Habits
Lisa Schnedler
They Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes

Each year, I listen to a daily audio Bible podcast—and complete the Bible in one year. This year marks my sixth year through the Bible.

Why don’t I stop?

Every year, I learn new aspects of the Bible because each year, I am in a different place in my life, and the Holy Spirit speaks to me where I am.

The Bible is always fresh! It is always alive!

It is the only book that has a Living Spirit within it.

Each year, when I get to Judges in the Old Testament, I say, “Oh boy!” because I know what is ahead.

They Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes
Lisa Schnedler
What Passover Means to Christians

Passover begins this evening.

It is one of the most significant Jewish Holidays, commemorating when the angels of God “passed over” the Hebrews as the firstborn children and animals of the Egyptians were killed—all because Pharoah would not set the Hebrews free as God commanded.

With this final plague on Egypt, Pharoah agreed to free the Hebrews so they might begin their journey to the promised land.

God instructed the Jews to commemorate the first Passover, when they had marked their houses with blood, alerting the angels to “pass over” their homes.

Christians draw parallels in their faith,

What Passover Means to Christians
New/Renew
Lisa Schnedler
The Days After Easter...

This week, I was listening to a minister on the radio who noted that in the days after His resurrection, Jesus did not appear to Pilate to tell him that he had been wrong in ordering His crucifixion.

Jesus did not appear to the Jewish leaders and chastise them for not believing and demanding His death.

He did not appear to the Roman soldiers who nailed Him on the cross.

Why?

The Days After Easter...
Lisa Schnedler
Holy Week

Today, I was drinking in the beautiful hymns of Psalm Sunday. They are majestic, powerful, and inspirational!

Among my very favorites is All Glory, Laud and Honor. When I close my eyes and listen to the lyrics, I can feel all the emotions I imagine those present at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The hope. The joy. The expectation.

As Christians, we carry the hope, joy, and expectation at our Lord’s second coming. Feel this excitement. Play this song and sing along. It is a wonderful way to enter into the spirit of Holy Week.

What are some of your favorite Holy Week Hymns/ song?

Holy Week
New/Renew
Lisa Schnedler
An Irish Blessing

My mother is Irish—which makes me Irish as well!

One of my favorite blessings is The Irish Blessing, which is a favorite benediction of my forefathers—and so appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day!

It is a great blessing for everyone—even if you aren’t Irish!

An Irish Blessing

What the Church Can Do to Come Back Bigger and Better After the Pandemic.

What the Church Can Do to Come Back Bigger and Better After the Pandemic.

Many churches have been impacted negatively by this pandemic. I have read a few conversations in blogs and on social media in which pastors and attendees wonder if the congregants will return to the pews.

Will members decide they like not having to get dressed on Sunday mornings and simply stay home, read the Bible, perhaps podcast their church service into their living room?

Or, will they return having missed what only in-person worship can provide: fellowship, those much needed hugs, in-person music, feeling the presence of God?

I think a lot rests on what the churches are doing now—

Renewal for Ourselves, our Communities, the Nations, and our World

Renewal for Ourselves, our Communities, the Nations, and our World

We serve a God who renews all things—and all people who call upon His name.

Renewal has several definitions, and each is relevant to our walk as Christians.

According to Oxford Languages, one definition of renewal is “an instance of resuming an activity or state after an interruption.”

Certainly, we have each experienced interruptions in our lives,

Because We Can All Use Some Good News - Almsgiving During a Pandemic

Because We Can All Use Some Good News - Almsgiving During a Pandemic

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.” — William Shakespeare (The Merchant of Venice).

Giving of your time, talents, and resources is always important. It is the “outward” face of the Christian—reflecting the face of God.

No other time is it more important to reflect His Face for the world. Giving is a gift—and it just makes you feel so good.

Don’t know what to give or how to do it?

The Rhythm of Loving People

The Rhythm of Loving People

The pandemic has brought out the best in some people.

The nurse who, in spite of the long shifts, stays on to hold the hand of a COVID-19 patient and to be there with his family.

The teacher who when realizing that her virtual-learning student doesn’t have the book he needs, drives it to his house, and takes along a pack of rainbow gum as an added treat.

What To Do When the Door Simply Won't Open.....

What To Do When the Door Simply Won't Open.....

We have all experienced it: you see a good opportunity to help someone, to start a ministry, to do something for your community—and so you “go for it”… and nothing happens. Or worse, if falls flat.

Or, you think about doing something and seek confirmation—a sign an opportunity—that shows that this is God’s will in your life. And, nothing happens. No sign. No confirmation.

And, disappointment sets in. The doors are closed.

So, what do you do?