Nov 28, 2016

By Mike Parker I write stream of consciousness poetry. Some call it slam poetry. After I wrote this one about Christmas, it had a lot of heaven; not enough earth. So I added passages from my Viet Nam journals. I embedded their prose between the lines of rhyme trying to seize the essence of Christmas Day without getting in the way of God who made it! If you, the...

Nov 28, 2016

by Donna VanHorn I’m a visual person. Right now, I’m imagining a picture of the Bethlehem manger, overlaid with the shadow of a Roman cross. Only God knows whether the infant Jesus in those early months of His earthly life understood that it would end at the cross. Scriptures tell us He was committed to His Father’s plan from adolescence forward. And He lived...

by Rev. Nicholas J. Kersten Director of Education and History “…Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men…” — Matthew 2:16 (ESV) This time each...

Nov 28, 2016

by Patti Wethington SDB Church, White Cloud, MI   This journey “On Mission” is amazing — evolving and never ending. One of my desires for this year and throughout the conference experience is that there would be a renewing of relationship with God. Maybe I should call it an awakening — the kind of experience where you see something with fresh eyes that...

Nov 28, 2016

by Katrina Goodrich Another year has passed and it’s time for the Christmas season once again. Every year it seems like the advertising for Christmas begins earlier and earlier — many stores had out full displays of lights and trees in the beginning of October. Honestly, by the time Christmas rolls around, some years I’m Christmas-ed out. This year I’ve been...