Moment by Moment

In the early 1970’s Stanford University professor and psychologist Walter Mischel developed what has come to be called “The Marshmallow Test.” Have you ever heard of it? It’s a classic study on delayed gratification and self control. In the study, a child is offered a choice between one marshmallow immediately or two marshmallows later, if they are willing to wait for it.  After explaining the choice to the child, the researcher would set out the tasty treat and then leave…

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Week #4 of Social Distancing… Four down, only four more to go, hopefully. I gotta say, when President Trump extended the social distancing guideline through the end of April, I wasn’t surprised, given the state of the world. But it still hit me in the gut, hard.  Another month of this? How are things going over at your house? At the Benedicts, we are beginning to feel the wear. We’ve watched TV and rented movies. We’ve watched Netflix, Amazon Prime…

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This week’s blog is written by my wife, Pam.  She had an amusing incident last week which provides the perfect challenge to us, as we live in these uncertain days.  The fruit of the Spirit series will continue next week. For several months I’ve been reading slowly through the Old Testament chapter by chapter and taking time to sit and think about each passage.  Books that are often thought of as dry and boring (think, Leviticus, Numbers) have come alive…

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1God is our refuge and strength,an ever-present help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give wayand the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foamand the mountains quake with their surging. 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,the holy place where the Most High dwells.5 God is within her, she will not fall;God will help her at break of day.6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46) Last night after…

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Bethany Family, Thanks so much for committing to a time of family/personal worship this Sunday while we are unable to meet.  The following is a simple outline based on our scheduled worship gathering, but feel free to improvise and use all, some or none of these suggestions.  The important thing is that you are gathering for worship together with family and friends. Next week, we will be broadcasting a complete worship service live-streaming from the BGF auditorium. 1) Here are…

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It’s hard to believe, but we are coming up on the one year anniversary of my epic 10 day, 104 mile hike on the Appalachian Trail through Shenandoah National Park. Before this, I don’t think I’d ever walked more than a few miles, and very rarely up and down mountains. And I’d never taken a single step with a 40 pound backpack on my back. Nor had I camped overnight alone in the woods, so this trip was an amazing…

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Kindness. If kindness were a fruit, I think it would be a cantaloupe… that you bought at Walmart… in the middle of winter… that’s gone mushy.  Tasteless, mild, uninspiring.  Of all of the complements that someone could give me, “You are so kind.”, probably ranks near the bottom.  How about, “you are so brave” or “you are so powerful” or “you are devastatingly good looking.”?  But, kind? I don’t know.  Kindness as a virtue seems so… wimpy, so bland, so unassertive….

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Aaaahhhhh… I knew we’d get to it, the most challenging evidence of Spiritual fruit in the list of 9 qualities that the Spirit wants to produce in our lives (Galatians 5:22)-  the fruit of the Spirit is PATIENCE! And as every Christian knows, the last thing you ever want to pray for is patience. At least that’s what I was told growing up. Why, you ask?  Because James 1:3 says, that “the testing of your faith produces patience.” So, the conventional…

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I’ve written before about our neurotic dog, Chloe.  Chloe is a one-year old beagle that we adopted out of the Loudoun County animal shelter, in Waterford, Virginia.  A failed hunting dog, Chloe is skittish, paranoid and flinches at any sudden sound or movement. When she’s upset, she’s unconsolable- I’ve seen her refuse a piece of steak sitting in the middle of the floor, that any normal, red-blooded dog would snatch up in a second. We’ve had her for six months…

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This is a tough one.  I’ve been grappling with it all week, which is one of the reasons why I’m posting later than usual.  Galatians 5:22 says that the evidence of the Spirit’s activity in our life is… joy.  Joy is a feeling of inner contentment, satisfaction and emotional well-being produced by the Holy Spirit. How does that work? It’s easy to experience joy when life is good- you’re settled in a good place at home and church, all of…

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