Chloe Brown 29 September 2021 An abusive earthly father was discouraging his daughter, harping on her weight and her worth. But the daughter hears her heavenly Father declaring her worthy and wonderful. Weight gain during Covid brings worry. Until she remembers that God’s steady love isn’t conditional on our normal life body fluctuations. A young lady whose panic attacks increase …
Springs of Life Worship, Octoberfest & Nora’s Porch 22 September 2021 Looking forward. It makes a difference knowing we have fun events coming to which we can look forward. Today, my pleasure is to share three of them with you: October 3 worship at Palmetto Road, Octoberfest on October 23, and Nora’s Porch. Mark your calendars now! First, in just …
Science—Friend or Foe? 15 September 2021 Growing up as a kid, I remember one time when some friends really made me feel uncomfortable for my belief in dinosaurs. According to their faith teachings about how time worked in the Bible and since the Bible never talked about dinosaurs, they never could have existed. Plus, since they were taught to interpret …
God’s Work, Our Hands 8 September 2021 How would you describe what it means to be a Lutheran? In the first 10 seconds of response, one might hear the following descriptors: Jesus’ welcome, grace, great music, Martin Luther, law and gospel, no more indulgences or works-righteousness, word and sacrament, or preachers with corny jokes. But lately, one might also associate …
Four Letter Words 1 September 2021 Dear Friend in Faith, What four-letter words pop into your head? A few naughty ones? Or ones that bring a smile? F-o-o-d? G-o-l-f? B-e-er? W-i-n-e? H-u-g-s? One of you pointed out with a smile that some Michiganders might think O-h-i-o is a four-letter dirty word. After Sunday’s sermon, several of you shared that you’re …
Help for Haiti 25 August 2021 Dear Friends in Faith, “God’s got the whole world in God’s hands!” What a fantastically encouraging song we sang growing up. Good news that God’s got all of us—around the world—in God’s loving hands. God’s got you and me, in Georgia (or wherever you are reading this.) God’s got Afghans who have left or …
Help 18 August 2021 Dear Friends in Faith, Oh my gosh. Which world issue of concern should this WFW highlight? The heart-breaking chaos in Afghanistan? The Haiti earthquake bringing more death and homelessness followed by tropical storm Grace? The wait times in our local hospital emergency rooms and continued deaths, sickness and worries around the Delta variant of the coronavirus? …
Sandra Singing Goodbye 11 August 2021 Dear Friends in Faith, Over the last several years, Sandra Bohlken has shared her spectacular heart, smile, voice, and coordination as our Director of Contemporary Worship. We are deeply and forever grateful. We are also very sorrowful today to pass on her decision to step down from her position. As you can read in …
Lunch Lady Extraordinaire 04 August 2021 Dear Friends in Faith, One of the “God’s Work, Our Hands” ministries that brings so much joy, energy, and impact is our Summer Sack Lunch Program. Check out this little video interview with Jayne Troy, our amazing “Lunch Lady” who pulls COS together for this amazing effort: If you prefer to read some …
Olympic Motivations 28 July 2021 Dear Friends in Faith, The Christ Our Shepherd Usher Team asked me to show a picture of the new usher outfits they’ve selected to wear for Fall of 2021. So here you go: Good luck to our USA #TeamSpeedo athletes as they prepare for the #SwimTrials16, starting today! #WinningElements pic.twitter.com/ORlrIyjVdJ — Speedo (@speedo) June 26, …