The “Notes From The Valley” for this week come from Colossians, Chapter 3. I like to call it “God’s Dress Code.” The great things about this wardrobe are:

• everything’s already picked out (no shopping);
• everything fits perfectly (no dieting); and
• everything is paid for (no bills).

In the Message Translation these verses read,

“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s the basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.”

All of us have something in life that just sets us off. For me, it used to be drivers that weren’t in as big a hurry as I usually was, but wouldn’t get out of my way. I used to get rather vocal and animated towards those people. Read the rest of this entry »

The way most people approach Easter, one would think that the Easter Bunny was the reason for the holiday!

Each time Easter (or Christmas, or some other Christian holiday) comes around, I am forced to question whether the commercialization of such holidays is good or bad. On the good side, commercialization equates to advertising for the holiday and the associated event which precipitated the holiday. After all, it is a HOLY-day (the true word).

But the problem now has become that it is almost against the law to celebrate the CHRISTIAN part. The “politically correct” nature of our society has attempted to eliminate any reference to Christianity from the very holiday that has evolved from it.

We are swamped with advertisements for Easter Bunny toys & candy. Easter Eggs & colorings are commonplace. However, if you want to get something that even MENTIONS the resurrection of Jesus, you had better go to the Christian Book & Gift Store. No one else has any such an article! The same thing is true about Christmas. Many school systems have told the children that they cannot speak about the birth of Jesus. And many businesses now have “Holiday Greetings” and “Holiday Sales” rather than CHRISTMAS Greetings or sales. And have you ever seen a “Resurrection Sale” at a store?

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