Write On!

Many of my facebook friends are doing a 30 Days of Thankfulness and post each day something they are thankful for. I love that they are doing this and it is fun reading people's thankful posts. Although I don't write my own thankful posts on facebook, it does cause me to think about the things for which I am thankful. While I didn't come up with 30, I do have a top ten list of things I have been especially thankful for this past year: 1. First and foremost I am thankful for my Christian faith that helped me through some very difficult and challenging days this past year. I don't know what I would do without Jesus in my life. As a child, I grew up in the church but for 8 long years, I wandered away from God, living a life of rebellion. I finally went back to Him in the year 2000 and that was the best decision I could have ever made! I will forever be grateful for those who were praying for me at that time in my life. 2. I am so very thankful for my amazing church f...

You are probably asking, what in the world is a trusting tree and what is a trying tree? Earlier this year during a church service at New Life in Bismarck,  pastor Mike Rose from Juneau Christian Center , explained that the Trusting Tree is the Cross on which Jesus died and the Trying Tree is the tree of knowledge of good and evil. If you are leaning on the Trying Tree, you  are constantly trying to do better, you push yourself harder. You may try to do everything in your own strength. You try to get God to accept you and to love you more by doing things you think are pleasing go Him. There’s a song by Tenth Avenue North called By Your Side and some of the lyrics demonstrate this perfectly: Why are you striving these days Why are you trying to earn grace… Why are you looking for love Why are you still searching As if I’m not enough The Trying Tree is based on the tree of knowledge of good and evil which can be found in the Bible ...

ONE YEAR AGO, one of the greatest men I ever had the pleasure of knowing passed away. I found out on Facebook and almost had to leave work because I was so distraught. This was a man who was a spiritual father to many, a true leader in the community, a mentor to young men and a prayer warrior who genuinely loved God, the church and his flock. Last year, shortly after finding out about his death, I wrote the following tribute: In the year 2000 shortly after rededicating my life to Christ, I took the opportunity to move to Raleigh, North Carolina with my sister. Upon moving to the area, my first goal was to find a good church. I felt like I was just a baby in my Christian faith and wanted to find a place where I could grow and be spiritually fed. After attending a few churches in Raleigh, I was led to a church in Durham, North Carolina. And it was here at Faith Assembly Christian Center that I met the amazing Bishop Leroy McKenzie. Although it didn’t really make sense to...