Monthly Archives: September 2016

“With angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim, we praise your name and join their unending hymn.” With that introduction we sing, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of power and might.” Does it inspire you that we are worshiping God with … Continue reading →

As a musician, I appreciate a song with a beautiful or upbeat melody.  As a student of theology, the lyrics to a song are especially important to me when choosing music for worship.  At Wednesday Worship, JOY has a couple of … Continue reading →

I have always been faicinated by the way I do things without thinking about it, just having faith in the expected result. Think about it– how many things in your life you do without any deliberation. This type of daily … Continue reading →

Talking with Pastor Roy, Iris and Charlie yesterday evening, Charlie quoted the saying of an Iowa farmer, “I am in charge of nothing and responsible for everything.” What a great description of the Christian life. Wait, you might protest, in … Continue reading →

My grandfather’s clock just struck eight. That mellow tone not only told me the time but it reminded me of my Dad. He was a hobbyist who loved to repair clocks, and a woodworker who enjoyed creating cases. When he … Continue reading →

For my birthday, my sister gave me the book Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, which was the motivation for the Broadway musical by the same name.  Although it was heavy reading (three pounds in paperback?), I enjoyed it so much … Continue reading →

My sister and I both played piano growing up.  My sister was an excellent piano player, but she had one problem.  She would get so caught up and upset by her mistakes that she would forget to move on and … Continue reading →

If you’re reading this on joyocala.wordpress.com, look at the right hand side and you’ll see a list of recent posts by title.  If you click on any one of those and scroll down to the bottom of the post, you’ll … Continue reading →

In addition to praying your own words, I recommend praying the Lord’s Prayer. Using this prayer can be controversial. A friend remarked to me that she was attending a non-denominational church. She liked the music, but she missed saying the … Continue reading →

Have you ever had the feeling that no matter how hard you try, sin creeps in? 1 John 2 : 1 says, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if … Continue reading →