Today we remember. We remember sacrifice. Bravery. Courage. We remember heroes—laid in graves around the world—who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

Fresh strawberry pie would be a perfect dessert to bring to our church dinner so I checked my recipe and started gathering my ingredients. The sweet aroma from the deep-red strawberries filled my kitchen as I pulled out a pie shell, strawberry gelatin, sugar, and an old box of cornstarch.

All children have moments or seasons when they struggle with obedience—just like their parents. But some young people, particularly in their teenage years, become defiant and overtly disrespectful. Why?

For three Saturdays of every year, I am an avid horse racing fan. I am talking about the on-your-knees-pounding-the-floor-yelling-for-your-horse kind of fan. I don’t watch a single horse race the rest of the year, but I absolutely love the Triple Crown!

An article on the front page of a Manila newspaper caught my eye one day when I was at the Iloilo City airport. The story was about a university that was started over 100 years ago. This institution is located on an island not too far from us. Through the years I have met several of their graduates.

When I first became a pastor, I faced fewer administrative responsibilities than I do today. It’s not that my schedule wasn’t full. (In those early days, I preached three times per week, taught Sunday school and soulwinning, and knocked on a minimum of five hundred doors each week as well as following up with guests from services.) It’s just that the week-to-week responsibilities of ministry were primarily sermon preparation and personal outreach and followup.

As women, we have the opportunity to make choices on a daily basis. Sometimes, the choices we make seem small and insignificant. Other times, they involve life-changing consequences.

Every week, people all across the world sit in churches and hear of the miraculous power and acts of an incredible God. In fact, our entire Christian faith is based upon the miraculous.

Many skills can be developed during the summer. Keep children on a schedule of learning even when they are on vacation from school so they are ready for the fall. Suggestions are given below, but ideas to do are endless!

Do you ever get discouraged? Do you ever get weighed down with the burdens of ministry?