God can take the everyday, ordinary and turn it into a miracle. Would you consider yourself everyday, ordinary?

The Lord gave us a phenomenal Sunday last week, and how we praise Him for it! After a Sunday of such abundant fruitfulness, I not only feel grateful, I also feel very responsible. I want to follow up on guests and nurture young Christians to grow in Christ.

I love rollercoasters! I love the high climbs and the fast descents. I love the feeling of the speed of the track as well as that feeling of nearly coming out of the seat! I could go over and over again. I love the loops and the corkscrews. The more wild the ride, the better! However, I have never enjoyed the “roller coaster” of youth ministry.

Pro Aris et Focis—it’s the motto of many military regiments and an oft-adopted motto for military families. It’s a Latin phrase meaning “For God and Country.” The English translation is the motto for the American Legion.

When I came to Lancaster, California, I had one goal in mind—reach this community with the gospel of Jesus Christ! Every pastor or leader in ministry that I know has the same goal. You want to reach your community with the gospel.

You’ve heard the quote: “God is more concerned with our character than our comfort.” It’s a true statement, but it’s not the whole story.

I recently had a conversation with a deacon from a church in Colorado. His church was preparing for a new pastor, and he called to ask for suggestions on how to best make the new pastor and his family feel loved and welcomed.

“Mooooom, I need you!” That can either be a glorious call or words that make you want to hide. As a mom of seven, I have often heard those words. Being a mom isn’t an easy task, but it is a blessed one.

We are all aware of our need to communicate—it starts early in life. In order for a baby to communicate that he needs something, he will cry. It is amazing how effective a baby can be at communicating without words. After a while, we learn our first word, and then it isn’t long before we are talking a blue-streak.

In early 1940 the British and their allies sent a force of some 350,000 men into the low countries of Europe to stem the tide of German advance into France, Belgium, and Holland. Caught in a brilliant pincer movement by the invading German forces, the beleaguered British Expeditionary Force was pushed back to the beaches of the small Belgian town of Dunkirk.