a blog post based on the answers. The most recent question was a good one: “If you could have breakfast…
Have you ever wanted to transform a demanding situation into something easier to cope with? There is a way. You must intentionally choose, and it is a choice, to focus your priorities on the relationship you have with God and the calling He has placed upon your life. Let me share some meaningful ways you can fine-tune your priorities away from the many distractions you face every day. First of all, make God’s Word a priority. God has given us…
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown Trauma had left the black dog on high alert. Someone pushed him out of a truck, dumping him like trash at the Coastal Georgia marina development where I worked. They sped away, dust swirling, without a backward glance. He trembled at the river’s edge, where the dark, sticky pluff mud lay exposed at low tide, filling the air with its tangy marsh smell. Gray showed in his muzzle. He moved…
Christianity is a simple faith that does not require complex rules or deep theological knowledge. At its core, Christianity is about loving God, loving our neighbor, and loving ourselves. Jesus’ teachings are truly easy to understand and can be applied to our lives today. There is nothing extraordinary required of us as Christians. We don’t need to be experts in the Bible or have our lives in perfect order to have a relationship with God. Following Jesus is a journey…
This weekend, our nation celebrates its 250th birthday. Two and a half centuries is a long time for any country, so it’s good to pause and give thanks. We’re grateful for our freedoms, for those who have served and sacrificed to protect them, and for the generations who have prayed for this land. People prayed for America long before we were here, and their prayers still make a difference today. If we’re honest, and I believe God wants us to…
In a world filled with ever-changing norms and values, the teachings of Jesus, captured beautifully in His parables, provide a consistent compass for navigating life. These simple yet profound lessons contain wisdom applicable to the diverse challenges we face today. As followers of Christ, intentionally aligning our lives with these lessons can produce wise benefits compared to the mindset of our increasingly secular world. The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37): Compassion Over Indifference The parable of the Good…
