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February 27, 2021: Battling the What-Ifs

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take” (Prov. 3:5–6, NLT).

A few years ago, my husband lost his job. Down to one income with children in private school and bills to pay, I was scared. Late one night, trying to fall asleep with a thousand thoughts racing through my mind, Proverbs 3:5–6 was brought to my mind.

Fast forward to 2020 and living in the “new normal” of COVID-19. With so many unknowns, there were moments of what-ifs; however, as with everything in life, going straight to my Heavenly Father and talking with Him helped to calm my fears. Keeping my favorite Bible verse on a continual loop in my mind also helped.

February 26, 2021: God Chose Me

“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” (Eph. 1:4–5, NKJV).

I find it amazing to consider this verse, especially along the lines that I was chosen “before the foundation of the world” by the Almighty God. As I ponder upon this, I am reminded of what was done for me before the foundation of the world. Jesus, the Lamb, was slain! (Revelation 13:8). Jesus and His Father loved me and had a plan for me before I was created (John 3:16).

God has clearly chosen me, and all of us for that matter, but have I chosen God? (Joshua 24:15).

February 25, 2021: Only God Can Do That

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1, KJV).

My favorite verse in the Bible is Psalm 23:1. I know I am safe if God is my Shepherd. I will always have what I need. Many times, however, when I experience trials, I easily forget this promise and start to distrust and despair. I need to trust God when difficult times occur, and rely on this promise to keep my heart calm.

God saved my life when I was baby. As a premature infant, I weighed only three pounds at birth. The doctors didn’t expect me to live. They also thought that, if I did live, I would only have half of my heart and be unable to walk. But God saved me and sustained my life. If it weren’t for the Lord, I wouldn’t be here today—totally healthy and strong.

February 24, 2021: Two Are Better Than One

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor” (Eccl. 4:9, NKJV).

This verse is one of my favorites because it encourages teamwork. I like working in groups and working with my friends on projects because it’s fun! We learn so much from each other.

Have you ever done a group project and the other person won’t work with you? How does that make you feel? It probably makes you feel sad because you’re the only one working. My teacher assigned a group project in school, and I was excited to work on the project, but my teammate didn’t want to do much of the work. I tried to talk to him and encourage him to work with me on the project so that we could finish it and it would not be a lot of work for both of us.

Pennsylvania Teens Start Second Food Pantry, Spark Other Pop-Ups

Kate Sharbaugh and Emma Schartner stand with one of their pantries.

Story by V. Michelle Bernard

Last April, Kate Sharbaugh, now 13, and Emma Schartner, 12, opened a pop-up pantry distributing food and toiletries in a lime green china cabinet outside a local church on Friendship Avenue in Pittsburgh. They have since opened another pantry outside Pennsylvania Conference’s Carnegie Simple Way church.

Volunteers Pray Together for WGTS Listeners

Story by Lisa Krueger

“Would you help us pray for WGTS listeners?” This was the question then-Sligo church Youth Pastor Terry Johnsson had for several of the station’s volunteers and local church members. Johnsson was doing a weekly call-in show for teens in 2008. Following the show, he would pray with a dozen or so listeners who would call. After an on-air promotion, the number of calls reached 100, and that year during the station’s spring fundraiser, 500 listeners called for prayer in just six hours. Johnsson says, "That’s when I realized we should make prayer available all the time."

Chesapeake Conference Welcomes Humphreys to Education Team

Story by Andre Hastick

The Chesapeake Conference Executive Committee recently named Renee Humphreys as associate superintendent of schools. Humphreys fills the vacancy of Michael Jakobsons, whose wife, Andrea, accepted a call to serve as lead pastor of Ohio Conference’s Kettering church.

Humphreys has more than 35 years of educational experience in public and Seventh-day Adventist schools, including superintendent of education for the Lake Region Conference (Ill.) from 2014–2018. Before arriving to Chesapeake, she served as principal/teacher at Ephesus Junior Academy in Richmond, Va.

New Year, New Opportunities

Photo by Marco Verch Professional Photographer

Editorial by Andre Hastick

It’s 2021, and we turn a new page in our calendars. But now, perhaps more than ever, we hope to not only turn a literal page, but a figurative one as well. We seek to turn a new page on the global pandemic. We seek to turn a new page with the employment rate in our nation. We seek to turn a new page to reclaim a sense of “normalcy” again.

Pennsylvania Conference Plans Historic Evangelism Initiative

Story by Tamyra Horst

The Miracle More Than 40 Years in the Making

Story by Jackie Smith

With camp meeting approaching, it was clear that something needed to be done about the cratered dirt road leading into Camp Mohaven—the conference’s summer camp and retreat facilities, located in Danville. The cost to repair it was $10,000, with no funds in the budget available. Prayerfully, the conference moved forward on the project, not knowing where the money would come from.