Playing referee to my arguing kids was one of the hardest things for me to manage as a mom! Ephesians 4:32 was probably my most quoted verse on a day to day basis. I wondered if my kids would ever actually like each other! It is fun for my husband and I to be on the other side now as empty nesters and see how much our kids enjoy being together. They hang out with each other and even vacation together—with & without us!
Peace and patience - qualities we want to have, yet they seem ever elusive. We want peace whenever life is hard and the storms rage on. We grit our teeth in the midst of frustration trying to muster an ounce of patience when someone irritates us or our circumstances are not what we would have chosen. Why is having peace and patience so difficult?
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,…” I don’t know about you, but hearing that I should be counting it joy when I have struggles seems like an oxymoron. How in the world can those two things go together? I think I am just beginning to understand what we are being asked to do here.
Hands 4 Missions had its beginnings in 1998. A request was given to a class for needed items for a project at Baptist Village. Since that time a group of women has met the first three Thursdays of each month to create blankets, totes and gifts for our homebound members. The group works primarily by tying off lap quilts. Several of the members of the group use their time at home to make the quilts. The other members then tie the quilts off with colorful yarns.
September is Groups Month! Group life is an essential part of CRBC. As a church, we take an entire month to showcase the diversity we have in Connection Classes and Small Groups. An entire month should make us pause and wonder, why does CRBC care so much about this topic? Scripture has something to say about it!
I felt lost and alone in 2019 when I had to make the heart-breaking decision to find a new church because where we were was no longer safe for my daughter, Willow, and I. God had released me from a very painful and dangerous situation in my marriage and I had filed for divorce. What followed from church members who did not know the intimate details was hurtful judgment and condemnation. I have always had such a heart for family, but now I found myself in the middle of a terrible divorce and I was frightened about the prospect of more condemnation from the Christian community.
