What Would You Ask God?

As the director and one of the teachers of H2Grow (Kids Program), I have learned to surrender and trust God, a lot. I am honest when I say these words: “I don’t know, I just work here.” The reason I say these words is because God is the ultimate one who leads and does everything. I am just a passenger along for the ride. I have a short testimony to share:

This past Sunday (January 18th), I had such a wonderful time discussing with the kids. We spent nearly the entire 20 min

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When Life Stinks

The fields around Tulare are vibrant with new growth. Rain and cooler weather have helped things along. So too have the nutrients put into the dirt through modern fertilizers. There are fancy chemicals and sprayers that get the job done today, yet not so long ago most farmers relied on the spreading of manure by hand. It stunk but it worked. Plants grew, producing plenty of goods for the supermarket and our fridges. Sometimes the smelly, hard parts of life inevitably bless

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Havens-Hope

We begin this story with Elijah, a servant of the one true God. In which he goes town to town, wandering looking for his hometown; for he once awoke from his sleep to find himself lost, only with his sword, and small shield. Along with the clothes on his back. Now on his journeys he helps whatever towns he comes across spreading the good news of Christ from the sacred scriptures he holds near in his heart. We find Elijah in Havens-Hope; a large town with many fields for ma

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Merry Christmas!

“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. 11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10-12, NLT).

After picking my daughter up form the bus stop, she remarked that Christmas is only six days away. She then went on to recall the time she had announced

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Come Let Us Adore Him!

Once upon a time on a quiet night when the world seemed ordinary and weary, a song broke through the darkness:

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come.”

And ever since that night, every December has carried a certain wonder. As lights begin to glow and the chill sets into the air, our hearts lean instinctively toward reflection. It’s as if something ancient and holy whispers beneath the surface of all our busyness, drawing us back to what truly matters. Drawing us back to worshi

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Waiting for God

A Christmas skit by H2Grow Kids at First Church of God, Tulare

We are all waiting for something, most of the time. Whether it’s sitting in a dentist office waiting to have our teeth examined. A doctor’s office waiting to hear the results of our tests. The long line at the store clerk counter. The list goes on. 

Sam and Sarah have long awaited this year’s Christmas Party and seeing their close friends. There’s just one problem. It’s been raining for days, and now they are stu

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Close Call

In a zip the red sports car appeared from behind some slow-moving traffic and approached our bearing as we attempted to turn left for a gas station amid a trickle of vehicles behind us and jammed up beside us on our right. There was nowhere to go but straight into the oncoming motorist, so I braked to halt the collision and had a sudden, wild idea that my right leg, which was firmly planted on the brake, could somehow ward off the potential wreck as if by itself and apart

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The Shepherd

The Shepherd

    There, in the middle of the dark, cloudy forest, searching endlessly for where to go, stands the sheep. 

    Thoughts had gone dark. The joy that the sheep once felt standing with the shepherd had faded. One moment, one little distraction turned the sheep’s head, and all of sudden, the shepherd was nowhere in sight.

    ”What happened?” wondered the sheep. “Where do I go from here?”, “How do I find the way?”, and on and on the questions kept turning in the sh

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Fields of Nightmares may be Redeemed

One day Cain suggested to his brother, “Let’s go out into the fields.” And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother, Abel, and killed him (Genesis 4:8).

I held the dying bird in my young hands. It was light, as if it were nothing but soft feathers and terrified eyes darting for a moment into mine then above and beyond to some far off branch with beak wide open, gasping and panting for air. And then, as quickly as I had picked it up from under the bay window,

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Walk With One Another

Harmony is as refreshing as the dew from Mount Hermon

that falls on the mountains of Zion.And there the Lord has pronounced his blessing,

even life everlasting.

-Psalm 133:3

At the dawning of each morning is a new day full of potential and the ever present need for calm and order. The labor that beckons you out of your comfortable bed can be a joyful affair amidst mundane tasks and difficult situations calling on your capacity to problem solve. There are mountains and valleys

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Say It

Say It

A new five part sermon series on what matters and what's worth saying.

Waiting in line at a pharmacy, a young man struck up a conversation with an older couple. They began as most people do and chatted about the weather, the long line up and eventually touched on the overall pace of life. For the young man life couldn't move quick enough. He was generally anxious about all sorts of things and often found himself somewhat distracted. The older couple reflected on the m

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What About You?

What About You?

    Stress. Anxiety. The never-ending feeling of being behind. How often do you experience these in your daily walk of life? 

    It’s human nature to get caught up in the busyness of every day. It’s normal to desire for everything to go smoothly in your life. We all want that. The harsh truth is life never will be completely smooth. You will never have all the answers. We never have control of anything. But, then there’s God. 

    I’ve heard friends say, “Wha

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Are You Open?

I’ve had this love for yellow Eastern tiger swallowtail butterflies ever since I can remember. It always seemed like they followed me. When my great grandmother was in the hospital, she had pulled my sister aside and shared with her: “When I die, I’ll come back as a yellow butterfly.” Ever since my sister shared that with us, our family has thought of my great grandmother when we would see one. 

Whether I would be on my high school campus, my college campuses, o

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A New Day All Over Again

In 1738, John Wesley had an experience with Jesus that profoundly changed his life. He writes, “In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given

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Central (Prayer) California

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (Ephesians 6:18, NLT).

There are many ideal habits within our faith but none more important than prayer. Without it we fast for mere discipline, celebrate in excess (or not at all), study God’s word for information, and attend church as if it were only a social club. Prayer is the conversation between us and God. It is the vital form of communicat

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