Every Day Life: Time Change

By Lara

Anyone who knows me knows that I abhor time change. I would be perfectly content to live my life within the normal parameters of Eastern Standard Time regardless of the change of seasons. I have no need for it to be light out until 9 PM in June. While I was sitting at my desk today enduring the longest Monday on record in the history of the world, I started to think about the strange occurrences that tend to follow me around that thwart my best efforts to prepare myself for the shock to my bio-rhythmic system.

Last year during time change, I tried to go to sleep early to take full advantage of my extra hour. Part of my problem with time change is my love of sleep. I intended to maximize the time that I could be snuggled under the covers with my cat. I'm sure that I was asleep by 9:45. It was cozy and warm.

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Being "Mr. Lovewell"

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

We have been speaking about love over the past few posts. The study at my church has concluded and one thing I wish to leave you all with is that love is a verb. Love requires action. Love is never stagnant. If we say we love but our actions do not support it then we cannot truly be loving. God so loved us that he gave his son for us. Jesus so loved us that his entire ministry was an example of love in action. From birth to the cross everything he did was out of love. Often we say we love but do our actions support that?

Mercy Me, one of my favorite Christian artists, has a new album out. It is simply entitled "The Generous Mr. Lovewell." Many of the songs deal with love in one form or another. The title song is about a man named Mr. Lovewell. I would like to take a look at some of the lyrics with you and show you how they apply to what we have been talking about.

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Understanding Death

By Pat

One thing in each of our lives we can never be sure of is when we will die. It's a question that haunts all of us at one time or another, I think, and some of us more than others. As Christians, we have the assurance that when we die, we really begin life anew with the Lord, in a place of joy and beauty and the eternal presence of God. We become less and less afraid as we grow older and weaker in our bodies and stronger in our faith. We become more accepting as we gain more of an understanding that death for us is not the end. It's a natural progression.

But what about when tragedy strikes? What about the horrible accidents that occur, taking lives way before their time? What about when children die? It throws us. It shakes us. Our faith wavers, and we cry out, "Why, Lord?" We are left with more questions than answers. Sometimes we become angry at God, and wonder why God allows these things to happen. That's NOT the way it's supposed to be! We simply don't understand. We strive to understand... but do we really have to understand?

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Tasty Bites: Creamy Bean and Ham Soup

By Beth V

Soup is one of my favorite meals to prepare this time of year. There is something lovely  and comforting about a bubbling pot of soup on the stove on chilly, autumn days. This soup harkens back to my childhood when my mom would often turn a leftover ham bone and some beans into something delicious. I did not use a ham bone (although you are welcome to!), but it is amazing how such  simple ingredients can create such amazing flavor.

Start with a pound of dry beans. I like pinto, but navy beans or great northern beans would work well, too. Rinse the beans and quickly look them over for any debris. Place them in a large pan and add enough water to cover the beans by about two inches. Cover with a lid and allow these to soak for 6 to 8 hours. Most people find it easiest to let them soak overnight, but you could easily start them early in the morning and they would be ready to cook before dinner time. This step takes no active cooking time, but it does require enough forethought to start the soaking process.

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Every Day Life: How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Ways...

By Beth M

As Lara has mentioned in her most recent article, we don't get to see each other a lot. We live 101 miles apart and both have jobs and families and lives away from each other. This is why we like to make the most of the time we can spend together, from scheming how to best take over the world to vegging out watching Lord of the Rings commentaries. Lara probably knows me better than anyone, save my mother, and even then it's pretty close. We've been friends since the 6th grade, which was 20 years ago now. WOW! That makes us sound so old! But, if recent history is anything to go on, Lara and I will never "be old" in the traditional sense of the word. We will continue to have as much fun as humanly possible as the years go by. We will continue to, in the words of my 14 year old daughter, "have too much fun."

For my next article, I've decided to take a more serious note and tell you all some of the things I love best about Lara. Now, some of them might be funny, or confusing to you, but they mean something to us. And this is in no way a comprehensive list. That would take too many pages and I'm pretty sure my fingers would fall off from typing long before I ever got to the end. Also, Ginny probably wouldn't want an article THAT long on the blog! We all need a friend like Lara in our lives, so here we are, 25 things I love about Lara:

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