Author Archives: joyocala

        Hebrews 12: 1-3 “Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic … Continue reading →

This post was sent to me recently by a Christian friend and once again, I felt it was a must share item.  It came from a sermon given by Louie Giglio. A couple of days ago I was running (I … Continue reading →

No, this is not what you get from eating all the chocolate rabbits or in our case all the peanut butter cups. This is the result of an adrenaline-packed Holy Week, concluding with an awesome Easter Sunday –beginning with the … Continue reading →

You’ve heard of the Easter Bunny, but do you know about Easter insects?  First is the butterfly which begins life as a caterpillar often found crawling on plants. Then the caterpillar attaches itself in some protected place becoming a chrysalis … Continue reading →

Are you special? According to Lake Wobegon’s Garrison Keillor, if you were raised Lutheran you were taught, “Don’t think you’re something special because you’re not.” While humility is an excellent virtue, it’s not the whole story. We read in Scripture: … Continue reading →

God is all good and all powerful. Evil is all around us. Hatred. Disease. Immorality. If God created everything, how can these things be?  There is nothing empirical or scientific that can adequately answer that question. Only faith. Here’s where … Continue reading →

Our liturgical calendar designates the day after Easter as Easter Monday.  I have always been a bit baffled about the meaning of this.   Nothing wrong with continuing our Easter celebration for another day, but then we’ll actually be doing this … Continue reading →

        Alleluia!  He is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!         Matthew 28:1-10 “After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked … Continue reading →

SIN                                                                                        PAID SHAME                                                                                 PAID REGRET                                                                               PAID PAST MISTAKES                                                                PAID UNFORGIVENESS                                                             PAID HURT                                                                                   PAID ANGER                                                                                PAID – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – … Continue reading →

 Whenever I read the Passion of the Lord, I hope for a different ending to the story.  I do the same thing every time I watch the movie “Titanic.”  I can’t help but hope that the ship will miss the … Continue reading →