Connecting With Jay (Page 3)

As many of you have noticed, our youth are gearing up for Lads to Leaders which is a leadership training program that we participate in every Easter weekend over at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.  Thousands of kids up through college age come from all over to present their speeches, lead songs, read scripture, present their art projects and scrap books as well as…

Because of the long hours I spend in my office, many of them alone, sometimes things get a little quiet. The radio on in the background breaks the silence but it is still somewhat lonely. While stretching or taking a break, I usually go to the exterior doors near my office and look out their windows since the only window in the study is quite high and about all I can see…

Dear Families in the Lord’s Church, Good morning and happy New Year 2019 to you all, we hope you’ve enjoyed God’s blessings of all kind for the year 2018. Stay faithful and keep rejoicing in Jesus-Christ our precious Savior!  2018 was good year for Mission South Haiti at the Delmas Church of…

I sat in a meeting. The discussion was heated. The conversation heavy.  Hearts were burdened. Chests were puffed. Sorrow, pain, arrogance, curiosity, humility, fear, courage, and forgiveness sat together in a single room.  As I looked around the church, I just kept thinking—Church is hard. Church is hard for the person walking through the doors, afraid of judgement.…

In the mid-1800’s, a young Irishman named Joseph Scriven was engaged to be married to a young lady. On the day before the wedding, he rode out to meet his fiancé at a river. Upon arriving, he was devastated to learn that her horse had been startled and thrown her into the water, where she drowned. He said later, “The bottom of my world seemed to disappear.” He turned to…

It made sense, after someone explained it to me, why our high school football coach would always disappear in the middle of the third quarter. I remember during my first game on the varsity squad, I looked up from the sidelines (where I spent most of my time) and noticed that he was gone. (It was a lot quieter.) I couldn’t figure out what had happened. I was afraid the…

New studies prove the benefits of giving—not just for the recipients but for the givers. Of course, you don’t donate to reap the benefits of giving. You donate because you feel love for the cause. Tennessee Children’s Home is worthy of your love. 1.    Giving makes us feel happy. A 2008 study by Harvard Business School professor Michael Norton and colleagues found that…

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as…

The name “Amos” literally means “burden bearer” and it speaks to how he felt about his message and its content. Typically, all the prophets carried a burdensome message of punishment; a message of doom and gloom. It was never easy for the prophets to know and speak for God, but for Amos, it was especially burdensome since he was not a prophet by trade. He was just a poor…

Grandma Martin had the best buns! She made the most amazing bread rolls you could ever eat. Her buns were always offered at every meal. They were golden brown, yeasty, soft, sweet, and oh so comforting. Grandma’s buns were a perfect side, a perfect sandwich, or a perfect snack. Every time to this day, when I see or smell a bread roll, I remember my beloved grandmother.…