​Growing up, watching  the annual Miss USA pageant was a must. My mom loved everything about it, but I absolutely loved the evening gowns. For a few hours, we entered a glamorous world of beautiful women, singing and dancing, and beautiful costumes. It was fun girl time! I do remember a common question and answer during the interview segment of the competition. The emcee would ask how the contestant would use her platform or how she would like to impact the world, and the answer would typically speak of achieving  “world peace.” Now, growing up just slightly after the Vietnam War, peace to me meant no fighting, no wars, no military draft, and safety. I am sure that’s also what those young ladies were referring to. But as I grew up and grew into my faith in Jesus Christ, peace took on an entirely different meaning.
When Adam and Eve defied God in the garden, their peace with God vanished. Walking and talking with God, trusting Him, and cooperating with His creation quickly ceased as they were sent out of Eden. What a dark day.
But we know our merciful God still desired humankind to be at peace with Him: for our relationship to be restored. So He designed a sacrificial system whereas His people, tarnished by sin, could offer sacrifices of animals and grains to appease His disappointment and wrathful anger. This system came with glimpses of prophecy that a one and done final sacrifice was on the horizon. God hinted at the promise of restoration through Jesus Christ all throughout the Old Testament. We are blessed to be here after the prophecy was fulfilled. We don’t have to imagine what in the world He was referring to. We know Jesus! We know His death and resurrection saved us! The Holy Spirit lives in us when we declare His lordship. God has made a way for true Peace. The Peace that passes all understanding is truly ours in Christ Jesus.
So while world peace sounds nice, it will not come to fruition in this era for this earth. True peace is found when we surrender ourselves to the One who created us. The One True God, in three persons, gives His ultimate peace to us in a beautifully wrapped package of salvation. The kingdom starts here, despite the wars and conflict. It starts in us individually and lasts for eternity. This peace makes this life bearable, allows us to share the Gospel of Christ, and gives us new life.
May we focus on God’s peace this week, as we wait in hope for the upcoming Christmas celebrations.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

​Advent – Week 1- Hope
The Advent season should be one of deep meditation as we focus on the waiting and ultimate fulfillment of prophecy. We place an Advent wreath on the table of our home each year to remind us of the Hope, Joy, Peace, and Love that God sent us in His son, Jesus.  The weeks leading up to Christmas allow for deep reflection and a sort of grounding for me. While the sheer excitement of Christmas is just around the corner, I don’t want to miss the recognition of my need for a Savior.
“A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices. For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.”
These familiar lyrics from “Oh, Holy Night” shed some light on the anticipation and celebration that God’s people experienced at the birth of Jesus Messiah finally arriving.
A weary world rejoiced at His birth, just as my weary heart acknowledges my need for grace every day. A new and glorious morn awaits, and the hope in my heart for Jesus to return is not unlike the hope God’s people had as they waited for the promised Savior.
Hope is a powerful thing. It enables us to continue to move forward as we fix our eyes on the promises of God, looking forward to eternal life with Him and experiencing His daily providence and Holy Spirit guidance. Hope overcomes fear. Hope sustains the weary. Hope heals the hurts of the world.
Our only Hope is Jesus Christ. His birth, death, and resurrection have appeased the wrath of God and given eternal life to anyone who believes in Him and turns from their sin. What a merciful and mighty God we serve!
“Long lay the world, in sin and error pining, till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.”
So, in preparation for Christmas, may we recognize our shortcomings, confess our sin, rejoice in Hope, and fix our eyes on heaven! Let us enter into this season with grateful and hopeful hearts.
Micah 5:2
“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me One who will be ruler over Israel.”
 

​Change is inevitable. Sometimes it is welcome, mostly it is not. The circle of life sounds smooth, seamless, necessary. In reality it is a painful, jagged ring of pain. Love only to lose. I miss my mom. Yes, I know having her for all my 59 years was a gift. I know that living just shy of 90 years is a blessing. But it still stings. My days are different. My evenings, empty. My heart is broken. She was more than my mom; she was my confidante and best friend. Our time together in the last years of her life was not for her benefit only. She still ministered to me. She still gave me sound advice. She still made me feel loved and respected. I needed her as much as she needed me.
So tonight I remember…
 I recall her warm smile, her gratitude, her unfailing love. I feel her safety, her trust, her tenacity. I miss her reminiscing, her sharing, her stories.
And tomorrow I move forward…
I know her peace came from God. I know her joy came from complete trust in Him. I know she trusted Him with her life. I know her story lives on through my siblings and me.
To grieve hard is to have loved deeply. It’s the price we pay for going all in. And I wouldn’t change a thing.
Thanks for the best life a girl could ask for.
In loving memory of Dorothy Kirkpatrick Kuhta Smith
4/18/1935 – 3/4/2025
Forever in our hearts. Eternally with Jesus. 
​

“ Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you think everything’s OK and everything’s going right,
And life has a funny way of helping you out when you think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up in your face.” Alanis Morissette-Ironic;1996


Death is part of life. Isn’t it ironic?


