“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” -Jeremiah 29:11 I have spent so much time and energy in planning mode: rewriting to do lists, juggling calendar requests, running from one event to the next.Continue reading “Time for Comfort: Making Peace (Jeremiah 29:11)”
Author Archives: shergerber
Time for Joy: Responding with Compassion (Psalm 23)
“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil, for you are with me.” -Psalm 23:4 So much pain in our lives comes from trying to control things that we have no control over. Ultimately we can only control our own behaviors. While we can’t choose what happens to us or evenContinue reading “Time for Joy: Responding with Compassion (Psalm 23)”
Time for Comfort: Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow (James 4:14)
“Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring.” -James 4:14 “Anticipation is half the realization,” my grandma once told me when I inquired why she was so opposed to surprises. My maternal grandmother was a wonderful and warm woman. A hard worker and prayer warrior, I don’t think she knew a stranger! WhileContinue reading “Time for Comfort: Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow (James 4:14)”
Time for Joy: Soul Care (Luke 10:38-42)
“…you are worried and distracted by many things, but few things are needed…” -Luke 10:41-42 Any number of tasks and to-dos vie for our time and energy. Often the things that bring us joy, sustain our hope or even meet our own basic needs get pushed to the bottom of the priority list. Making space forContinue reading “Time for Joy: Soul Care (Luke 10:38-42)”
Time for Comfort: Facing Our Limits (Genesis 1:14-15)
“And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so.”Continue reading “Time for Comfort: Facing Our Limits (Genesis 1:14-15)”
Time for Joy: Priorities (Ecclesiastes 3:1)
“For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1 While the advent of modern conveniences was to make life easier for us, the lived reality has been that instead of increased free time, we now expect to be able to accomplish more things within the given hours ofContinue reading “Time for Joy: Priorities (Ecclesiastes 3:1)”
Spiritual Practices: Hopeful Future (Comfort- Luke 24:33)
“It is true! The Lord has risen.” -Luke 24:33 One of the gifts of faith, is being grounded in the hope of a good future. Even when our circumstances are challenging, the stories of scripture remind us of God’s faithful presence and the promise that this is not the end of our story. When peopleContinue reading “Spiritual Practices: Hopeful Future (Comfort- Luke 24:33)”
Spiritual Practices: Processed Past (Joy- Luke 24:32)
“They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” -Luke 24:32 The couple smiled lovingly at each other; an incredible seascape spread in panorama behind them. “I am thankful to have been where I have been and to notContinue reading “Spiritual Practices: Processed Past (Joy- Luke 24:32)”
Spiritual Practices: Processed Past (Comfort- Luke 24:32)
“They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” -Luke 24:32 “What was your biggest ministry mistake?” he asked. Famous for put-you-on-the-spot questions, my colleague seemed to relish the look of horror that crossed my face as all theContinue reading “Spiritual Practices: Processed Past (Comfort- Luke 24:32)”
Spiritual Practices: Series Introduction
“Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and talking with each other about all these things that had happened…But we had hoped that he was the one…” -Luke 24: 13-14, 21 I don’t know that I have ever had a favorite scripture.Continue reading “Spiritual Practices: Series Introduction”
some comfort and joy 