Dear Friends, One of my favorite passages to meditate on at this time of year is Isaiah 9:6, which says: “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us.  The government will rest on His shoulders.  And He will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” I love to ponder this verse during the Christmas season for many reasons. The words were written several hundred years before Jesus was born, so it’s another example of God’s plan for Hi

Dear Friends, Dealing with death is not easy for any of us. It doesn’t matter if the death is sudden and unexpected, or whether it’s the culmination of a long illness - the truth is, we all struggle with letting go of those we love. And it seems that when tragedy comes into our lives there’s usually the initial shock, which many of us deal with out of adrenaline or through sheer force of will - but then afterwards, comes the reality of life without our loved one. And that rea

Dear Friends, When I looked at my calendar this morning, I realized that Christmas is just over two weeks away. After I got over the initial panic, I started thinking about the significance of this holiday we’re getting ready to celebrate. Christmas is the day we celebrate the moment when the world was introduced to Jesus Christ. As I've been thinking about that, I’ve also been pondering what life was like for God's people before Jesus came. I imagine that, in many ways, God