God speaks. In the Bible, He spoke through angels, prophets, leaders, dreams, a burning bush, and even a donkey.  

Wayne and I went to vote last Friday. We had our "I voted" stickers on when our granddaughters came in from school. Our 11-year-old immediately noticed and asked who we voted for. Of course, Wayne would not tell her because he said that it was private. She asked me and I said the same thing.

​A well-known South Georgia pastor once shared about his spunky, senior adult sister who drove a sports car. She got pulled over for speeding. The officer walked up to the car and asked for her license.

Christian philosopher Dr. William Lane Craig, said, “Man cannot live consistently and happily as though life were ultimately without meaning, value, or purpose. If we try to live consistently within the framework of the atheistic worldview, we shall find ourselves profoundly unhappy.”

We’re gearing up for Trunk or Treat. This year, I will be a dog. Our team’s theme is D.O.G. - Depend on God. Last year, I was Shadrach – one of the Hebrew boys in the fire.

I must admit that I struggle with people-pleasing. I never want to hurt anyone's feelings, offend them, or devalue them. Honestly, I also don't want people to not like me or think bad of me.

I recently received my first Social Security check. Having served in interim pastorates and freelance research, writing, and speaking in recent years means there will be no “formal retirement” or closure to ministry. In fact, I hope to continue doing all these things as the opportunities avail themselves. Yet, a wave of nostalgia has swept over my soul during this transition.

The Georgia Baptist Mission Board is encouraging all of our churches to hold a Religious Freedom Sunday in their church. This initiative is for the purpose of emphasizing the importance of religious freedom.

A man with a nagging secret could keep it no longer. He confessed to his priest that for years he had been stealing building supplies from the lumberyard where he worked. “What did you take?” his priest asked.

Often I feel led to do or to write something that proves most appropriate and even fruitful. Recently, I came to realize how often I do things unaware that it is the result of the Holy Spirit’s leadership. I have even come to depend on His guidance in many of the things I do.

The struggle was real on Sunday morning. It was my turn to teach at the jail. We have been going to a prison or jail every week since 2006. It was not a new place or crowd. Teaching is one of my favorite things! Yet butterflies skittered in my stomach. I had read the Bible verses again and again. In truth I was ready, still I was uneasy.

This has been a tough week for several reasons. Unexpected change is hard for me. I like to know what to expect and when to expect it. I only wish life worked that way but sadly it doesn’t. I don’t mean any of this to sound trivial, but this has just been life lately.

J. Vernon McGee summarized philosophy well. He said, “All systems of philosophy lead up a blind alley.” I agree. You can spend your time and money studying this subject and find sooner or later that it is a mere waste of time.

We can’t trust Dixie out of our sight. (Dixie is the eight-month-old puppy my beloved rescued a month ago.) The first week she was with us, Dixie got out of her crate twice while we were gone and set off the security alarm.

I don't know about you, but I cannot get the storm from last week off my mind. It seems everywhere I look and turn I  see the devastation and heart-breaking situations that people all around us are dealing with. I can only imagine how overwhelmed people are feeling.

​Recently, we traveled to South Carolina’s Lowcountry to keep our grandsons while their parents attended an all-day workshop. We enjoyed our outing and were heading home after lunch. As I traveled north on US 17, I switched to the inside lane, anticipating our left turn up ahead.

If there were no God, life would have no meaning at all. Nothing would matter. Man would have no reason to be moral or to exercise restraint in whatever he chose to do. And this describes most people in Western civilization today, unfortunately.

The words lamb, hyssop, blood, and outstretched arm have been spinning through my mind. Digging into the first Passover, puzzle pieces are falling into place as the people of Israel prepare to be freed from their slavery. God perfectly stitches the Scriptures of the Old Testament together with the New Testament into a beautiful tapestry. It is fascinating and amazing… when we are looking for it.

You may not even know what an ISP is unless you have a special needs child. ISP stands for Individual Support/Service Plan. An ISP meeting is held once a year to set goals, go over medical concerns, and just collect information so that anyone who supports the person with intellectual disabilities can take part in setting new goals and a plan to focus on those goals.

Pharaoh, Pharaoh, oh baby let my people go. Hunh! If you sang that instead of just reading the words, you’ve been in church for a minute. It’s a fun song to sing about an intense true story written in the book of Exodus when God showed His power and might to Pharaoh and all of Egypt. We’ve been unpacking the drama in our youth Sunday School class.

I grocery shop every week. I usually have a granddaughter that wants to tag along and most of the time it is Liza or Lottie. This past week it was Liza. She gets out of the car and immediately grabs my hand. She knows we are in the parking lot and that it's best to hold an adult's hand.

Pastor Joe McKeever shared about an experience his friend Ralph Bethea had while distributing Bibles in Russia after the fall of communism. Bethea visited an older gentleman who talked of abandoning communism and returning to his mother’s faith.

It’s the sweetest story - if you’re an animal lover. My beloved rescued a dog three weeks ago. In Magoffin County, he saw a lady on the side of the road trying to wrangle a dog. She held a can of dog food in one hand and looked like she needed help.

I will be the first to admit that I am a planner. I like to mentally plan and map out my days and weeks and things that I have to accomplish. Of course, when things don't go the way I have planned it can cause me some anxiousness and a little worry. OK,  maybe more than a little.

Sarah York is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. She has a sweet spirit that oozes out of her. Actually, all of the Fruits of the Spirit ooze out of her. Sarah loves Jesus and it shows, quite clearly. An encourager extraordinaire, she always has a good word.