An e-mail link from a friend, to
a video recording of a song triggered a more serious contemplation of this
simple question.  As we continue the
countdown to Christmas Day,  I want to
share with you parts of that song and the story behind it,  titled “Where’s
the Line to See Jesus?” performed by father and daughter, Steve
Haupt and Becky Kelley and inspired by grandson, Spencer Reijgers.
 
The story behind the song, as
told by Steve Haupt: “While at the mall last year, my four year old grandson
saw kids lined up excitedly to see Santa Claus. Having …

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A few weeks ago I was watching a Christian television
program where the speaker was talking about the topic of destiny.  During the course of his teaching, the speaker
made a statement that I have been thinking about since then.  His statement was – “decisions determine
destiny”.   I have heard a lot of speeches and teaching on
destiny, but this statement has changed the way I look at my life.  As I tried to understand the meaning of this
statement, I began to realize that my ultimate destiny is secured by my
decision to follow Christ.  …

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Revelation 2:4 “Yet I hold this against you, you have forsaken your first love (NIV)
This Scripture, I believe, is very convicting as we look at the body of Christ today. At the day of Pentecost, the disciples, received the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That was the beginning of the early church. The disciples had Christ as their first love, and that love passionately drove them to spread the gospel without compromise. It was very evident that the church grew tremendously, not only in numbers …

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On this Father’s day, let me share with you, thoughts that came to me, as I pondered upon what it means to be a father and the role that fathers play in families. Fathers, number one, should display unconditional love. They need to show affection to their children without expecting anything in return. They need to be willing and prepared to accept and to forgive their children without holding it against them. Number two, fathers should be involved. It is important for a father to …

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A while back I wrote a column on bullying and how damaging that can be to someone’s self esteem, confidence, and how bullying can cause a person to make an irreversible decision such as suicide. I was moved after reading Jeff Say’s column last November and how he chronicled his experience with bullying and how painful he recounted his story. I could almost sense a tremendous amount of emotions as I was reading Jeff’s column. Bullying is an issue that needs to be addressed rapidly. The consequences of allowing this …

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It is certainly sad, the tragedy in Japan, and certainly my thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people especially those impacted by the tsunami.   All the news reports stated that the town of  Rikuzentakada, population 24,700  in northern Japan was completely submerged in muddy water, with hardly a trace of houses or buildings of any kind. I believe thousands of people were completely wiped out and the devastation is just unimaginable.  They also reported that in this particular area, the people were already expecting a tsunami to occur some …

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Last Thursday November 25th, 2010 was Thanksgiving Day. As a tradition family and friends gather together for a big feast. There are many families who have developed a tradition when it comes to thanksgiving and there are others who are starting their own traditions. Most people on Thanksgiving day spend time with their families and friends telling each other how thankful they are for one another.
But this year there are so many people who have asked themselves this question…how can I be thankful when everything is falling apart. Due to …

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Between the years 1991-2002 there was a decline in the overall teen
pregnancy rate. It was indicated that the birth rate for black teens aged
15-19 fell 42%, and 20% for Hispanic teens, during this period. However,
it still remains, higher than the other ethnic groups. Yet, I believe
that we have a steadily increasing percentage of teen pregnancies due to
various influences in our society. I would not just talk about teen
pregnancy, or the rise of it, without looking at the root cause of the
situation. I would point out …

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When we are going through hard times in life, sometimes it is very difficult to believe that we can get out of it or the current situation can be resolved. I know there are a lot of people who are going through difficult times right now. Some people are going through financial difficulties, while others are going through family issues or relationship problems. I believe the majority of us we have a tendency to focus on now and especially when we are going through hardships.
I believe when we are faced …

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Last year Nathalie Rosenberger led our Rize Up Club team on a campaign to raise awareness about hunger in the world and she called us to action. On February 7th, 2009 at Culpeper County High School, Rize Up Club had the first packaging event with Stop Hunger Now. We raised $6250 and we were able to package 25,000 meals and we exceeded our goal of raising $5,000. I would like to point out that Nathalie’s effort of raising money for the event was done in about 30 days. I thank …

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