By Joyce Wachsmuth -- My mother, Mildred, passed away 12 years ago on December 9, 2002 of a heart attack, and it was a complete shock. We had just returned from the Philippines and stopped over in Hawaii to be with my parents for Thanksgiving. I had never been home for Thanksgiving since I left...
By Tanner Woolf -- This last Thursday, my wife and I found ourselves spending our Thanksgiving in a beautiful home with 12 people who were complete strangers to us six months ago. If you would have asked Kendall and I before we got married how we thought we would be spending our first major...
By Janet Nordlund -- “Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!2 Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!3 Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4 Enter his gates with...
By Janet Cabascango -- We are so grateful to be in the Stephen Ministry at Greater Portland Bible Church. One Stephen Minister said, “I enjoy the close bond formed in my Stephen Minister group and now the opportunity to see God working through us as we give care. I thank God that I am...
By Janice Fry -- There are many references to and about the poor in the bible. Many of the references are about always having poor in this world. In Luke 11:41 it indicates that being generous to the poor can be an indication of what is happening on the inside of us. Many of the Shoppers...
By Wayne Williams -- I know, I know, I know. Every year we complain about how much earlier the stores begin their Christmas push. We all do it. So much so that complaining about it has become one of our holiday traditions. You would think that we wouldn’t be surprised anymore by how soon...
By Katie Gjurgevich -- Jay and I planted a church in a small city in Arizona back in 2008. Our team consisted of ten people who had the same passion and calling as us to reach the city of Maricopa. The city was essentially a bedroom community thirty minutes from Phoenix with one way in and one...
By Mark Nordlund -- “Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”-Francis Chan What am I “succeeding” at in my life? I once did an exercise where I wrote down what I considered to be my highest values...
By Sally Bland -- Our children are maturing quickly, much faster than James and I would like! Isaac is counting the days until he can get his learner’s permit, and Violet is learning how to negotiate the emotional craziness of junior high. As our children grow older, James and I realize...
By Caris Power -- unsung hero | noun Someone who does a great job yet receives little or no recognition for that. An unsung hero usually refrains from claiming too much in return for his/her efforts. We love our heroes, don’t we? The Marvel and DC comic empires have made...