Life In Greencastle

"But now says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I  will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in echange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you." -Isaiah 43:1-4a Yesterday after church, I was getting set to take Wyatt, Jacob and Reid down to Camp Pyoca, and our car was quickly becoming stuffed with dufflebags, pillows, and sleeping bags - not to mention the rowdy laughter and joking of three young boys.  But, when I looked over to my right in the passenger seat, I noticed a little piece of blue paper rolled into a nice ...

I'm so grateful for Matt Tebbe's willingness to preach and guide you in worship yesterday, and from what Anna told me, his presence was a real blessing.   Anna especially appreciated the deeper consideration of what it means to move into God’s Kingdom with a childlike faith, and I pray God used his words to speak to you.  Matt’s willingness to preach also gave me the opportunity to do something I don’t get to do very often:  go to church as a parishioner and as a visitor.  It made me realize all over again what you and others are looking for when you make your way to church on Sunday mornings, or – at least – what I was searching for. It had been a wonderful weekend in many ways.  My dad agreed to accompany me on a trip down about an hour south of Knoxville, Tennessee for a bicycle ride up the Cherohala Skyway, a circuitous route up the jagged Smokey Mountains.  It meant a lot to me that my dad was willing to expend so much time and energy just to ...