Forgiveness, by Dawn Marie Sable Matthew 6:12 - And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 18: 21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. From the Lord’s words it is clear that God takes forgiveness seriously. He has cleared our past and forgiven us of our debts. Jesus leaves no room for do...

This is the One We Have Waited For, by Amy Shimer I’m not a fan of running. I don’t enjoy it, I’m not good at it, and I certainly don’t ever want to compete in any kind of race that involves running. Not the LA marathon, not the Amazing Race, not even the 50 yard dash. Why compete when you don’t have a chance of winning? There are always a lot of people just waiting for something exciting to happen, and if that is me falling on my face I’d rather just give up now. I just can’t see why I...

The Small Stuff Matters Too, by John Shimer Sometimes I feel insignificant when it comes to contributing to God’s kingdom. There are many points of my life where I felt like I was not doing much of anything for God. Sometimes I think I have never done much of anything for Him because the ways that I serve Him feel minuscule. I know that God is all-powerful and will accomplish great things with (or without) us. The kingdom of God can be made real without any help from me. Yet somehow G...

Being Genuine is next to Godliness, by Marker Karahadian Romans 12:9.  Let love be genuine This last year I had a great evening getting together with some of my former employees. We missed each other and we caught up on those who could not be there. I had not seen Chris in a long time, and I asked if he had kept in touch with Juan. Juan is a brilliant guy - popular, charming, very smart, a great engineer, a great musician and a great athlete. While he worked with us, he professed ...

Sabotaging the Kingdom with….MY QUIET TIME, By Nina Huckabay I hate being interrupted….hate it. I find myself longing for stretches of time when I can just pound out my work and be done. But trying to find a stretch of time on a small campus with over 600 people walking around can be tricky and unlikely. I often find interruptions to be a nuisance, a bother, and they just…get in the way! Even when I am relaxing or am having my “quiet time” with God, I do not like to be interrupted. “Just...

Out of Control, by Joel Karahadian “For all its considerable delights, Southern California always seems faintly on the cusp of an apocalypse,” proclaimed an article in the New York Times last month. The apocalypse in question was the string of arson fires that occurred here in LA around New Years. I must admit that I was somewhat unnerved by what happened for two reasons. First, like most of us, I live in an apartment, and second, there were a number of fires set right down the street f...

An Epitaph, by Joel Larson When is the last time you walked through a cemetery? Apart from going to a couple showings of Cinespia at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the last I time I really walked through a cemetery was over a year ago in Pittsburgh, PA. Elisha and I were with my parents visiting my grandmother who lives near a pretty, cool cemetery. There’s rolling hills, and really old tombstones of people who died around the time of the Civil War. We always walk through the cemetery, not t...

Beginning Again…and Again…and Again, by Dawn Marie Sable All things are possible with God, and I will start each new day once again restored, refreshed, and ready to continue the race laid before us. I cling to that with desperate eagerness, with joy, and with great relief. I keep hoping I will change, magically morph into a different person, from a graceless Daria to a fabulous Marilyn Monroe. Instead my transformation is more akin to the fat German caterpillar in “A Bug’s Life”, ...

Identity, by Nina Huckabay Who am I? According to Oprah, your twenties are a time of finding out who you are (making mistakes in college, stretching your wings, sewing the wild oats etc.), and by your thirties, you have learned from your mistakes, gotten those wild days out of your system, and then "voila" you know who you are. Well, phooey. I think I am still finding out who I am in some ways, and, in others, I know exactly who I am. I am still surprised at what I am c...

Pausing to Ask, by Elisha Larson “Who is this from?” Claire, my two-year-old daughter asked me as I was sorting laundry in her room. I turned my head following her cheery, inquisitive little voice to see her standing over a box of baby blankets. She was touching the one on top with green polka dots, and white ruffle trim. “That is from our friend, Susie.” I replied. “She made it for you when you were born”. I turned back to my menial task, with some silent, grumbling self-talk. I cou...