First, the cross We talk a lot about the cross and how terrible the death of Jesus was. The story of Peter’s denial of Jesus and the rest of the disciples fleeing from the garden where he was arrested are familiar to us. It is good that we take time to reflect on the agony, […]
Continuing my posts on the old gospel songs we used to sing, today I remember the first song I ever performed in public. As a young girl I took piano lessons and when my father, who was a minister, had speaking engagements he often would have me play and sing something before he spoke. Although […]
The last few weeks I have missed a lot of Sunday morning services at my church due to some health issues. Since I hate to have a Sunday without hearing a good sermon I have watched quite a lot of ministers on TV. Let me start by saying this post is not meant to be […]
This past Sunday I missed the service at my own church filling in at another local church for the organist that was out of town. The pastor’s sermon really spoke to me and reminded me of a song I heard years ago. Since that time I have seen one line from that song on church’s […]
The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting our persecuted family worldwide. VOM was founded in 1967 by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned 14 years in Communist Romania for his faith in Christ. His wife, Sabina, was imprisoned for three years. In the 1960s, Richard, Sabina, and their son, Mihai, […]
Every Sunday I meet after church with a small group to study the Bible and right now we have started walking through the book of Acts. One story in chapter 4 of that book really makes me stop and examine my own Christian witness. Peter and John had been brought before the religious leaders who […]
Sisters are a blessing? Or a curse? Growing up I was fortunate to have two older sisters. Time and distance now separate us, but the older I get, the more I like to remember those days when we were young and still free of wrinkles, arthritic backs and grey hair. Velma My oldest sister, Velma, […]
Thirty-eight years ago my beloved husband and father of my two daughters was killed in an accident. Only those who have suffered the loss of a loved one know what sorrow I felt. In that first moment when I realized I was a widow at 33 with two little girls to raise, the first thing […]
Growing up in a Christian home, I learned to pray at a very young age. Prayer was an important part of my family’s life. Every meal we took turns thanking God for our food. As the “baby” in the family my first prayers over meal time were memorized prayers like God is great, God is […]
Time for another New Year! For most of us this time of year leads to reflection over the past 12 months and many of us make plans or resolutions for the coming year. On New Year’s Eve in 2017 I went through that thought process. My husband and I made plans for the coming year. […]
there are two kinds of Christians: those who sincerely believe in God and those who, just as sincerely, believe that they believe. You can tell them apart by their actions in decisive moments.” Pastor Richard Wurmbrand Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Voice of the Martyrs was born in Bucharest, Romania. Highly intellectual, Richard was fluent […]
My mother, Fern, and me, Barbara Fern In the last years of my mother’s life she lived in southern Illinois while I lived over 300 miles away in northern Illinois. I worked a Monday-Friday job and my husband was a pastor which meant his job required work on the weekends. Thus, it was hard to […]
I can’t take credit for this story. I heard it somewhere along the way, but I don’t know who or where. So – if anyone knows, please let me know. But the story is so good as I think about how we fail so often to be grateful for our “every day” blessings. One afternoon […]
My church has been doing a sermon series on the book of Daniel. At first glance you might wonder how a book written thousands of years ago has any relevance to today. As I listened to the messages each week I found it clearly spoke to our current culture today. As a Christ follower I […]
