When We Suffer

Here are six questions to ask ourselves when we suffer, and what to do if the answer is yes.

Q. Am I being punished by God for sin?
A. Confess known sin.

Q. Is Satan attacking me as I try to survive as a Christian?
A. Call on God for strength.

Q. Am I being prepared for a special service, learning to be compassionate to those who suffer?
A. Resist self-pity. Ask God to open up doors of opportunity and help you discover other who suffer as you do.

Q. Am I selected for testing, like Job?
A. Accept help from the body of believers. Trust God to work his purpose through you.

Q. Is my suffering a result of natural consequences for which I am not directly responsible?
A. Recognize that in a sinful world, both good and evil people will suffer. But the good person has a promise from God that his or her suffering will one day come to an end.

Q. Is my suffering due to some unkown reason?
A. Don't draw inward from the pain. Proclaim your faith in God, know that he cares, and wait patiently for his aid.

* Information quoted from the Life Application Study Bible, New International Version.

A Helping Hand

You can help stop Perkiomen Township supervisors from unethically taking away alderly residents property!

Perkiomen Township supervisors are bringing to a vote whether or not they will force two of our beloved neighbors to sell their homes against their will under “eminent domain.”

Lifelong Perkiomen residents Jim and Sue Umstead (14 Wartman, Collegeville) are being forced to sell their family’s farmhouse on 9.8 acres. Another 1.1 acre property near it sold for $130,000! Conservative estimates place their home and property value over $700,000! They are being unethically FORCED to accept a tiny fraction of that! Residents are up in arms and trying to call the community to action.

To make matters worse in this David vs. Goliath story, Mr. Umstead is fighting brain cancer. After the last township meeting he was so distraught he had a seizure and had to postpone his chemo treatment the following day.

When asked what they want to see happen in this situation, Mr. Umstead replied, “The Township has been badgering us for years to sell this property, and now it looks like they finally found their loophole. All I want to do is keep this property natural open space for my children and grandchildren to enjoy, along with our horses. I just wish there was some way this could all go away.”

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Word of the Day
edification (ed·i·fi·ca·tion): The act of edifying, or the state of being edified; a building up, especially in a moral or spiritual sense; moral, intellectual, or spiritual improvement; instruction. The assured edification of his church.

Do You Smile?

Smiling seems like such a simple thing, but we don't smile at everyone we see. Why not? If someone smiles at me, it makes me feel better and I smile back without thinking about it. Smiling is contagious. When you see someone you care about, you almost always smile at them. That is because smiling is an outward projection of how we feel about that person.

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

- Matthew 22:37-40

If we truely love our neighbor, shouldn't we smile at them? :-)

Word of the Day
loquacious (lo·qua·cious): talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous: a loquacious dinner guest.

What Would Jesus Say To J.K. Rowling?

As most of you know, J.K. Rowling is the author of the Harry Potter series. Some Christians are very against the whole idea of magic, witchcraft, and therefore, are very against Harry Potter. I have a different view. In fact, the Harry Potter books are my favorite books, and I have read them many times.


Like most fictional stories, I doubt that the author intended for anyone to take these books seriously or be influenced to study witchcraft. These stories are meant to entertain us and they do that very well.


What would Jesus say to J.K. Rowling?


I am guessing, since Jesus and I haven't had tea in several months, but I think Jesus would start by saying, "Thank you for using the gifts I gave you." God has given all of us talents and J.K. Rowling has certainly used her talents to bring joy and happiness to others.


Second, I think Jesus would appreciate the way J.K. has used her talents to spread the message of love throughout the world. Anyone who has read through the Harry Potter series can tell you that love is the main theme of the entire series. Love is more powerful and will overcome anything else.

My guess is that most of the people judging the Harry Potter books as 'evil' have not really read them. Also, we aren't really following Jesus's teachings if we judge others and throw stones at them.

Psalm 139:13-16

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

- Psalm 139:13-16

Word of the Day
quiescent (qui·es·cent): being at rest; quiet; still; inactive or motionless: a quiescent mind.

April Fools Day

For one day every year, our goal is to make people laugh or startle them out of their everyday routine. Why do we need to wait for April 1st? Why can't every day be like this. People around me are coming to expect it, so I(we) need to expand our possible days for fooling. I am now extending this wonderful holiday and it will be held from January 2nd to December 23rd. That should give us enough time.

The 5 Rules of Fooling

In my youth I may have been over the top, but I have refined my techniques and am now publishing the unofficial rules to april fooling someone.

1. Tears from laughing are good. Other tears are not.


2. Destruction of property should be avoiding at all costs.


3. Fooling someone who doesn't have a sense of humor isn't funny.


4. Wear clean underwear. It helps us all.


5. Trips to the hospital are not funny, so try to avoid them.

Word of the Day
facetious (fa·ce·tious): not meant to be taken seriously or literally: a facetious remark.

Why Music Rocks

Have you ever wondered why you nod your head during certain songs, or tap your feet for others? Me too. My 1 year old daughter and I were listening to music on Comcast, while playing. During the song Paralyzer, by Finger Eleven, I realized that my head was nodding to the beat. Then I looked over and noticed that my daughter was doing the same thing. She was not facing me, so I know that it was a reaction to the song and not a reaction to what I was doing. It must be the song.

I Need To Ask

A lot of questions have been bugging me lately, so I just need to ask.

1) Why do people keep running over something a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

2) Why is it that whenever you attempt to catch something that's fa lling off the table you always manage to knock something else over?

3) In winter why do we try to keep the house as warm as it was in summer when we complained about the heat?

4) Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

5) If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

I just need to know.

Street Signs

It can be hard to find a street sign that really explains my day.
No wait, I found one.