So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua…
This past weekend, the whole Benedict clan was MIA. We all took advantage of the extended holiday weekend to converge on Washington DC to help move Josh and Alaina from their rental apartment into their first home. We weren’t alone in playing hooky, though; we joined approximately 34.4 million other Americans who took to the roads for holiday travel. People took to the skies, too. Air travel was at its highest level since March 17, six days after the pandemic…
This past Monday, Pam and I took the dog for a walk right at dusk. We headed down Cedar Avenue and up Edgewood Drive on a familiar loop. It was a very pleasant evening as the sounds of late summer filled our ears. Chloe loves this route and practically walked herself. There are two Bethany families in our immediate neighborhood, and this route takes us directly by both their houses. We are always a little more attentive (curious, not nosey!)…
by Pam Benedict The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech and night after night, they display knowledge. Psalm 19:1 Ever since Justin was a little boy, he has been fascinated with everything pertaining to space. As a toddler he excitedly pointed to the sky and exclaimed, “Mommy! Moon see!” As a preschooler, he declared he was going to be an astronaut someday. His enthusiasm was contagious,…
Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37 I’m getting cynical. I’m trying not to, but it’s hard. I think we all are. Here we are in the midst of a world-wide pandemic and it feels like every decision, every directive, every decree is shaded by agendas and driven by ideology. Everyone has an angle they’re working, an advantage they’re trying to gain or a cause they’re trying to…
A great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me. 1 Corinthians 16:9 Have you ever had a day that just doesn’t go right… at all? You just feel “off.” Normal tasks seemed to take forever, nothing comes easy and Murphy’s law rules the day: “Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” It feels like the whole world is set against you. I have them from time to time… I struggle to…
About a month ago I got a call from Xfinity saying that they wanted to upgrade our cable box at no extra charge. Up until this point, we had no problems with our existing box. But if Comcast says the new one is better, who am I to argue? So, I agreed, and they sent us the new box, complete with a new remote control and instructions on how to return the old box. Except the new box stopped working…
Quote of the week: “Woah, I am really out of shape!” Recently both Justin and Katelyn got summer jobs at Shady Maple farm market. Justin’s been working in the meat department and Katelyn’s at the Snack Shack near the main entrance. I’m proud of the kids, they are hard workers. It’s been a great experience for them and their first job in Lancaster County. And the 5% discount on groceries and the inside scoop on all of the specials has…
It’s a familiar scenario that happened seven times in Jesus’ ministry. It’s Saturday and Jesus sees a man or woman in desperate need of help. He speaks the word and they experience immediate Divine healing. However, the Jewish leaders are watching, and they get all bent out of shape over the fact that Jesus did “work” on the Sabbath. Sometimes Jesus just ignores them. Other times he rebukes them and points out their hypocrisy, but in John 5, after healing…
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest… Hebrews 4:9-11 This past week was our vacation and absolutely nothing went according to plan. Originally, we were supposed to be in Shanghai, China. It’s been 10 amazing years since Katelyn came home, and in celebration, we and a group of other Bethany Christian Services adoption…