Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
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For the past eight weeks, I have shared with you all about a nightly faith practice called FAITH5. I’ve invited you each week to “Huddle Up in Faith” with your family to share these five simple steps: 1. SHARE your highs and lows 2. READ a Bible verse or story 3. TALK about how the Bible verse might relate to your highs and lows 4. PRAY together 5. BLESS one another with the sign of the cross I’ve tried to make the case that investing just a few minutes each night to connect with your family and with God, will reap benefits in the present an...
Over the past weeks, I’ve shared about a simple five-step nightly faith practice called FAITH5. FAITH5 is a nightly ritual that helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that benefit and it only takes just a few minutes! Each night at bedtime, families “Huddle Up” to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle: 1. SHARE your highs and lows 2. READ a Bible verse or story 3. TALK about how the Bible verse might relate to your highs and lows 4. PRAY together 5. BLESS one another with the sign o...
Over the past weeks, I’ve shared about a simple five-step nightly faith practice called FAITH5. FAITH5 is a nightly ritual which helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that benefit, and it only takes just a few minutes! Each night at bedtime, families “Huddle Up” to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle: 1. SHARE your highs and lows 2. READ a Bible verse or story 3. TALK about how the Bible verse might relate to your highs and lows 4. PRAY together 5. BLESS one another with the sign...
Over the past weeks, I’ve shared about a simple five-step nightly faith practice called FAITH5. FAITH5 is a nightly ritual that helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that benefit and it only takes just a few minutes! Each night at bedtime, families “Huddle Up” to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle: 1. SHARE your highs and lows 2. READ a Bible verse or story 3. TALK about how the Bible verse might relate to your highs and lows 4. PRAY together 5. BLESS one another with the sign o...
Over the past weeks, I’ve shared about a simple five-step nightly faith practice called FAITH5. FAITH5 is a nightly ritual that helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that benefit and it only takes just a few minutes! Each night at bedtime, families “Huddle Up” to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle: 1. SHARE your highs and lows 2. READ a Bible verse or story 3. TALK about how the Bible verse might relate to your highs and lows 4. PRAY together 5. BLESS one another with the sign o...
Over the past weeks, I’ve shared about a simple 5-step nightly faith practice called FAITH5. FAITH5 is a nightly ritual that helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that benefit and it only takes just a few minutes! Each night at bedtime, families “Huddle Up” to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle: 1. SHARE your highs and lows 2. READ a Bible verse or story 3. TALK about how the Bible verse might relate to your highs and lows 4. PRAY together 5. BLESS one another with the sign o...
I notice, when talking with certain people about Christian living, it’s common for them to lose eye contact as they start searching for a way to change the subject. Actually, this is perfectly understandable. Why? Because if someone, even if they are somewhat religious, has never given their heart to Jesus Christ or made the commitment to follow him, they feel uncomfortable thinking and talking about it. Our natural mind and the Spirit of the Lord are like oil and water, as the old nature wants...
This is the third article in an eight-week series by Rev. Amy Kippen, First Lutheran Church Over the past two weeks, I’ve shared about a simple five-step nightly faith practice called FAITH5. If you missed these last weeks, no worries. Let me catch you up. FAITH5 is a nightly ritual that helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that benefit, and it only takes just a few minutes. Each night at bedtime, families “Huddle Up” to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle: 1. SHARE your highs a...
This is the second article in an eight-week series by Rev. Amy Kippen, First Lutheran Church Last week, I shared with you a simple, five-step, nightly faith practice called FAITH5. If you missed last week, no worries. Let me catch you up! FAITH5 is a nightly ritual that helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that, and it takes only a few minutes! Each night at bedtime, families "Huddle Up" to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle:...
Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 These verses from Deuteronomy have been a guiding Scripture for my ministry with children youth, and their parents over the past two decades. It names the importance of parents in the faith formation...
Identity. It’s one of major topics of conversation in our world. We debate who can define our identity. We debate the different kinds of identity. We debate how others are supposed to respond to our identity. Who’s male and who’s female? Do I get to determine for myself, or is there an absolute measure? If I can define for myself, at which age am I mature enough to draw that conclusion? What race am I? Can I choose which ones define me and which ones don’t? What about babies in utero/fetuses? Are they human? Who gets to decide that? All of thes...
The book of Daniel begins with a peculiar story. The best young men of Israel, who had been forcibly taken from their homes, are in Babylon when an edict comes to them. They are to be raised and educated in the palace with the best that Babylon has to offer for three years. At the end of those three years, they are to be tested, and the best of them will join the royal court. Among them is Daniel and his friends. The sticking point of the story comes in when the young men are to be fed. See, the officers of Babylon wanted to feed the young men...
I was watching a movie the other day based around World War I. In it, the main character was blinded for a few weeks after a passing exposure to mustard gas. This explained why, in the apex moment of the movie, the character had to be guided by his comrades. As I watched the movie, I was struck, thinking about everything he couldn’t see. As the blind soldier was guided forward, he could feel what was around him with his hands, but he had no idea how many soldiers were around him, or what the buildings looked like, or if anyone was sneaking u...