Isn’t it inevitable? Isn’t it incredibly painful? Yes. Yes, it is. The loss itself, the absence of a loved one, a change in your days, just missing their company. The process, though. Wow. Why do we not know more about the physical process, the deterioration, since, well, it’s imminent? It’s ugly. We don’t like ugly. We like nice and neat. Social media appealing. Mask on, emotions controlled, life goes on.


Yet, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes the trauma and loss put the kibosh on your every day. Sometimes you lose the ability to function as a human being. Many times, the pain is too much, and your sadness turns to fear, panic and depression. 


Our society says, take your 3-5 days to grieve, write out the thank you cards, and get back at it
Our hearts say, whoa! I gotta bleed a little, recover and tiptoe back to life.


I’m recovering from a few losses..hard ones. Sometimes we skip the grieving process because it’s inconvenient or bad timing. I promise, it will hit like a freight train years later, when you’re  already down. Ask me how I know.


When you wonder why you had your children,(admit it, there are times!)  I assure you, when you get wisdom from them as adults, it becomes clear. What they’ve gleaned from life with you comes around in the form of advice and support.  I’ve been schooled by my big kids about how these dark times are where we grow...about how it’s ok to be sad...about taking time to get healthy...about unconditional love. 


So, I’m tiptoeing back to life. It’s hard. But my very much alive people miss me. I miss me. So I peel a layer of pain here and there. I tuck the lesson in my heart, and take another step. I have a great God to walk me through it. I have amazing God friends and family, too. 


I don’t write this to receive pity...I write this to cleanse me, to acknowledge my pain, to heal, and hopefully give someone a pass to grieve however they need to for as long as they need to. Life really is short..Use every single day to make the best of it, even in the valleys. One step forward with a little more strength is a win on any give day. I’m winning today. Tomorrow, well, who knows?  But even if it’s one step back, I will get there eventually. You cannot put a time limit on emotional healing. So don’t. Give yourself some grace, even when others don’t. God’s on the other side of all of it, and it’s going to be ok. He promises that. I truly believe it. 


So love your people like it’s the last time you’re going to see them. Because, truth is, it may be.  Love ferociously even though the pain of losing them will be equally ferocious. Have no regrets about your part of the story. And be grateful that your ability to love well is why you grieve so hard.  


Today is a gift.... here’s to healing and growing. 
Here’s to you.....TK,DK,EK,DK,ES,AR,EK,MP,JB,LM,AK,MK and many more.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

...and make sure you fall asleep in Him when you die...don’t wait to answer God’s call . He will take you on your deathbed, but He wants you now. ❤️

Holy Saturday. A day of heavy reflection and hopeful anticipation. A time to appreciate the colossal sacrifice and amazing love that Our Holy Father lavished upon us though his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We as believers know the certainty of Sunday;the light rising from the darkness,  prophecy fulfilled  and salvation for fallen man. The chasm separating us from Holy God was bridged once for all. 
While we know the final scene of this would be tragedy is one of joy and redemption, not all our times of waiting are certain to have a happy ending. We wait for the test result, for healing, for an apology, for forgiveness, for answers.....we worry,fret and pine. How we fill the space of uncertainty is crucial. Just as the cross made a way for relationship with God, prayer keeps that relationship strong and honest. We can boldly approach the throne of grace, we can petItion and plead with our Father who already knows what we need. He already knows the outcome. Still we ask...we ask for His perfect will to be done, and for sustenance and peace even if the healing doesn’t come, the test result is positive and the answers are not as we had hoped. We trust in His omniscience. He always knows better than we. We trust in his omnipresence. His timing is always impeccable. We trust he is omnipotent ...more powerful than any pain, uncertainty, failure or fear we will ever encounter.
So how do we spend our time in the waiting room? Do we fret impatiently, complain unceasingly or do we pray confidently and seek Him earnestly. The outcome may very well be the same, but the ability to overcome and continue to fight the good fight is possible when you remember who is in control. He is and always will be. He is a good father and seeks to draw us even deeper in relationship with each trial and period of waiting we face. So pray in the waiting, trust in the timing, and know His goodness in the depths of your soul.He loves us, oh how he loves us. 
Sunday is coming....Heaven is on the horizon.
Romans 8:18 
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time 
are not worth comparing with the glory that is to 
be revealed to us.

