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#ChristmasShopping. Man, what an undertaking! Truth is, I have always enjoyed going out and dealing with the crowds, the hustle and bustle, and doing Christmas shopping. However, I just recently had an experience which tried even my Buddy-the-Elf-level enthusiasm for all things Christmas. I was attempting to buy a particular product – which, until post-Christmas morning, shall remain nameless – and of course, the store was out of said product! But, there was another item which was very similar. I mean, it seemed so close. I was ready to just go with it. I looked, compared, evaluated…and almost gave up. But, fortunately, I was informed in no uncertain terms, the two are NOWHERE near similar! (Other than one obvious difference, I’m still not convinced the other item wouldn’t have worked.) So,…

On December 8th, 1941, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt voiced these now legendary words, “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” American forces were joining the Second World War. [caption id="attachment_6630" align="alignleft" width="300"] The USS Arizona (BB-39) burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Wikipedia Commons.[/caption] What would it have been like to hear those words? Perhaps some of you can remember hearing the scratchy, static-y voice of the President coming through your radios. It would have been a little scary; it would have been a little awe-inspiring. (In today’s terms, he could have said, “It’s ON now!”) And the rest, as they say, is history. US…

This past weekend, several members of the Linder Road Church of Christ teen group attended a youth rally at the Logan Church of Christ in Logan, Utah. There was a great turnout with approximately 90 teens in attendance from several different congregations, including some as far away as Colorado and Montana. It was a very uplifting and encouraging weekend for all involved. The excitement started Friday night, when we all sang some of our favorite worship songs and had our introductory lesson. The theme of this rally was “No Small Disturbance”, which is based on Acts 19:23, “About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.” Throughout the weekend, our speaker Brett Petrillo gave 4 lessons that challenged us (hence the name of the rally), encouraged us, and motivated us to be…

What makes a person walk into a crowded church building and randomly open fire? What drives an individual to take the lives of strangers from a hotel window? We struggle with these questions. We want answers! Sadly, there is an answer. The answer to all of these “why” and “what causes this” questions is the same. The answer is sin. We live in a world under the sway of evil and sin, under the influence of Satan as he seeks to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8). Does that help? No. It explains it; but, it doesn’t help. When we see horrible acts like we’ve seen in the news of late, it wrenches our soul. It hurts. It makes us wonder if there’s any good left in the world. From a…

We have been doing some car shopping lately. Great fun. (Do you sense the sarcasm?) The way I shop is I gather info on 4-5 different cars and compare and contrast them…usually to a ridiculous degree. Why do I do that? Well, primarily, I want the best value for my dollar. I have a standard, set by me and Kara, each car has to reach – or it’s out! I think about how God does that. He has set a standard which we must strive to attain. We can’t request the standard be adjusted. It’s His! So, how do we know we’re getting there? Since it IS His standard, we have to know if we’re close to it, don’t we? How can we gauge our spiritual development? How do we…