This week in Costa Rica was the inaugural General Conference of the Global Methodist Church. Perhaps you have followed along with some friends online, but let me share with you a bit of what I read:One friend wrote that he witnessed:"Tears as we signed our constitution and championed a new mission and vision statement. Tears as I saw people fall under the power of the Holy Spirit. Tears as the peo...  Read More

It is hard to believe it has been 4 years since our world went into shutdown mode during Covid 19. Nobody knew what it meant to go into lockdown mode and we surely didn't know how much toilet paper we were going to need.As I've been contemplating what has changed since Covid, I think there are four things that come to mind. First, our world is more polarized after Covid than it was before. It seem...  Read More

This Christmas my daughter achieved a milestone we have been working on for over four years. Audrey learned how to ride a bike. Audrey's attempt to learn how to ride a bike reminded me of our journey in our Christian faith.  Read More

READING:2 Samuel 5: 1-5KEY VERSE:King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.REFLECTION:King and shepherd seem like opposites. A king sits on a throne wearing expensive clothes. A shepherd stand on the hillsides wearing dirty clothes. David was both. He was a shepherd God chose to be king. A shepherd is humble and cares more about people...  Read More

READING:1 Samuel 17: 1-54 KEY VERSE:David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.”REFLECTION:There was an epic standoff between two armies, the Israelites and the Philistines. The Philistines offered a challenge, if anyone can defeat our giant, Goliath, in a battle, then we will declare Israel the winner. B...  Read More

READING:Isaiah 11: 1-9 KEY VERSE:Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot - yes, a new branch bearing fruit from the old root.REFLECTION:Did you know that Jesse was the father of David, Israel’s greatest king. In these verses Isaiah prophesies the lineage of Jesse with the eventual coming of Christ. Did you know that God has a plan for each of us? No matter how big or small you are, we...  Read More

READING:Ruth 1:15 - 2:3KEY VERSE:But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.REFLECTION:Did you know that this story occurs in Bethlehem, hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus in that same city? In this story we find Ruth, a young lady from another country, who g...  Read More

READING:Joshua 1: 1-9, 5:13 - 6:20KEY VERSE:When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city.REFLECTION:After Moses dies, God appoints Joshua to be the new leader of Israel. Joshua is to bring the people to the land God had promised them. The first city they arri...  Read More

READING:Joshua 2: 1-21KEY VERSE:Then, since Rahab’s house was built into the town wall, she let down by a rope through the window.REFLECTION:In the story about Rahab a rope is significant as the means of salvation and deliverance. A rope is used to allow the Israelite spies to escape. Similarly, a rope hanging from Rahab’s upper window also signifies salvation for Rahab and her family when Jericho...  Read More

READING:Exodus 19:16 - 20:20KEY VERSE:Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”REFLECTION:After two months of traveling through the desert, the people of Israel reach Mount Sinai, where God offers them a covenant of permanent relationship with Him. When the people say that they do want to belong to Hi...  Read More

READING: Exodus 1:1 ‐ 2:10 KEY VERSE: When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. REFLECTION: When the Israelites came into Egypt, they multiplied and grew strong. Pharaoh was afraid the Israelites were becoming so numerous that they would organize and threaten his kingdom, so he enslaved them. But the Israe...  Read More

READING:Genesis 37: 1‐36 KEY VERSE:And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.REFLECTION:Jacob had twelve sons, but he has not treated them all the same. He had one son Joseph that was his favorite. The other brothers were jealous and took an opportunity to sell Joseph as a slave and pretend to their f...  Read More