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This week’s reflection, Let the Little Children Know God, is from India.  I find it touching.  Perhaps you will as well. GUEST REFLECTION FROM AN INDIAN HINDU, by Subhasis Chattopadhyay December has come, and the world gets ready to greet another Christmas. But there are no Christmases and no Santa Clauses for the orphaned child.…

The disabled person (relative, friend, enemy, or other fellow travelers) does not need us to stay away. Rather, they desperately need our compassionate and engaging presence. Our task is to free up enough space so that we have the capacity to be present for them. In the final analysis, each of us is handicapped in…

Christmas turns the world upside down: what does it mean for God’s power to be “made perfect in weakness?” If you were wholly unfamiliar with the life of Jesus and listened only to what many Christians in America say today, you could be forgiven for thinking that the most important thing Christianity values is worldly…

God’s Christmas Plans We often have no idea what we are truly capable of. But God does. Of all our readings for this season of Christmas. There is none more dramatic than that of the story of Mary and Joseph. I can’t help but think that Joseph and Mary must have had big plans and…

The lion and the lamb are a classic image. In the book of the prophet Isaiah, there is a passage that says something similar to, “The lion and the lamb will lie down or ‘dwell’ together.” That is not really the correct translation (it was actually the wolf and lamb, Isa. 11:6), but it has…

I Am Thankful, this week’s Reflection, is was written by a friend, Raymond Kee, some 20 years ago.  I hope you find it as useful as I have. Blessings and Peace, Chaplain Allen chaplain@nationsu.edu chaplainscorner.org   At this season of the year, we hear and say a lot about being thankful. Psalms 92:1 reads, “It…

We are one I recently heard an interesting question. Are we the one people of God? Or are we people of the one God?  The answer to this question will say a lot about how a person relates to other believers and also how he or she views the Body of Christ. A preacher friend of mine…

The Unwanted Gift of Grief, is an excellent book once published by a friend of mine, Tim VanDuivendyk. What an odd assortment of words! Have you ever thought of grief as a gift? Not many of us begin with that perspective. He writes that his book is an effort to help anyone who has suffered loss…

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27 This morning I broke my car. I hit a curb in the dark during a thunderstorm and blew the front right tire. The car…

(I share this Reflection, Brilliant Autumn Leaves, each year in the early autumn, about the time the leaves in the northern hemisphere begin to change color.  So, here it is!) A few years ago my wife and I enjoyed a ten day trip to New England where we were able to experience the brilliance of…