Grace-period

Lyrics from Unashamed Love by Jason Morant Of a childlike faith And of my honest praise Of my unashamed love Of a holy life And of my sacrifice Of my unashamed love You're calling me to lay aside The worries of my day To quiet down my busy mind Find a hiding place Worthy, You are worthy Open up my heart And let my spirit worship Yours I open up my mouth And let a song of praise come forth Worthy, You are worthy Sometimes it is the message of the preacher that grabs me.  Other times, it is the music.  Today it was both, affirming the sense of humor that God has since He enjoys being sneaky like that. The lyrics of this song stirred something in my heart.  I think the exact thought was, "I am dreadful"  followed by: I am not good at being holy.  I have a temper and can curse creatively.  I am awkward in social situations where I typically employ a "shock and awe" tactic so you can decide sooner, rather than later, to d...

I have missed writing.  I have lots of notes and ideas, but time is an issue lately.  Today was such a good time at church, tho, to be among friends, to be refreshed, that I wanted to make it a priority to write today, to give it a chance to sink deep into my spiritual joints, not shaking it off too quickly. Our text is simple .  Even those who haven't been in church for years probably remember this story from their childhood.  It is the story about the Samaritan and the man who he found on the roadside.  Of course, the Samaritan is the good guy, right?  But did they think he would be? Who is the despised among us?  At one time in this nation's history, it would have been those of a different color.  Maybe it still is.  It might have been someone whose language is foreign to us.  It might be someone who is very liberal in their politics or the other end of the spectrum and very conservative.  Perhaps it is the gay cou...

Probably when you think of slavery, you still envision Africans being kidnapped and forced into labor on farms in the south.  You might think Roots . You might think it all ended with the Emancipation Proclamation.   Or you may know that slavery was abolished in our state, Pennsylvania, much earlier-1780-probably due to our state's Quaker foundation. You would only be kinda right. Slavery continues.  You may stretch and think, ok, well maybe in Asia with all the sex trade. Yes, that's true, too, but what about in our country's borders?  Our state's? Pennsylvania 2010 Advocate’s Brief Anti-Human Trafficking Legislation produced by the Polaris Project shares some sobering facts: In addition to the commercial front businesses such as massage parlors, nail salons, agricultural operations, and hotels or motels that human traffickers utilize, Pennsylvania is also a “pass through” state due to the many interstate highways that connect major traffi...