"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." – Romans 12:12
At this time of year, many people start thinking about summer vacations. It pays to plan ahead because you can save money and ensure that you stay where you want to stay when you want to stay there. If you don’t like to plan all the details, maybe you would prefer to do what we did recently: pick your destination and let someone else do all the planning.
My dad and I chose our destination: Israel. That’s the only thing we did. Continue reading “The Ultimate Journey”
Traveling to Israel, “the Holy Land,” was life-changing in ways I had never imagined. In the middle of our 10-day journey, we found ourselves at a lovely hotel at the Dead Sea. This was a much-needed respite from all the walking we had done and still had ahead of us later in the week. I thought it would be like any other day at the beach, but I was wrong. Continue reading “Dead Sea, Living Water”
On October 2, 2017, our family was struck by tragedy when my husband’s only brother was murdered – shot and killed in his own driveway while heading out to work. In the days that followed, the Lord clearly called us to share our story and our hope with others. It started with my mother-in-law sharing at his funeral. From there, my mother-in-law, niece, and I have been walking through every door the Lord has opened to us to offer His hope to others.
Sensing that our call was not just to a particular church or denomination, but rather to the entire community, we sought the Lord about where to go and how to start. Continue reading “Answering His Call”
The Olympics: The torch, the ceremonies, the medals, and the athletes. Night after night, we are engaged by the competition and by the inspiring background stories of the competitors. They have trained for years, investing endless hours in the gym, on the slopes or on the ice, just to compete here. Each one has a unique story, some of which are full of adversity along their paths to the Olympics – injuries, the deaths of family members, financial distress, etc. We are inspired by their ability to overcome their circumstances and to focus on the end goal: a medal.
Every person faces adversity at some point, and like these athletes, we must focus on the end goal.
One of my own challenges came in the form of my cancer diagnosis a few years ago. Continue reading “Eyes on the Prize”
It was about a year ago that we had our last “normal” family meal to celebrate a family birthday. On January 21, 2017, our extended family came together to watch a church basketball game coached by my two college-aged sons, and then we went out for lunch to celebrate one of their birthdays. Birthdays were never missed in our family. My parents would call, usually early in the morning, to sing “Happy Birthday” to the one celebrating, and we always tried to have a family meal sometime around the birthday. Family time is important to us, and we have been incredibly blessed to live close to our extended family so that we could be together for these fun occasions.
Within four weeks, we celebrate three birthdays each year in January and February. So, when the next birthday came on February 16, 2017, we had planned a family dinner on Friday the 17th. But everything changed on February 16th. Continue reading “New morning, new mercies!”
The Great Commission gives Christians our purpose in life: We are to go and make disciples of all nations and teach them what the Lord has said (Matthew 28:19-20, paraphrase). We are not just saved from eternal condemnation. We are not just saved to go to Heaven one day.
We are also saved to live here on earth as witnesses – witnesses for Jesus.
If this is what all Christians are supposed to do, then why does it seem so hard? Why is it so intimidating? Continue reading “This is Personal”
It seems that everyone recycles these days. One man’s trash becomes another man’s treasure. Soda bottles become reusable grocery bags. Old machine parts become works of art. Recycling is considered to be a good thing to do.
By Sheri Ellington
At the end of each year, we look back and we look forward. We evaluate the past and set new goals for the future. Or maybe we realize that we didn’t meet a goal, so we roll that goal over to the new year. I want to share about my recurring New Year’s Resolution, how I finally achieved it, and how it changed my life. In fact, I hope that you will consider setting this as a goal for yourself, and at the end of this article, I will offer you some practical tips to get you started. My New Year’s Resolution started way back in my childhood, about forty years ago.
By Sheri Ellington
Christmastime is such a fun, but busy, time of year. There’s so much to do to get ready – making lists, shopping, baking, decorating…ah, decorating. Most of the decorating is fun, but there is one part that can be very frustrating and really try our patience, at least at my house: the lights!
It can be challenging to get all of our lights to work – inside of the house (on the banisters, on the Christmas trees, in the windows), and outside of the house (around the doors and on the shrubs). When it can take so much time to decorate and can even be frustrating when things don’t work as they should, why do we do continue to hang Christmas lights year after year?
By Sheri Ellington
Have you ever struggled to keep worrisome thoughts from penetrating and monopolizing your mind? This is a battle I lost for years. But no more! Now I know how to fight and win this battle, even though I don’t do it exactly right every time.