I have had the privilege of volunteering at Birth Choice for the past 8 1?2 years, first as a client advocate and most recently as a prenatal/ parenting class teacher. Every day that I meet with clients is a blessing for me. It's always exciting to see how God is working in every single aspect of our ministry. Some of my most gratifying experiences have been with young women who walk in without appointments. A couple of those were abortion-minded women, but each one changed her mind when she learned that her baby had a heartbeat as early as three to five weeks. These women were also given the opportunity to see their babies on untra-sound. The young ladies might not have been on my schedule, but they most certainly were on God's!...Keep Reading

On Saturday, March 21, there was a flurry of activity on what was once a sand volleyball court. About twenty-five people worked together to build six raised garden beds. Little hands hoisted tiny shovels full of rich soil into cedar boxes. A team practiced the art of measure twice (or maybe five times) cut once. One man made what seemed like dozens of trips to the hardware store for extra supplies. Altogether, a group of people representing a wide variety of ages not only built garden beds and filled them with dirt, they also laughed and played together....Keep Reading

Our church calendar has been leading us through the life of Christ as we, first, anticipated and prepared for his coming during Advent; and then second, we celebrated his miraculous arrival with the incarnation during Christmas; and then third, we reflected on the launch of Jesus' ministry into the world with Epiphany....Keep Reading

There is a crisis in our community in which the basic rights and needs of our most vulnerable citizens-our children-are being violated because the very system that is supposed to be looking out for them simply does not have the resources to do so. If I sound passionate, it's because I am. If I sound angry with the system, it's because I am. And I submit that you should be too....Keep Reading

Driving along I-40 can be stressful due to all the semis blaring by you or worse...Keep Reading

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, the God who not only created and rules heaven and earth, but it is also committed to seeing his creation fully restored, reuniting all things in heaven and on earth....Keep Reading

October was domestic violence awareness month. Last semester, I had the privilege of interning at WRAP (Women’s Resource and Rape Assistance Program), and I met some incredible survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Every survivor I met would tell me their story, and I would ask what made them decide to leave. The most common story would involve their realization that the abuse would not stop. The second most common story would begin when they left their church....Keep Reading

It’s hard for me to believe that Christmas is right around the cornerâ€"again! In this season of Advent, we are given so many opportunities to honor Christ. For the past several years, we have had the opportunity to be a part of God’s generosity through the “Gifts for the Christ Child” Christmas tree. The Salvation Army provides children’s names that are hung from the tree in our foyer. There will be 45 names to choose from, and gifts will be collected through December 21. We encourage everyone to signup and buy gifts for a child....Keep Reading

Area Relief Ministries, or ARM, is a faith-based nonprofit organization that has been around since the 1970s here in Jackson. Originally created as a collaboratively-funded nonprofit, churches across the community would give to the organization, which was then tasked with assisting individuals at risk of eviction, utility cut-off, hunger, and homelessness. Over thirty years later, much has changed at ARM, but its collaborative nature with local churches as the core has not only remained, but also grown even stronger. ...Keep Reading

The liturgical calendar tells the Christian story by marking certain moments and seasons that enable us to feel the rhythms of our salvation. Like any good story, it begins with conflict, a crisis in search of a resolution. We call this conflict Advent....Keep Reading