Connie Writes

I have been faithful to keep a journal since I've been 11 years old.  First, in a spiral notebook and then later on the computer.  Both have been a comfort to me over the years and hold anything from love and laughter to hardships and tears. A journal mirrors the habits of our mind.   It can be your enemy or your friend.   Mine takes me through the journey of my life.   A very long journey, 71 years in all; it may be a dull journey for some to read but to me it’s a reflection of the life that I’ve lived and am currently living of interest to no one but me and perhaps, some day, my children. Every year in my journal I write year end reflections, sort of a recap of what was and is going on in my life. Sometimes it’s pretty dull but still I write. Everything in life’s reflections is based on the choices you make.   If you want different outcomes in your life, maybe you need to make different choices.   I guess I write these reflections because ...

Christmas isn’t about tinsel, twinkling lights on a tree, shopping, baking cookies, eating those cookies…it’s more about the presence of family sharing the love of Christ with the world.   Here’s what some pretty famous people have to say about Christmas: Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving. – B. C. Forbes He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. – Roy L. Smith Christmas is the season of joy, of holiday greetings exchanged, of gift-giving, and of families united. – Norman Vincent Peale The only blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not Christmas in his heart. – Helen Keller Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling. – Edna Ferber God never gives someone a gift they are not capable of receiving. If he gives us the gift of Christmas, it is because we all have the ability to understand and receive it. – Pope Francis Christmas, ...

Gathered around the Thanksgiving table is a perfect time to count your blessings.  If you don't have any, 'look up' and remember God is watching over you.  Be blessed. Happy Thanksgiving.

My childhood memories of fall are filled with pleasant thoughts…unpacking warmer clothes, fall revival at church, youth group hay rides, hot cocoa on crisp fall nights, harvest moons, campfires.   I love fall.   Fall is letting go, and accepting the impermanence of things. The autumn of life is a strange mixture of nostalgia, blessings, and potential. It yields the harvest of seeds we’ve sown throughout life and braces us for colder days to come.   When life’s autumn arrives, we look back and better understand the way God led us; but we still have work to do—the best and fullest. It’s a good transition time. “Autumn” only occurs once in the Bible . In Jude 1:12 , false teachers are compared to “autumn trees without fruit,” implying that autumn should be a fruitful season, the most abundant of the year. How can we take advantage of the “autumn of life”?   We can use this to time to reflect on not so much what God has done for us but on what we have done for G...

There sure is a lot of discord over NFL football players kneeling during the national anthem, shame on them.   And now, Midland students plan to do the same thing at the Midland Dow football game.   For whatever reason they are choosing to do this, a major public event is not the time nor the place.   Students say they are not doing this to disrespect the flag but to show their opposition to racial oppression – find another way to do this kids!   Standing for the national anthem is simply good manners.   You can preach a better way of life by how you live your life than what comes from your lips.   However, next time you’re on your knees ask God for wisdom.   Perhaps, the only way to settle a disagreement is on the basis of what’s right—not who’s right.  October 15, 2017

His Banner – August 2017 Connie’s Corner Reason, Season, or Lifetime?   Are you a Reason, a Season, or a Lifetime? People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.    When someone is in your life for a REASON.   It is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be.   Then, without any wrongdoing on your part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.   Sometimes they die.   Sometimes they walk away.   Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.   What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered, and now it is time to move on. ...