Have you ever noticed how elusive joy can be? ... Joy comes and goes for no apparent reason, but the joy God wants to give us can't be taken away.
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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5–6, NIV).
When my daughter was 3-years-old, she offered to help me “mow the lawn.” In other words, it was a hint to ride on my shoulders. As I mowed, I was in deep turmoil about the seemingly insurmountable challenges and obstacles that life had sent my way. I was so buried in my angst that it took me nearly an hour to actually hear and truly listen to the words my daughter had been singing over and over in her little angelic voice.
“Trust and obey, for there’s no other way. To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
“For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:24, NIV).
Demanding and receiving his inheritance while his dad is still alive, Jack packs his convertible and leaves home for the West Coast. There, he quickly makes friends, rents a great apartment and parties hard until he runs out of money. Deserted by his friends, he is evicted from his apartment and is forced to sell his car to buy food and lodging. In desperation, he takes the only job he can—a pig slaughtering factory.
Reflecting on his situation, he realizes that even the housekeepers at home live better than he does, so he decides to return home, practicing his speech on the long walk back.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10, NKJV).
It seems I was born to suffer. The physical and emotional abuse at the hands of my father began when I was 4-years-old. I was always sick, to the point that the doctors diagnosed that I could be either mute or deaf for the rest of my life. I was bullied during my school years and always struggled to “fit in.” I got into a toxic relationship that destroyed my heart, my identity and self-esteem. I felt sick, lonely, rejected and purposeless.
Tired of fighting hard for belonging, love and health, it crossed my mind to take my own life. I was missing something; rather Someone.
“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7, NIV).
To be honest, when I was first asked to write a devotional, I desperately wanted to decline. I felt my heart beat a little faster and my breath become shorter—symptoms associated with anxiety. The fear of not being good enough was so overwhelming, and I was just about to say no until I remembered 1 Peter 5:7. I’ve heard this verse multiple times, and right at that moment, it stuck with me.
Story by Christina Keresoma
It has been a long time since the west Dayton neighborhood in Ohio has had a grocery store, making the community travel great distances to buy food for their families. Local partnerships, including Kettering Health, has allowed Gem City Market to open its doors to a community in need. Shelves will be stocked with perishable and nonperishable items. Health screenings, afterschool programs and exercise programs will be offered, along with cooking classes in a community kitchen area.
Editorial by Charles A. Tapp
For nearly a year-and-a-half, our world, and, yes, our church, has been on a journey that even the wildest of imaginations could not have imagined. The onslaught of this global pandemic has wreaked such havoc in our lives that it has almost removed the word “normal” from our vocabularies. But despite the great sense of unimaginable loss that the COVID-19 virus has brought upon us, in many ways it has allowed the church to recapture its mission of becoming “salt and light” to a world that is in desperate need of both.
Story by Janel Haas Ware
Keynote speaker Charles A. Tapp, president of the Potomac Conference and chairman of the Shenandoah Valley Academy (SVA) Board of Trustees, shares a message (excerpted) at the Zirkle Gymnasium Renovation Groundbreaking Ceremony, May 14, 2021:
Reflecting upon the impact Shenandoah Valley Academy has had and continues to have on the lives of students, these words of Ellen White came to mind: “Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His children” (Education, p. 18).
Story by Angela Wimberly
Earlier this year, the Health Ministries Department of the Ephesus church in Columbus, Ohio, began “Sabbath Walks in the Park.” Members meet every other week in the city’s parks to get some exercise, explore nature and bond with each other in a safe environment.
“Columbus has multiple great parks,” says Health Ministries director Paul Monk (pictured with members Evelyn Fordham-Goodman and Kaelyn Goodman). “I thought this would be a good activity in light of COVID-19 with the need to be safe and compliant with local guidelines, but also for fellowship.”
Story by Tamyra Horst
Representatives from Conewago Construction, Tilden Township, Blue Mountain Academy (BMA) and the Columbia Union Conference recently joined Pennsylvania Conference members and staff for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new conference office—the Mission and Evangelism Headquarters.