Updates

Dear SCC & Friends, By standing firm… ~Luke 21:19 Reflection #265                  Have you ever been accused of being stubborn? Better yet, has anyone ever complimented you for being tenacious? One’s a negative dig while the other a positive affirmation. What’s the difference? Stubborn is beingobstinate, rebellious and self-willed. Tenacity is about grit, fortitude, backbone, resolution and courage. Tenacity is a virtue that speaks of ongoing courage and faith in the midst of challenge and struggle. He gives strength to…

Dear SCC & Friends,   …Press on… ~Philippians 3:14   Reflection #264   There are occasions when we can look smart without trying. I had just finished a meeting to file my taxes, and had some spare time and decided to read in my car. Shortly thereafter, another car pulled up next to me, and the driver asked what I was reading. I said, “Waiting for Snow in Havana.” He gave me a funny look, as if it was a…

Dear SCC & Friends, …Faith delivered once and for all… ~Jude 1:3 Reflection #263                  Faith is like radar which sees through the fog–the reality of things at a distance that the human eye cannot see. ~Corrie Ten Boom~ Faith can be both a noun and verb. As a noun, faith refers to “the faith” which once for all was delivered to the saints. ~Jude 1:3 It is a historic record and recognition of events and traditions that have gone before us. In essence, the faith is the…

Dear SCC & Friends, Have mercy on me. ~Psalm 51:1 Reflection #262                  Keep your eyes on your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life. ~R.L. Stevenson~ I grew up with two brothers, and we were often referred to as “the three bears.” We were “good kids” but did get into our fair share of mischief and trouble. A favorite pastime was tag-team wrestling matches…whereby my little brother and myself would take on our much bigger big…

Dear SCC & Friends, Encourage one another… ~1 Thessalonians 5:11 Reflection #261                  Time and good friends are two things that become more valuable as the years pass by. It’s good to remember how meaningful and long lasting encouragement has proved to be at certain points in our lives. Encouragement comes in many forms but primarily through people…family, friends, coaches, teachers, pastors, bosses. Encouragement is essentially the act of giving courage or confidence of success to others… It inspires and…

Dear SCC & Friends, An appointed time… ~Ecclesiastes 3:1 Reflection #260                  Life is just a classroom with a glorious opportunity to prepare for eternity. ~Billy Graham~ I have been sending Reflections every Wednesday since the onset of the Covid Pandemic, beginning March 13, 2020. The very first Reflection began with a quote by Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom… Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. The Lord has sustained us through a very tumultuous…

Dear SCC & Friends, The Lord is good. ~Psalm 34:8 Reflection #259                  All that is good, all that is true, all that is beautiful, all that is beneficent, be it great or small, be it perfect or fragmentary, natural as well as supernatural…comes from God. ~John Henry Newman~ For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness to all generations. ~Ps. 100:5 He is essentially and absolutely good at all times in all places. He is the polar opposite of whatever…

Dear SCC & Friends, Who is my neighbor? ~Luke 10:2 Reflection #258                  Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can. ~John Wesley~ And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” ~Lk. 10:25 Jesus knew it…

Dear SCC & Friends, …full of grace and truth. ~John 1:14 Reflection #257                  The devil doesn’t care which side of the horse you fall off, as long as you don’t stay in the saddle. You need to ride the horse with one foot in the stirrup of truth and the other in the stirrup of grace. ~Luther~ I hate to admit it, but “more than once” I’ve been right in judgment and wrong in my spirit. In other words, we are very…

Dear SCC & Friends, Have this attitude…~Philippians 2:5 Reflection #256                  There are a myriad of adjectives to modify the word attitude…bad, rotten, self-serving, lazy, mean, negative or even disgusting. Conversely, an attitude may be objectified as good, kind, exemplary, positive, selfless and inspiring. Our general attitude is our point of view as revealed by our thoughts, words and actions. It emerges out of our inward disposition towards people and circumstances. In aviation, attitude refers to the orientation of an…

Dear SCC & Friends, The secret of the Lord…~Psalm 27:14 Reflection #255                  A secret is something kept or meant to be kept unknown or unseen by others. Conversely, some secrets are meant to be shared. People often ask an older couple who have been married for many years, “So what’s your secret?” An aspiring businessman might ask an established executive, “What’s the secret of your success?” In that sense, a secret is not something not to be known, rather…

January 15, 2025 Dear SCC & Friends, …the stability of your times. ~Isaiah 33:6 Reflection #254                  Our world is in a constant state of flux. Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday. Stability may be defined as being firm, solid, steady and secure. It’s evidenced as we look at the unwavering quality of marriage vows, which serve as the bedrock for mutual love and commitment… Marriage vows are a shared covenant that transcend the changing circumstances of life that come…