A Faithful Steward

        "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3); "Giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph. 5:20) [both ESV]         With Thanksgiving only a week away, I am following the example of many others who have been sharing what they are thankful for. There are so many blessings that I could name, but here are some that come to mind first and foremost.         I am thankful for the love of God which surpasses understanding, and for His grace and mercy that are sufficient to forgive even me! It overwhelms me to remember that He continues to bless me even beyond the greatest gift He could give me, salvation.         I am thankful for a wonderful family; for parents and older siblings who have taught me about the Lord by word and example. I am thankful for a father who has always worked hard to pro

       Spiritual gifts have been on my mind a lot recently. Not only what they are as individual gifts, but where they come from and why we have them. It seems as if the Church as a whole does not think or teach much about spiritual gifts, and when they do it is often with a distorted viewpoint. Spiritual gifts are often, in my own experience, taught only in relation to serving the local church. Do not get me wrong, I do think that it is important for each individual to serve in their local church. However, I believe that spiritual gifts are often overlooked in our everyday lives as members of the body of Christ.        The Church seems to be so focused on staying busy with "programs" and "plugging" people into an organized system that they lose sight of the fact that individual believers can serve the body of Christ just as well - indeed, sometimes better - outside of an organized, time-consuming approach. It seems that, partially because they are so busy and so f

       Autumn is my absolute favorite time of year. I love the colors of the leaves, the rain showers, the crisp air that is perfect for walks and that prepares you for snow, the fall fashion, curling up in a blanket with a book and a hot drink, the days ending earlier, and almost everything else that comes with autumn! Though I don't care much for stink bugs or for the plethora of spiders in the house, I have to admit.         It is a lot of fun to find little ways to celebrate your favorite things, and one of the ways I like to celebrate is to find out what other people like about my favorite things! Therefore, I decided to write up a brief autumn-themed questionnaire. Questionnaires can be good ways to get to know people better, or to just sit down to take a break from the busy-ness of life and have some fun! You are welcome to print off this questionnaire for fall festivals, for something to do with your family and friends, or for whatever other reason you may have! I will be

        Music is one of my absolute favorite things. I have a tendency to listen to music almost all day, and you can usually find me singing along to "my songs". On occasion, however, I get stuck in a rut listening to the same artists or songs all the time, so I try to branch out and find music I have never listened to. Saturday was one of these occasions. As I was driving through the fantastic state of Nebraska, I happened upon a song called "Love is Still the Answer" by Jason Mraz. It is a catchy song, and though I was skeptical of what the conclusion of a secular song with such a title would be, I decided to listen through to the end. And I am glad that I did, because it made me think the way few songs do.        This song is one which shows the mindset of the world very clearly. The verses of the song ask questions many are asking:   Verse 1: The question is why, why are we here? To say our hello's and goodbye's and then disappear? This beautiful li

       Many of my readers already know who I am, and those who do not may not be interested, so  I will not go into great detail about what my life has been like up to this point . Besides, if I shared everything about myself at the very first, who would care to return in the future and read on? And what stories would be left to tell later, whether here or in person, over a delicious piece of pie and a cup of coffee?        Years pass and seasons change, so they say, and I can testify to the truth of that. My school days are past, college is finished, and everything has slowed down to the monotony of an everyday life that may not drastically change for quite some time.        Some days it seems as though nothing will ever be different than it is now, and that is a daunting thought. I sometimes feel that I will never have anything else to move on to, and no one else to meet. But then I remember how many things have changed throughout my life so far, and realize that God has so