As of April, I am 15 months, and 26 months, removed from surgery on my right kidney. Long story short, the plumbing out of my kidney was kinked, and my right kidney was filling, but not draining. To have the issue resolved, I needed specialized robotic surgery at Mayo. Specialized surgery which failed the first time and had to be redone. God willing, in May, I’ll get another positive post-op. It’s been a stressful journey, and I really hope I’m done learning about kidneys from the nation’s top nephrologists (kidney doctors), but it got me thin...
Think for a minute about your answer to this question – What is the most shameful thing you’ve done? This week I want to revisit a passage I recently studied in my time with the Lord. After spending some significant time in the Old Testament, I realized I had some questions about Jesus that I needed to be answered. This prompted me to study the book of John. Below is somewhat of a long excerpt, but I think every verse is worth the read. Let’s dive into one of Jesus’ first recorded miracles, John 2:1-12. “On the third day a wedding took plac...
How many times in the last week would you say you were completely content? I know my answer isn’t what I’d like it to be. These past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind for me. Having graduated in December, I recently accepted a job out of state, and am two days away from moving (as I’m writing this). All the goodbyes, packing, working out the details, financial planning, etc., have made it easy to get pretty stressed out. This is because I’m not someone who does well with change. It usually takes a while to get adjusted and settled into th...
The spiritual difficulties I’ve gone through have usually come in waves of struggle. Something like this: getting better—same struggle—getting better, etc. I usually don’t talk about it until I have it all sorted out, and feel like I understand exactly what is happening. I’m still learning my walk with God doesn’t have to look perfect. So today, I wanted to chat a little about struggle, failure, and accepting God’s grace. First, I think it’s important to note that no matter who you are, following Jesus comes with hardships. Yes, you have a...
Kids these days, they’re so entitled. What a classic line from parents. Actually, I’m pretty sure I’ve even said this, which is funny—because recently I’ve been hit with the conviction that I’m entitled. I live like I have the right to certain comforts. Having recently graduated, I feel like I have the right to a well-paying job, a nice place to live, even to own horses again someday. Are these things I should feel entitled to? Let’s look at Philippians 2:3-8. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others...
First Lutheran Church kicked off the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday service on February 19 at 6 p.m. This year Ash Wednesday was approached much differently than in years past to assure the safety and well-being of the attendees. As members walked into the sanctuary, they were greeted at the door by helpers offering prefilled communion cups and materials needed to receive ashes. In lieu of the traditional practice of having the pastor draw a cross on the forehead of each person, Pastor Amy...
If I were to ask you, “how would you explain the central message of Christianity?” how would you respond? The gospel, put simply – Jesus living the perfect life and dying for our sins, so that we can have eternal life with God – isn’t something we learn once and then move on from. (I know, too often I’ve thought this.) Frequently, people seem to gloss over the part that we, as humans are sinful. Our culture says people are generally good but sometimes do bad things, which is inconsistent with what God says. This type of thinking is dangerous,...
Without even saying, “be not afraid,” the familiar and beloved Ecclesiastes 3 addresses fear head on. I think this is the reason Ecclesiastes is so beloved. Because it’s true. It’s true that half of life is suffering, and half is joy. It’s true that sometimes we need one decision, and sometimes we need a very different one. And sometimes we don’t know what to decide. Read here Ecclesiastes 3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up...
Fear can be a positive protective measure, and fear can morph into something destructive. When fear overwhelms us (2020 anyone?), we often tend to isolate ourselves, curving more and more inward. Scripture tells us the last thing we should do is to isolate ourselves. In Scripture’s many “be not afraid”, God sends someone to the fearful one. When we’re afraid, God sends someone to us because we need to talk about it. When we say our fears out loud, and really be honest, we can diffuse their heaviness and power on our lives. Matthew's account...
How have you experienced fear? What paralyzes you? What keeps you up at night? Psychology would tell us that fear is a natural defense mechanism, and can keep us from danger. We all have experiences where our fear kept us safe, avoided a dangerous situation, prevented harm. But that’s not the fear I’m exploring. I’m wondering about the fear that makes us feel helpless, the fear that colors our actions, that impairs our ability to move and grow, inhibits our ability to challenge the status quo. Fear that chips away our trust in anyone, or anyth...
There are 365 times in scripture that we read the words, “Be not afraid.” I’ve never gone through and counted them, so don’t quote me on it, but a simple concordance search confirms: there’s about that many. The remarkable part is to whom “Be not afraid” is spoken. It’s told to Abraham (Gen 15:1) as he is called to be the father of the nation. It is told to Hagar, the poor, servant girl, single mother, treated terribly by those in power (Gen 21:17). It’s said to warriors before they go into battle (Joshua 10:25). Sometimes God says it throu...
Quite a few years ago, about 20-25 years ago when living in Colorado, the lottery jackpot there reached an unheard of level. I don't recall the exact amount but I think it was getting close to $10 million dollars. A huge amount for a lottery back in those days. One day a colleague and I made a pact. We would each buy a lottery ticket and if either of us won, we would have to buy the other lunch at the McDonalds about two blocks from the office building where we worked. Part of the irony was that neither of us ate at McDonalds. There was a...
