Recently a friend of mine, Karen "Girl" Friday, shared a post on linked-in which included a picture of a cross and this prayer, "Lord, place the cross and the blood of Jesus between me and the enemy, and between me and difficult people and circumstances.  There's nothing your redemptive blood doesn't cover.  And there's nothing it can't redeem.  In Jesus Name.  Amen."  Her post reminded me of an experience I had many years ago, and of my own Reconciliation Cross....

Important decisions come at all stages of life; this is especially true of spiritual decisions.  We were reminded of this as our 2020 was launched with the baptism of our grandson, Sam.  He had mentioned, to his parents, in November that he wanted to be baptized.  After several conversations, with both parents and Pastor Keith, it was decided that his baptism would occur during morning worship, the first Sunday of the new year.  He was surrounded by his family (parents, grandparents, aunt, and brother), the children of the church and a host of church friends.  Pastor Keith read about the significance of baptism, asked him some personal questions, and then lowered him down and up from the water.  Though he is only 7 years old, Sam had made a decision that we wanted to follow Jesus...

As my son, John, approached his 16th birthday, he was actively shopping for his first vehicle.  One day a friend of his called him and said, "Hey, you've got to take a look at this 1966 Ford truck.  It doesn't run, but it can be fixed up and you can get it for a steal."  The next day John and his friend (who happened to be his former grade school principle) came home towing "Old Red."  It needed paint; it needed repairs to the engine; it needed repairs to the bed; but together John and Mr. Flurry worked on this old truck.  Then one day, John came running into the house shouting, "It's running! It's running!"  Though it still needed a lot of work, together they had got the truck running.  But that was only the beginning.  Over the years, as time and money have allowed, John has continued to repair, fix-up and restore that truck.  John is now in his 30's and "Old Red" is still a work in progress...

Sam, my grandson, was so excited.  About a year ago he developed an interest in archery and began "shooting" regularly at a local archery range.  Recently he got his first bullseye.  He had come close many times, but this time he hit the target right in the center.  He didn't do this by closing his eyes and hoping; he did it by learning to take aim.  It is a timely lesson as we consider, "What will we aim for, for 2020?"...

The story of the birth of Christ is recorded in both Matthew and Luke.  Both stories are beautiful in their own right, but recently the passage in Matthew (1:18-24) has especially caught my attention.  I would invite you to grab your Bible and read this story once again.  As you do, please notice how the message unfolds with key words, each of which begin with the letter P:...

I have known Mike Platten, who is a Christian professional magician, for years and have enjoyed watching him perform and share his testimony on several occasions.  Recently he shared his gifts both in public worship and for the children's Christmas party at the 1st United Methodist Church in Sapulpa.  As Mike began his performance, he made it clear that the "magic" he performed was just a "trick" based on illusion, and that the only one who could truly perform miracles was Jesus Christ.  He brought his point home in an effective way by doing a card trick featuring the "king of hearts" and reminded the audience that we need to remember, this Christmas, that Christ came into the world to be the King of our heart.  But it was his statement, "Jesus is the only one who performs true miracles" that caught my attention.  It reminded me of the wonderful miracle that we know of as Christmas...

For years I have been impressed with the work of the Salvation Army.  The merging of personal salvation with social acts of charity have long been their style.  Every Christmas I am reminded of the dedication of these Army workers as I sometimes see them in extremely cold weather, ringing their bells and collecting money for the needy.  But the scene I saw this year caught my attention in still another way:  It was a mom and her two young children working together to bless others.  Their example made clear the lesson that giving and serving is not just something that adults are called to do; rather, it is something we, as families, can do together..

The relationship between spirituality and mental health has long be an interest of mine.  There are times when mental health professionals and the religious community seem to be at odds with one another.  But it is always exciting to me when I see studies which reinforce the belief that spirituality and mental health are closely connected.  So you can imagine my joy when I recently came across an article titled, "7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude."

A little friend has been hanging out at our house recently.  It is a little frog who we usually see in the evening (around dusk) at various places on our front porch.  He loves to hang out on the hood of our porch light.  When it is turned on at night it draws all sorts of insects and bugs and I guess he sort of thinks of it has his "evening buffet."  But several days ago we began missing him.  We looked for him but he was no where to be found.  We thought perhaps he had moved on.  But, the other day my wife got her water bucket and filled it so she could water the porch flowers.  As she tried to begin watering, for some reason the water wouldn't come out; something was blocking the flow.  After emptying the bucket of water and examining the spout, to her surprise, she found "froggy."  He was stuck in the spout; so she quickly rescued him.  He was still alive and seemed to be doing ok.  But apparently he had gotten into the bucket and couldn't get out.  Had he stayed there he would have surly died.  When she got him out she placed him on the handle of the bucket, and with no apparent fear, he sat there as she took his picture.  It also most seemed as if he was saying, "Thank you.  I was in an awful spot.  Thank you for rescuing me!"...

Our daughter, Beth, recently spent five days in the hospital with abdominal pain, vomiting, and dehydration.  The picture above was taken on the day she was released (the heart of the problem was finally determined to be the gallbladder which was removed a week later.)   As we gathered her things and prepared to leave the hospital she exclaimed, "Don't forget my flowers!"  These were very special flowers indeed...