There’s a song on an album by the group Casting Crowns titled “Just Be Held.” One line in the song – “But life hits you out of nowhere, And barely leaves you holding on” – struck me as I was thinking about our current message series. It became even more poignant as I was praying […]
Archive | Jane’s Blog
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 4
How do you describe something as supernatural as our encounter with God on Sunday – awesome, amazing, powerful, deep, life changing, scary? How could something as simple as dipping our fingers in water unleash such a sense of freedom? Or was it the act of making the sign of the cross on our forehead as […]
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 3
One of the verses I frequently see quoted by our confirmation students is also one of my favorites. It’s found in Jeremiah 29:11 – “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The context, […]
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 2
There’s an old kids’ song that says, “Joy is the flag flown high from the castle of my heart.” It ends with “…because the King is in residence there.” I love the imagery, don’t you? Flags, of course, can be used as “symbols or signals.” It fits with the song, doesn’t it? But no matter […]
Jane’s Blog – New Year, New You, Part 1
The idea of a “Palms Up” year is very appealing, isn’t it? Youth Director Danny Scarbrough’s message on Sunday brought to my mind a related prayer technique I learned years ago, and since “Prayer” is the Holy Habit I want us to embrace this month, I love the intertwining I sense from God’s Spirit regarding […]
Jane’s Blog – Christ’s Time, Part 3
God knows what he’s doing, you know? I mean, out of all the Jewish girls available, he chose one who could and would ‘ponder’ and ‘treasure’ the things happening to her and her people. It begs a few questions: Was she something of an introvert like me? Was her life any less hectic and hurried […]
Jane’s Blog – Holy Habits, Part 4, Worship and Celebration
At a recent Christmas party I was blessed to hear a group of men singing “We Three Kings” with great enthusiasm! The lyrics reminded me of an article I recently read in Christianity Today about the Star of Bethlehem. It seems that biblical scholar Colin R. Nicholl is taking a shot at explaining the mystery […]
Jane’s Blog – Christ’s Time
This week Pastor Sean invited us to anticipate, and he taught us about “Kairos” – a Greek word for “time.” Kairos, he said, is a time when God breaks into chronological time with a special message just for us. And he challenged us to “expect Jesus to ‘break into’ your life now.” But there’s a […]
Jane’s Blog – One in Christ
PLC’s combined service on Sunday with San Diego Bethel Church was an amazing blessing! I loved the inspiring choir music – both in English and Korean, the spontaneous applause of appreciation throughout the service, and the sense of the Holy Spirit’s presence in Pastor Kim’s message. I also was moved by the “Worship through […]
Jane’s Blog – Community Life Connections
We have a guy here at PLC named Walter who can only be described as a “go-getter!” Walter got an idea in his head several months ago that our church sanctuary could be a great place to gather on days other than Sunday. It’s a big space with some Christian symbols, but it’s not […]