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What Will You Save?

by Dr. Paul Raybon You may remember doing a values clarification exercise in school with this prompt. “Your house is on fire, what 10 things will you try to save?” Then a follow up, “Time is running out! You have to leave five, what will you keep?” Individual lists are then shared in a small […]

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Loving Before Recruiting

by: Rev. Dr. Rick Jordan Lately, I’ve been getting strange text messages. There is a phone number given as the sender. Then, there is a message: “Hi.” Or, “hi.” Sometimes the message has more content. Last week, I got a message from an unknown phone number that read, “It’s such a nice day. Want to

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Has It Changed Me or Transformed Me?

The Covid-19 Crisis has forced many changes, but have these changes produced transformation? Where has God been at work in the midst of the Crisis? Change happens around us all the time. The dictionary definitions are:  “Change (noun) the act or instance of making or becoming different. (verb) make someone or something different; alter or

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It’s Time to Plant!

By: Rev. Steve Zimmerman Other than the pollen, spring is a beautiful time of the year. In our front yard, color abounds! We now have white azaleas, red camellia blooms, royal purple and navy-blue irises, along with bright yellow and pink knockout roses that are just itching to bloom. Next month we will experience orange

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My Cousin, Woody Woodpecker

by Rev. Dr. Rick Jordan My mother was a Lantz. Her mother liked to paint landscapes. Her uncle, George, was the staff editorial cartoonist for the Tampa (FL) Tribune newspaper. Then, there was the celebrity artist in our family, Walter Lantz. Walter Lantz was the creator of several popular cartoons, the most well-known was the

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Going to School

by Dr. S. Paul Raybon In my recent E-ncourager article When People Choose Poorly, under the heading “Refuse to be Complicit,” I laid out a number of things we need to learn. Learn not to be an enabler. Learn not to engage in pointless arguments. Learn not to be tolerant of intolerable behavior and language.

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Can We Go Now?

In one of my former lives as a children’s minister, I had the “joy” of corralling young urchins while we waited for their parents to pick them up. Their patience was about as good as a gnat. But to keep them safe from strangers, an adult had to be there until one or both parents

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God Help Us!

By Rev. Jerry Chiles In March 2020 we lifted our voices to heaven crying, “God help us! Deliver us from this pandemic called Covid-19.” At that point in time, we had no idea what would be the extent of the pandemic. Over and over, we cried out to God to deliver us.  When relief did

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