In the spring of the year, before Wayne died, we would often find ourselves driving through rural Southside Virginia. Dominating the landscape were fields plowed and ready for crops or just showing signs of something growing in neat, parallel rows that seemed to go on for miles. Occasionally I would see an unplowed field or one covered with bright green grass. They were called "Fallow Fields".The ...  Read More

In a recent meeting, our good friend David Messick did some quick research and discovered something interesting about our community. As many of you know, our church, like most churches, is made up mostly of older adults, although we have a good number of children and youth – not enough, but many more children and youth than we have of people between the ages of 20-65. It turns out that Hampton als...  Read More

Now that Easter is through, we are sliding through a few special days – Mother’s Day, Pentecost, Father’s Day, and then we’ll be staring at summer again! But long before any of those days arrive, I have a plan to help us be ready for whatever comes – learning about how the Holy Spirit works and how we can work with the Holy Spirit from the master teacher – the apostle John.One of the things Pastor...  Read More

These last few days have been a breath of fresh air after all the rain early March brought us. Michael and I have been busy with yard work that somehow gives us a new perspective on the landscape around our house and brings ideas for far too many projects. Yet being in the fresh air energizes us; it isn’t until we stop that our muscles begin to protest the arduous activities of tilling, shoveling,...  Read More

Surprised, I looked closer at my knee. Yes, there it was, after all these years: the scar still with the cinders that Dad was not able to clean out when I fell off my bike onto the unpaved road I grew up on. Not that he couldn’t have cleaned them out; I was crying and screaming so hard that my tenderhearted Dad couldn’t bear for me to continue to be in pain.When I think back to that event seventy ...  Read More

Last month, I ended with this quote: “He who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) I want to pick that thread up this month. Will God complete the work begun in us? How is that possible? If the goal is to become perfect in love so that everything we do is informed by our love for Jesus and neighbor, can it even happen? After all, Jes...  Read More