God Bless This House

January 19th, 2022 by Dr. Larry Selig

In 2002 when we felt the Lord call us to move to the Orlando area to be closer to all of our children and grandchildren, we first had to sell our home in Pittsburgh to afford our new Florida home.

No offers came for several months, until a husband and wife came one evening, looked quickly at the home, spoke to me briefly, and left. I said to Ida that I strongly felt this was the couple who would be the buyers.

Kids and Computers:  Spending Your Resources

June 29th, 2021 by Sara Buffington

This summer my rising 10th-grade son, Levi, is teaching kids how to code.

When he was 9, a NASA engineer friend held a class for kids 8-12 who wanted to learn how to code using the program Scratch.  This program was designed by MIT to take the principles of coding and present them in a user-friendly way (almost like stackable Lego blocks).  Levi took to the program like white on rice.

Since then he has made all kinds of games, animations, and graphics with the program.  He loves it!  Now he is learning formal coding languages.  Learning Scratch sparked something in him—passion.

What do you do with a passion?

Love Your Neighbor. Change the World.

June 22nd, 2021 by Erica Stephenson

Rhythms. Our recent Sunday morning messages have been centered in how the good news of Jesus is meant to be shared rhythms of friendship and blessing. In “routine exchanges between friends and neighbors.” 

Who Is the Best?

Jesus was the best at doing this. He started with prayer. He intentionally listened and people were heard, known, and loved. He was always up for a good dinner party with friends and neighbors. He laid down his crown and put on an apron day in and day out while he walked this planet. And he was the best at sharing good news – whether tangibly or in word.  

Your Story, Our Story, God's Story

June 15th, 2021 by Barb Buffington

Carl and I were at the Orlando Airport ready to board our plane for our adventure to the Grand Canyon. It was bustling, people everywhere all around, standing, some sitting on the floor and all eager to get going!

There was a dad, 2 moms and 2 toddlers next to us, and it was quite a scene! The adults were all glued to their phones, while the children were running around out of control, trying to open the emergency doors at our gate, climbing into the baggage carts, and screaming – parents didn’t seem to notice or care. Lucky the kids were still around when it was time to board!

Then, the announcement came…Flight to Chicago is delayed due to weather. UGH!  Three hours later we took off, and I thought: 1. Please may I NOT be sitting by this family on the plane, and, 2. If this is a preview of how our trip is going to go, perhaps we should go home now!

Well, glad we kept on going!  We had a great trip to the Grand Canyon via Chicago, then on to Amtrak, and our destination was the Grand Canyon – 32 hours on the train! Along with stunning scenery, we met some interesting folk, who each gave us a gift in sharing a story; allowing us a glimpse of God at work in His children. Here are just a few of the stories we heard last week…

Serving God…How I Put My Toe in the Water

June 8th, 2021 by Tracy Harper

When I was a young mom in my late 20’s, I was a church attender, but not involved in anything but my presence each week.  My son, Ian, was an infant and we frequented the nursery and a church pew. One day, out of the blue, I received a phone call at work. Fr. Andy, our Assistant Priest, wanted to meet me for lunch to discuss a problem. Curiously, I said “Okay.”

Let Silence Do the Work.  Then Listen.

May 26th, 2021 by Sara Buffington

I am a nervous talker.

If there is an uncomfortable moment, a dramatic pause, a conversational lull, you can count on me to fill in the gap with chatter.

Once I was given a massage gift card by a relative.  During the massage, I was so uncomfortable being touched by a stranger that I talked through the whole experience.  60 minutes of my incessant talking. 

It was awkward, not relaxing.

For me, silence is a hostile stranger, not a friend.  

So these words slap me on the hand:

"Saying nothing sometimes says the most." -Emily Dickinson

"A fool is known by his speech and a wise man by his silence." -Pythagoras

"The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly-timed pause." - Mark Twain

If I want to love my neighbor by listening to them, I have to let silence do its work.

How to Make Disciples Like Jesus Did

May 11th, 2021 by Lee Grady

In early 2020, two months before I ever heard the word "coronavirus," I stopped at a convenience store near my house in LaGrange, Georgia, to fill up my gas tank. When I went inside to grab a few items, I noticed the clerk had a thick Indian accent. "What part of India are you from?" I asked.
The man seemed surprised that I knew his ethnicity. He asked: "You know India?"

Looking Up and Looking Out This Summer

May 3rd, 2021 by Sara Buffington

What do you associate with summer?  Here in Florida, we get to do certain summer activities year round, like go to the beach or barbecue.

I do go to the beach year round, but I only go in the water in the summer!  I hate cold water.

One of my favorite things about the summer: the fruit.  When the watermelons go deep, deep on sale, my heart skips a beat.  It is my favorite fruit by far.  When I was pregnant with my third child, I cut up an entire watermelon, propped the bowl up on my swollen belly, and ate the entire thing while I watched So You Think You Can Dance.  

Ah, summer memories…

This year New Covenant has a new way to launch into summer.  It involves looking up and looking out.

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?

April 28th, 2021 by Sara Buffington

Did you grow up on Sesame Street like I did?  Then perhaps you too know the song:

Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
Say, who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet each day

It’s an outdated song because we don’t meet the people in our neighborhood each day.

At least I don’t.

I live in Winter Springs Village.  It has green spaces, a community pool and mailbox area, and front porches on every house.  My family has the smaller sized home—a bungalow—and our houses sits on a zero lot line.  That means I can almost reach out and touch my neighbor’s house.

And I still don’t know my neighbors.

We live in an age of looking down at our phones, electric garage door openers, and minding our own business.  Gone is the neighborhood economy (“May I borrow X?”) and the front porch leisure while kids play on the sidewalk.  With the pandemic, talking to strangers is more than odd—it’s hazardous.  

Is this a problem?  Not for some, but it is for me.

Because God tells me to love my neighbor.  

The Good Neighbor

April 14th, 2021 by Ruan Humphrey

“And Who is my neighbor?”

WHY DOES HE DO IT?

Two days a week, our trash goes out to the side of the road. On one of those days the recyclable containers are added. Once the cans are out, they are forgotten, even if the big noisy collection truck is heard.

Later in the day, the emptied cans appear near our garage. Who brings them up?

It has to be one of our neighbors.

Subscribe To Our Blog

Recent Posts

Categories

see all

Tags

see all