Articles Tagged 'Children'

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It's the Little Moments

He grasps those little moments so well. Pulls the kids close, chooses to go play frisbee or a game of Uno, just because.

Melissa Troyer writes insightfully about her husband, Daniel, and his way of seizing small moments to be there for his family despite being in a very stressful time in grad school.

A Day of Surprise?

Things are not always the same. You wake up in the morning, and things are changing every day.

Paul Faulkner reminds us to greet each day as a gift of something fresh, new, and something that has never happened before or will again.

Leaving a Legacy of Faith

What can we really leave our children?

Paul Faulkner talks about four gifts that we can give our children to pass on to them a living legacy.

A Fork in My Path

...make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.

Ben Steed chronicles his trip with Compassion International to Ecuador.

Hope in our Messy Days

Parenting cuts deep to the core. It lays open our needs before God, and we can either resent it or embrace the powerful cleansing that comes from God's purifying fire

Melissa Troyer reminds us that life's messes should drive us to our knees and open our hearts to the love, grace, and freedom of God!

Sky, Dirt, and Dreams Unfolding

Buried deep in the earth of our hearts, God has buried dreams and hopes. While they lie under the surface, they ARE there.

Melissa Troyer shares her insightful, home-loving momma whose meditations about life, family, and faith help us grab what is most important in life.

ToGather: Children of God! (July 31, 2022)

Jesus came to earth, lived as one of us, and died a horrible death of shame and humiliation on the cross so we could be in his family.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in an online, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to celebrate and focus upon what it means to be a child of God who can approach Jesus as an older brother and God as Abba Father.

Peace in This World?

We were not created for war, fighting, and death. No wonder our souls gasp for justice and a peaceful community.

Melissa Troyer reminds us that our world is broken and full of chaos, but we can find peace in this world in Jesus.

ToGather: Christ at the Center (June 19, 2022)

We choose to follow our Lord's example and submit our desires to the needs of others.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in an online, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to celebrate Father's Day and Juneteenth, and also focus on the practical ways we live in relationship with others with Christ at the center of

Our Holy Mundane

Children, chores, and never-ending responsibilities bring opportunities to turn our selfish hearts back to God.

Melissa Troyer writes about the pressures of daily life for a mom whose husband is in P.A. school, money is tight, and children are calling, all the while Jesus is near.

ToGather: Precious and Priceless (April 24, 2022)

The value of a gift isn't the financial expense of the gift but the personal sacrifice made to give it!

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us just how precious we are to the Lord and how greatly we matter to Him.

Starting Over Having Learned Lessons from the Past

We AREN'T enough, but He is. It is the goodness of the Lord that brings us nose-to-nose with our desperate need for Him.

Melissa Troyer combines her journey through motherhood, her realization of inadequacy, her belief in God's sufficiency, and the willingness to teach using our own failures.

Before the Red Sea Parts

Life is as full of beauty as it is uncertainty if we open our eyes to see the divine fingerprints of grace.

Melissa Troyes writes with beauty about God’s touches of grace on a trip to New England with her family as she wrestles with the grief over an aunt who is gone too soon and the uncertainty of the future of her family and where they will live.

ToGather: Waiting in Expectation (September 19, 2021)

We trust in Jesus' promise to return in victory for us and bring God's new heaven and new earth.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to remind us of God's greatness and Jesus' promise to take us home to the Father and reveal us as God's adopted children and heal our broken wo

ToGather: Proof of My Identity (August 15, 2021)

God has provided each of us the ultimate proof of our identity: the Holy Spirit living inside of us!

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to reassure us of our victory through Christ because of the Holy Spirit's presence within us as God's children.

Inheritance Day

Melancholy or anticipation? We are part of a great cycle of inheriting from our grandparents and parents as well as passing on to our children and grandchildren

Philip Gulley talks about inheriting things from his grandfather and what it means for inheritance day to come.

This Sanctuary

I think if I had known all we would face, I couldn't have breathed. Except for one thing. God would be with us.

Melissa Troyer writes powerfully and poignantly about the journey she and her husband, Daniel, have traveled to live love and mission and family, together, finding God as their sanctuary.

What Really Matters

What would you take if our house were burning down, and, if everyone were already out of the house?

Melissa Troyer reminds us that things are just things, but if we have people we love then we have what matters most!

Live Beyond

I invite you to join me in living beyond the horizon of our children's faith!

Phil Ware writes about leaving a legacy with his children and grandchildren to pass on faith and be passionate disciples of Jesus.

When Easter Feels Messy

Maybe your Easter was picture perfect and everything you hoped it would be. Or, maybe you found yourself too far away to see or hear anything clearly.

Melissa Troyer shares her busy and messy Easter morning when she arrived in a mess and exhausted from the messiness of the morning only to meet Jesus there.

ToGather: Time to Reclaim the Joy! (April 4, 2021)

Jesus is our source of joy because he lives and he's coming back to take us home with him.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to glorify God as we remember Jesus' triumph over sin, death, and hell through his resurrection from the dead.

ToGather: The Spirit Helps Us Pray (March 28, 2021)

Prayer can be an incredible blessing for us as God's children. However, prayer can also feel frustrating and bewildering to many who are trying to follow Jesus.

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to glorify God as we remember that prayer is about relationship and Jesus has given us the Holy Spirit to help us know our hearts are heard.

ToGather: Crying Abba! (March 21, 2021)

Since God so carefully created our world with splendor, how much more will he not also care for us as his beloved children?

Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to glorify God for making us his children and promising to never leave us.

In the Face of Uncertain Odds

Don't focus on the building waves or let the pitching boat convince you otherwise.

Melissa Troyer reminds us of Jesus who brings peace in the worst of storms, both the early disciples in a boat and us in our troubled world.

Red Boots and Christmas

How do we give the gift of legacy this Christmas, and not just give more stuff that will end up in a landfill a few years from now?

Phil Ware remembers his Daddy Gordon and several Christmas memories that ensured his grandfather passed on a legacy of love and faith despite his few years of life.