encouragement

Editor's Note: If you haven’t already, go back and read Part 1 , 2 , 3 , and 4 to catch up with where we are at!) (Read Part 1 of A Single's Choice here! ) A heart of contentment is possible because of Christ. Since his conversion, the apostle Paul had not had an easy life. He experienced frequent...
One of the most disinteresting comments that can come from a pastor’s mouth when asked how he’s doing is, “I’m so busy.” It is not only disinteresting, but if he has a habit of saying that each time he’s asked about his ministry, he may be, either implicitly or explicitly, suggesting that God is a...
Solan Gidada – An Ethiopian Christian Hero His family name, Gidada, meant “one who weeps for his people.” But when Solan Gidada became blind at age five as a result of smallpox, his parents wept for him. But he was alive. Seven of his siblings had died from the same illness during an epidemic that...
Hamu Lujonza Kaddu Mukasa and the Early Church in Uganda In 1882, twelve-year-old Hamu Lujonza Kaddu Mukasa, son of a chief in the Buganda Kingdom, was sent to the court of King Mutesa I to serve as a page. There, his life began to take a course he had never imagined. From Mukasa to Hamu At court,...
What Metaphor? The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians five brings to mind images of an orchard. It’s a serene and beautiful scene. However, the more I look at the text of Galatians I start to think that the orchard metaphor may be a more pleasing one but not entirely consistent with what we find in...
So I wrote this little ditty three years ago after experiencing my first 4th of July in West Virginia. The only thing that has changed is the fireworks have gotten more fierce and we now try to manage two "picnics": Last night our family celebrated the Fourth West Virginia style. Let me explain...
So I wrote this little ditty three years ago after experiencing my first 4th of July in West Virginia. The only thing that has changed is the fireworks have gotten more fierce and we now try to manage two "picnics": Last night our family celebrated the Fourth West Virginia style. Let me explain...
So I wrote this little ditty three years ago after experiencing my first 4th of July in West Virginia. The only thing that has changed is the fireworks have gotten more fierce and we now try to manage two "picnics": Last night our family celebrated the Fourth West Virginia style. Let me explain...
In light of tomorrow's holiday, here is a repost I enjoyed writing last year about WV and the 4th of July: Last night our family celebrated the Fourth West Virginia style. Let me explain. About seven years ago my husband and I, and our two daughters, moved out of our home state. We had lived in...
Last night our family celebrated the Fourth West Virginia style. Let me explain. About seven years ago my husband and I, and our two daughters, moved out of our home state. We had lived in Frederick, Maryland (my hometown) for the first seven years of our marriage. In search of a bigger yard that...