I sit in my pew as worship begins, grateful to be there. A few minutes in, an elderly gentleman who we’ve all come to love, enters cautiously with his 2 canes and smiling eyes that even a mask can’t hide. His gratitude to be in the house of the Lord shines. He not only exudes joy in his mannerisms and kindness, but he weekly thanks God aloud in prayer time; for the opportunity to worship, for his blessings and for us, his church family.
He gets it. He understands how blessed we are as a nation to have the freedom to worship. Getting to church is no easy task for him, but it’s worth it! He’s a veteran who fought for that very freedom, so his appreciation goes even deeper.
Why then are so many of us who are afraid of losing our freedoms and who have no physical impairments, still not joining other believers in worship? Why are we not bringing our kids up to know the Lord, to pray publicly, to read scripture? If even half of our neighbors attended Sunday worship weekly, we would fill our churches and have to build more! What a great problem to have! 

HEAR THIS...We do not need the government to make the changes we need in this world. We need heart changes, and that is God’s department! 

I assure you, left to my own devices, I would not choose to go to church, to read my Bible or even be nice. Only the prompting of the Holy Spirit does that! Most would say I was a hypocrite when I was stuck in a cycle of sin, but still attended church regularly. I know that God drew me in that one day each week to keep me from completely derailing my life. I’m a slow learner, but I got there! He is patient!
So don’t wait until you get yourself cleaned up to get into a worship habit...just show up! Let God do the cleaning up! It’s easier than ever now, because you can join virtually, and then eventually show up in person! Just step out and join in... you won’t regret it. The day of Christ’s return is closer now than ever, right? Let’s collectively make this world a better place


Find a local to you church. Just walk in. That’s what I did. We don’t have a theatrical worship band, we don’t have a well-known charismatic preacher, and we don’t have the bells and whistles that some come to expect. We are a very small congregation of imperfect people serving a perfect God. We do have Bible-based teaching from a genuine pastor and a praying church family who support each other emotionally, physically and when needed, financially. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. There’s room for you and your family at a church wherever you live! 
Let’s do better in 2021.We can be the change. We can use our voices, not as clanging gongs but as encouragers. We can be light in this dark world. We can be part of a great revival that this world so desperately needs! 
Heaven starts here when we join the kingdom of God and make disciples! Join a movement that actually makes an impact. Use your voice for the only truly worthy cause...to share the Good News of Jesus Christ! Happy New Year! 


 Hebrews 10:23-25
  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near

As we travel through the season of advent, we hear four familiar terms. Hope.Peace.Joy.Love. Each week we focus on what scripture says of each. These words   immediately bring a sense of relief. As followers of Christ, we know that his life, death and resurrection bring all these and more! However, it is easy to fall into worldly even contrary understanding of these terms. Many who celebrate Christmas have no idea what it is to be a follower of Jesus. Their understanding is from an earthly perspective, as opposed to a heavenly promise.


Hope for instance is a positive, uplifting word. The hope for a good day, a successful career or a good diagnosis bring positive thinking. But the hope we have in Christ truly is the only hope for a fallen people. We are helpless on every single front. Without the shed blood of Messiah, there was no hope. Sin separated us from God. Jesus made atonement. Our hope is in him alone; a confident expectation of God‘s promise. 


*1 Peter 1:3-4 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.


Peace. Don’t we all want it? Among nations, in government, within families, between friends, in our churches, at work....Peace in heavenly terms, though is where our focus should be. We were enemies of God.No peace or communication can occur between sinful men and a Holy God. Only through  Jesus are we able to boldly approach the Father and enter into relationship with Him. Peace on earth requires peace with God first. 


*Romans 5:1-2 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.


Joy. Merriment and happiness come to mind. Weddings, births and reunions are joyous. But joy in its truest sense is described in James is really a response that we choose, knowing that whatever we face, good or bad, easy or difficult, sickness and health, we trust God‘s purpose and providence in it all. We know that joy does not mean happiness, it means contentment in Christ. 


*James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.


And lastly, love. How can we get this one wrong? Well, pretty easily actually! The emotion love is fickle and changing.The feeling of love leaves us breathless with happiness one day, and empty with loneliness the next. But the act of love, the verb is very different. The most important act of love was displayed at Calvary.. From God’s gift of Messiah came forgiveness of sin. This sacrificial love is like no other, and is the basis of all things Christian. 


*John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life


Hope, peace, joy and love… You can’t have one without the others! Our perfect God sent a spotless sacrifice for imperfect people in this fallen  world. 
Are you just celebrating a holiday this week, or are you a  humble sinner made clean by the Messiah whose birthday we remember. 
Are you celebrating a festival or honoring God? 
Are you hopefully seeking his presence or are your traditions of presents the focus? 
What are you waiting for? Just as God’s people waited generations for Messiah, we  need to be waiting hopefully for his return. Make no mistake, he is coming back! Let’s be his church; his bride, ready and waiting! 
*Hope for his triumphant return. 
*Peace as his death bridged the gap of sin. 
*Joy in all circumstances through faith in him. 
*Love because he first loved us! 
From the cradle to the cross, we celebrate Him! Have a blessed Christmas!