My Fitbit died this week. Some of you might know that I wear a Fitbit (fancy pedometer) because I like to track the number of steps I take every day. It also tracks my sleep, which either confirms or denies the quality of my sleep—good and bad ☺. It’s part of my self-imposed “healthy-as-I-can-be” lifestyle regime. When it failed this week, I was at a loss. A little …

For my blog topic, I was going to write about something profound. Something about what’s going on in our society and community right now. I’d been giving it a lot of thought.
Why do we judge? What is implicit bias? Why are we prejudiced? What is it about racial equality that some people can’t accept?

I’m not an expert, and the truth is that I don’t feel I’m qualified to talk about any of that. Try as I will, I can’t begin to understand the intricacies or the psychology behind prejudices.

I mostly hope and pray that I am not. Here is what I found that I wanted to share with you:

This Sunday morning I was listening to one of my favorite radio stations as I was prepping for church. It’s a country music station based in San Jose, CA and broadcasts a show that chronicles the top-30 country hits from the previous week (Lon Helton hosts for those in the know).

This week’s guest was asked, “What have you learned about yourself during this time of quarantine?” He answered, “Gratitude”. He was grateful for the small things, like going to a restaurant, connecting with friends, and more.

That started me thinking of the things I’m grateful for: the things I have, e.g. a working Fitbit ☺ but more importantly my relationships: my husband, my children, my friends, all of you, and possibly mostly importantly: my relationship with our loving God.

I have experienced a relatively privileged life, and I don’t mean economically, but rather in the loving, accepting relationships in my life. Love and kindness have been modeled by so many, and I hope I have learned to do the same. I am grateful for those lessons. In a world filled with turmoil and unrest, we, as humans, have an opportunity to model good behavior. We can create and enable those relationships.

Here are a few of my favorite thoughts about gratitude:
Gratitude Quotes

• “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
• “As with all commandments, gratitude is a description of a successful way of living. The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us.” – James E. Faust
• “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” ― Melody Beattie
• “Today I choose to live with gratitude for the love that fills my heart, the peace that rests within my spirit, and the voice of hope that says all things are possible.” –  Anonymous

Geoff Rinehart said this past Sunday morning, “We can hope and work for a better tomorrow and love like Jesus.” I am confident that we can all hope and work for a better tomorrow and be grateful for the goodness we've been given.

In His Name, Janet

The year 2020 has been an eye-opening year so far with the world pandemic and civil unrest all around us. It is easy to become disheartened, which is where I have been occasionally in the recent months. It’s times like these that we need to remember the good things that God has done in our lives, because as His children, He is ever-present in our lives. This time has caused me to look deeper into God’s Word and to have a more meaningful time of prayer in my personal time with the Lord each morning. It has also helped me see, with fresh eyes, how God is working in my life each day. It causes me to have a more joyful heart and to want to celebrate!

I want to share the great blessing that I am celebrating today, June 8th: my mother! My mother turned 84 years old today! This lady has been a huge influence for me in so many ways that have helped me become the person that I am today. Growing up, I was painfully shy. She made sure that I was involved in activities to help bring me out of my shyness: Bluebirds, grade-school and high-school band, 4-H, Tae kwon do, acting in plays, participating in parades, and modeling. Being a highly intelligent woman, she taught me that the only thing that could hold me back from pursuing my dreams is me. She taught me to set my mind on my goal and go for it. My mother was also my best friend as I grew up; we shared many interests and did everything together. She was my biggest fan, and I am hers.

Sadly, my mother has Alzheimer’s, and there are days when she does not remember that I am her daughter. I am grateful, though, that she is still in my life and that I get to be with her. There are days that she is very aware of who I am and we get to enjoy that relationship. Other days, I just get to love on her.

This is the Bible verse that stood out to me today:
How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. Psalm 31:19.
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In His Name, Stephanie

The last year has been the happiest of my life! Nine months ago, God gave my wife and me our amazing little Holden. Every single day, my perfect son has brought so much joy to me–even when he has decided for the moment to not be so perfect with his endless antics. 


I have to confess that I feel somewhat guilty. While so many have struggled with being trapped in their homes, I’ve been where I am the happiest. My home is filled with the love God blessed us with. It is amazing how much He has added to my home by growing our little family. 


The current health crisis has shown me how much love people in this world have for one another. People who have very little to fear protect others by staying at home and wearing masks. Many put themselves at risk so that others in the community can get the care they need. We do a hundred difficult things because we love our neighbors. Those difficult things seem so small when we do them out of love.


