“Pearls are formed when a natural or artificial irritant enters a mollusk (oyster or mussel), prompting it to secrete a protective, crystalline substance called nacre (a mixture of calcium carbonate and proteins) to coat the intruder. This layer-by-layer coating process, occurring over months or years, creates the lustrous gem, with cultured pearls involving human insertion of a nucleus.” — (Google info through AI) Isn’t that interesting? The process is much longer than I tho

Eight years ago, my dad passed away. Six years ago, my mom started having medical problems. It was a lot for me because I was the one taking all of this on. At one point, I thought I might be starting to have a mental breakdown because I was feeling stressed and helpless. I felt as though I just couldn’t catch up because I had a family to take care of as well. Everything felt heavy. But something happened. I suddenly realized how much I needed God to take things from me, and

We had such a wonderful time connecting and serving with our newest CROP member, Isaiah 117 House . According to their website, when children are removed from their homes out of concern for their safety, they are usually brought to a child welfare services office to await placement. This wait can last anywhere from a few hours to several days. During that time, children often arrive with nothing, feeling scared, lonely, hungry, and wearing dirty clothing. Isaiah 117 provides

Our Solution or His? Have you ever had a problem, and tried every solution you could think of to fix it, and then, as a last resort, asked God for help? We all have because we want to be the one to fix them. This is a simple example, but one time my mother-in-law misplaced her wallet. She looked everywhere and was convinced that she had left it somewhere, so she was going to call and cancel all her cards and get new ones issued. She let us know what was going on because she n

Hopeful Anticipation Hopeful anticipation — a seed of hope — something we are certain will happen because of faith. We come to know that this hope is true when we grow closer to God and when we trust in Him with all that we are. There is hopeful anticipation because we have a Father who loves us, knows us, and is always with us. We also have a little book called the Bible to help back up God’s promises, and through the history given, we know that God is the same yesterday, to

I cannot tell you how many times I was more willing to do something when someone wanted to guide me than when someone just told me what to do. This is human of us, right? We don’t like being told what to do, and when that does happen, we are more likely to become bitter and defiant. But if we are asked nicely and then guided, we will be more willing and obedient. Throughout the Bible, we read many passages where God and Jesus are very direct, but in that directness, there is