Habits
Lisa Schnedler
They Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes

Each year, I listen to a daily audio Bible podcast—and complete the Bible in one year. This year marks my sixth year through the Bible.

Why don’t I stop?

Every year, I learn new aspects of the Bible because each year, I am in a different place in my life, and the Holy Spirit speaks to me where I am.

The Bible is always fresh! It is always alive!

It is the only book that has a Living Spirit within it.

Each year, when I get to Judges in the Old Testament, I say, “Oh boy!” because I know what is ahead.

They Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes
Lisa Schnedler
What Passover Means to Christians

Passover begins this evening.

It is one of the most significant Jewish Holidays, commemorating when the angels of God “passed over” the Hebrews as the firstborn children and animals of the Egyptians were killed—all because Pharoah would not set the Hebrews free as God commanded.

With this final plague on Egypt, Pharoah agreed to free the Hebrews so they might begin their journey to the promised land.

God instructed the Jews to commemorate the first Passover, when they had marked their houses with blood, alerting the angels to “pass over” their homes.

Christians draw parallels in their faith,

What Passover Means to Christians
New/Renew
Lisa Schnedler
The Days After Easter...

This week, I was listening to a minister on the radio who noted that in the days after His resurrection, Jesus did not appear to Pilate to tell him that he had been wrong in ordering His crucifixion.

Jesus did not appear to the Jewish leaders and chastise them for not believing and demanding His death.

He did not appear to the Roman soldiers who nailed Him on the cross.

Why?

The Days After Easter...
Lisa Schnedler
Holy Week

Today, I was drinking in the beautiful hymns of Psalm Sunday. They are majestic, powerful, and inspirational!

Among my very favorites is All Glory, Laud and Honor. When I close my eyes and listen to the lyrics, I can feel all the emotions I imagine those present at Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. The hope. The joy. The expectation.

As Christians, we carry the hope, joy, and expectation at our Lord’s second coming. Feel this excitement. Play this song and sing along. It is a wonderful way to enter into the spirit of Holy Week.

What are some of your favorite Holy Week Hymns/ song?

Holy Week
New/Renew
Lisa Schnedler
An Irish Blessing

My mother is Irish—which makes me Irish as well!

One of my favorite blessings is The Irish Blessing, which is a favorite benediction of my forefathers—and so appropriate for St. Patrick’s Day!

It is a great blessing for everyone—even if you aren’t Irish!

An Irish Blessing

Why Churches Shouldn't Ignore Empty Nesters...

Why Churches Shouldn't Ignore Empty Nesters...

“People took it for granted,” said Ryan Burge, a pastor and researcher, that “the Golden Girls are not leaving. They’re going to be here no matter what.”

However, according to the article, Burge found that in the past few years, adults ages 55 to 64 report significantly reduced church attendance—down a full 10 percentage points. And, according to Burge’s research, “When people stop attending church these days, their pastors can’t expect them to return.”

The article also cites a Pew Research Center survey from December of 2017. According to this survey, just under half of Christians over age 40 who stop attending church feel they are still practicing their faith. This is true for only 25% of those age 18-29 who don’t go to church.

Less than a third of those over the age of 65 stopped because of a dislike for the Church.

If You Ever Wonder Why God Puts Certain People in Your Life...

If You Ever Wonder Why God Puts Certain People in Your Life...

A long time ago, in a parking lot far, far away, no. This was before there even was a Star Wars.

I was sitting in the passenger side of the old blue Dodge with my brother-in-law. This car would one day become mine, but I didn’t know that then. It was his car, for jaunts to church or seminary or other errands, not the big family car we normally drove when we were all together. He stopped by his college for some reason, and I was with him. I can still smell the SoCal heat in that car mixed with a little dust and that recently turned-off car smell. We were talking.

If there was anyone on earth that I could trust to say these things to, it was him.

At that moment, I was the unhappiest I think I had ever been.

Finding the Majesty of Easter

Finding the Majesty of Easter

One aspect of our culture that I find puzzling is how it takes the glorious and attempts to reduce it to the ordinary.

We take the day that commemorates our Savior’s rising from the dead to give us eternal life—and we celebrate it with colored eggs and bunnies.

Don’t get me wrong—I love chocolate bunnies. I look forward to coloring eggs. But, somehow, the majesty of this day gets hidden behind the mundane. This year, I am determined to enter the Majesty of Easter!

I realize that without a plan I will miss it.

Why and How to Celebrate Palm Sunday!

Why and How to Celebrate Palm Sunday!

I find the story of Palm Sunday to be a series of lessons—hard lessons—of the fickleness of people and of the forgiving and loving nature of God.

Jesus knew—He knew—that the people who were celebrating His entrance into Jerusalem would, within days, cry out for Him to be crucified. Imagine that for a moment. It is one thing to have an event in which you feel valued and appreciated – and then have people snub you. It is quite another to be at the event where people express appreciation for you and to know, right there in that moment, that those same people are going to call for your death.

How would you react?