Whenever our lives go through major changes–whether it’s becoming a parent or surviving the pandemic–we can learn what we are capable of. Having my son in my life has shown me how capable I am of being a father. Over the last several months, my wife and I have gone through the process of getting our foster care licenses. The idea of adopting a child into my home once seemed impossible, but it feels natural now to add someone new to it. In giving me my son, God has shown me how much space I have in my heart and in my home to fill with love. God has shown all of us how much love there is in the world by inspiring us to do good for one another.
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Foster parents get praised for being there to help family, but to most of them, it seems like such a small burden since it is out of love. The world is full of people that do wonderful things because God’s gift of love makes the burden light. God has shown me how much love we have for each other. Of the many, many gifts God has given me, being able to love others has been my favorite.


In His Name, Matthew​

It is bright. It is bold. It is something to behold. These resilient flowers flourished in the middle of so much chaos and destruction, growing in the thousands upon thousands. It also serves as an important symbol to our veterans, honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The red poppy.
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In the spring of 1915, shortly after losing a friend in Ypres, a Canadian doctor, Lt. Colonel John McCrae was so moved by the sight of these poppies growing in the midst of such bleakness, that it inspired him to write the now famous poem, “In Flanders Field.”

This poem then inspired an American academic named Moina Michael to adopt the poppy in memory of those who had fallen in the war. She campaigned to get it adopted as an official symbol of remembrance across the United States and worked with others who were trying to do the same in Canada, Australia, and the UK. Also involved with those efforts was a French woman, Anna Guerin, who was in the UK in 1921 where she planned to sell poppies in London.

There she met Earl Haig, founder of the Royal British Legion, who was persuaded to adopt the poppy as an emblem for the Legion in the UK. The Legion, which had been formed in 1921, ordered nine million poppies and sold them on 11 November of that year. The poppies sold out almost immediately. The first “Poppy Appeal” raised over 106,000 pounds to help veterans with housing and jobs—a considerable sum at the time. Today’s “Poppy Appeal” consists of 40,000 volunteers who distribute 40 million poppies.

In view of how rapidly the poppies had sold and wanting to ensure plenty of poppies for the next appeal, Major George Howson set up the Poppy Factory to employ disabled ex-servicemen. Today, the factory and the Legion’s warehouse in Aylesford produces millions of poppies each year.

The demand for poppies in England continued unabated and was so high, that few poppies actually managed to reach Scotland. To address the growing demand, Earl Haig’s wife, Dorothy, established the “Lady Haig Poppy Factory” in Edinburgh in 1926 to produce poppies exclusively for Scotland.

Remembrance today is very different than it was 100 years ago. Yet, people take part whatever their political or religious beliefs. The poppy remains a humble, poignant symbol of remembrance and hope.

Now that the history lesson is done, it’s time to stop and smell the flowers. Isn’t nature even prettier when it represents such a beautiful story?
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Blessings,
Chris

I like my name. Bonnie is not a common name, and it means beautiful. My mom said she named me after her best friend when she was young. From my point of view, my name is pretty nice. But the name Bonnie does not really tell you much about who I am; there is no definition of my personhood, history, or future. For that you need to use some other words like wife, mom, friend, believer, planner, decision-maker, explorer, or my current favorite, nana.

However, my name is nothing compared to Jesus. In fact, Paul told the Philippians that God gave Jesus the name that is above every name; and that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth. (Philippians 2) I never heard of anyone bowing down to my name!

If you do a Google image search for the name of Jesus, you will find many artistic compilations of some of the names used for Jesus. Messiah, truth, word, gift of God. Words that describe who Jesus is, names that define how He interacts with us, and phrases to clarify His position. Names that tell the past, present, and future beautifully wrapped up in the name I AM.  At the mention of His name, the enemy must flee from us, and the lost are saved.

Then there are names that help me know Jesus in my day-to-day life:
When I am lost, He is The Way
When I am fearful, He is the Power of God
When I sin, He is the Friend of Sinners
When I am sick, He is the Physician
When I am sad, He is the Man of Sorrows
When I am spiritually hungry, He is Living Bread
When I am broken by life, He is Counselor
When I need wisdom, He is Teacher
When I face death, He is Eternal Life
When I need a safe place, He is Sanctuary
When I am held hostage by life, He is my Ransom
When things are dark, He is the Bright and Morning Star
When I am ashamed, He is Holy

No wonder Paul said His name was above every other name. The Bible used so many names for Jesus so we could know Him, understand Him and be close to Him. Jesus was never meant to be far away from us. He came to earth to understand us, to make himself known to us, and to suffer with us. Jesus longs for us to call out His name.
I encourage you to spend some time this week exploring the many names of Jesus in the Bible. We may be familiar with names like Redeemer and Good Shepherd, but what about Seed of the Woman, Second Man, and Rock of Offense? The Bible gave us the many names of Jesus so we could know Him better. Surely Jesus is the most beautiful name I know.
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In His Name, Bonnie