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…
**written by Pam Benedict An unplanned science experiment is unfolding in our vegetable garden this year. In the spring when we had a few early days of warmth, Steve and I started to plant. Usually, he’s in charge of the vegetables and I choose the flowers. While we were at Lowes, a bright seed packet of giant sunflowers caught my eye and there in the store I imagined all the cheerful blooms I could arrange in vases and all the…
Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains? You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. … Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what…
Last Thursday afternoon our family left for a long weekend away at my dad’s cabin in Tioga county. It’s so far north, it’s about a stone’s throw from the New York State line. If you want to unplug, that’s the place to go, where there’s no internet and only sporadic one-bar cell phone reception. So, imagine my dismay as we regained cell phone coverage and my phone began to explode with notifications from CNN, Fox, Facebook and the like, as…
I’ve been contemplating what our “new normal” might look like as we move through the summer and into the fall. I remember how things changed after the bombing of the World Trade Center in New York City on 9/11. Overnight, it seemed, we woke up to a new and hostile world. In response to the terrorism, a whole raft of new precautions at airports and federal buildings appeared. Things which now seem normal- concrete barriers, long lines at security screening,…