Since our first Christmas together in 2011 we have not met over the Christmas holiday, some years we took three weeks off and some years we took two weeks off, depending on the calendar. Typically, our last gathering of the year has been our evening Christmas party and then we’ve seen each other again the first Sunday of the year. I am not opposed to meeting through the Christmas holidays, it has just worked out that … Continue reading →
Here are the top 5 searched and viewed posts in 2018 from our www.crosshopechapel.org website. That means that people searched the internet for a specific topic or question and our website post came up on that search so with our #1 post there were close to 1000 people and the other posts were all around 100 people. I would never have guessed that my “CSB, ESV, and Translations” post would head the list but apparently a … Continue reading →
Christmas time is nearly always portrayed in the media as a happy, positive, encouraging season but that is simply not always the case. The good news is that our God knows that. When the sun sets tonight and it’s Christmas Eve, some will be filled with emptiness, loneliness, and grief. Christmas Eve is often the accumulation of weeks of fearful anticipation of just that. It’s time to see what it is to experience Christmas without … Continue reading →
Last Saturday evening’s CrossHope Chapel’s Christmas Party was such a blessing! I have to admit that my knee was starting to really ache and just before everyone arrived I was beginning to feel like I would rather curl up in the corner with a pain pill and a nap. Of course, I am glad I didn’t and I am glad we were able to gather and enjoy fellowship together. It still amazes me that we … Continue reading →
I wanted to share a thought with you about where we have been in 2018, as a church in the Scriptures. We have been in 3 John, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians. We have systematically and intentionally journeyed through 3 books of the Bible, a total of 30 chapters, and 2 writers…which is not a whole lot in the big scheme of 66 books in the Bible, a total of 1189 chapters, and 40 writers. … Continue reading →
If you are looking to change up your usual Christmas songs, here are 10 of my favorites that are part of my 50+ songs Spotify Christmas playlist… Father Christmas by The Kinks Christmas by The Who Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley Merry Christmas From The Family by Robert Earl Keen Mele Kalikimaka by Bing Crosby Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Reel Big Fish Lickle Drummond Bwoy by Reel Big Fish Must Be Santa by … Continue reading →
While the majority of my radio listening time is talk radio I periodically listen to my Spotify playlists, especially when I am down by the beach because of reception issues. This isn’t all I have in my playlists but the app says this it is the top 25 most listened to songs from my personal Spotify, counting down… 25. Shot of Love by Bob Dylan 24. Morning Is Coming by Sting, Shaggy 23. Changes … Continue reading →
Don’t start a house church because you want to be in charge. That’s not a good reason. Worse yet, you can not sustain a house church if you just want to be the boss. My personal opinion is that it is perhaps the one really bad reason to want to start a house church. I happen to think that starting a house church because you disagree with your current church or minister are not actually … Continue reading →
We share the same mom, at birth anyway, but her influence was just as intentional upon my life as with yours. You experienced her influence through the awesome privilege of knowing her, loving her, holding her, building a bond with her, while I have only had gratitude for her. That gratitude is all I carried with me for 54 years before that transformed into information, people, and families. For myself, like all children given up … Continue reading →