By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

I’ve mentioned to you about the multi-state road trip that my wife and I took this past summer.  We made it a point to stop at every state’s welcome center, if they had one, or at least at a sign that represented that particular state.  As we entered Virginia and made one such stop, we spotted this sign — L – O – V – E.  In much smaller letters, it also says, “Virginia is for Lovers.”

We use that word “Love” entirely too loosely in our world.  We love fried chicken, we love our dog, we love sunny weather, we love it when our ball team wins, and we love our spouses and children.  True love was born many, many years ago.  His name is Jesus.  Emmanuel.  God with us.  He came as a tiny helpless baby, was laid in a dirty cattle feeding trough, and became our Savior of this world.
I realize that with the way things work, you may read this before Christmas, you may not see it until New Year’s, or even after that.  But my “thought” and the message of the season remains the same no matter when you read it.  God is Love.  The Scripture says so!

God is Love.  God is Jesus Christ.  You can’t spell “Christmas” without “Christ,” and if He is Love, then you can’t have Christmas without Love.

So from me and mine to you and yours, I love you and wish you the absolute most blessed CHRISTmas you could possibly have.  Share His love like you share the other gifts of Christmas!  There’s more than enough to go around as we end this year and begin a new one.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

As my wife and I gathered with nearly 500 others on a boat that carried us through part of New York Harbor this summer, we were all amazed.  Amazed at the awesomeness of the moment.  Amazed at the thoughts of countless others who had come into our great country with this as their first vision of freedom.  We were heading toward the Statue of Liberty.

It’s true.  It isn’t nearly as large as we were led to believe by those old black and white photos in our history books years ago.  But it looms on the horizon, a statement of the freedoms anyone can enjoy by simply coming into the United States of America.

This Christmas season and into the new year would be an especially good time to focus on the Christ Child.  God our Heavenly Father descended to this earth in the form of the tiny baby Jesus.  He lived, He died, and He was resurrected for you and for me.  And all of this was done so that we could know the free gift of salvation and the freedom of being a Child of God ourselves.

I snapped picture after picture after picture that afternoon in New York.  I’d never seen that great statue before, and I may never again.  I wonder about the mental pictures that the shepherds and others took as they stood at the foot of that cattle trough turned bed and gazed upon the King of Kings.  Seeing Him for the first time was the only time it took for a changed lifetime and eternity ahead.  You see, they met the Master that day.  They were introduced to the Gospel Himself.  And they were forever changed!
Have you looked for Him?  Have you seen Him?  Have you met Him?  It only takes once, and you will never ever be the same again.

From one voyager to another in this boat we call life, may your holidays be truly blessed in His presence.
Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

I remember many Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings from my half-century-plus of gathering.  And every one of those included some of my family members.  My family is probably no different than yours.  There were the great cooks and the not-so-great ones.  There were the loud, keep-the-fun-going relatives, and there were those who preferred to simply sit and watch the nonsense.  There were those who got to sit in a privileged spot at the “grown-up” table, and there were those of us who had to wait several years to gain that honor.

Christmas gatherings included older relatives and friends that became like relatives.  The men and women swapped presents by drawing numbers.  Inevitably a number would get lost, and one of the ladies would end up with a men’s shaving kit or some such oddity.  We kids looked forward to the gadgets and things that a particular uncle passed around from his tote sack.  Then, slowly but surely, the dynamics changed.  Older ones passed on, younger ones moved on, and our memories became precious indeed.

This little sign I spotted somewhere this past summer sums it up for me, and probably for many of you as well.  “Remember as far as everyone knows, we are a nice normal family.”  I can’t help but laugh.  My crazy family might not seem nice or normal to you, and vice versa.  But if we were all alike, oh how dull this world would be!

As you gather with your “normal” (or not) family members this season, be thankful.  Thankful for the time God has provided for you to be together.  Thankful for the love that those loved ones share.  I’m personally thankful that this crazy one gets to now sit at the grown-up table — the very same grown-up table that once sat in my Grandmother’s dining room with many a person gathered around it and so many more of us waiting our turn!  And certainly I’m thankful to the Lord above for His goodness and grace upon me and my crazy family this past year.  I’m praying you experience the same blessings as you gather.

Oh, and another word.  Think about your family members.  If you can’t figure out which one is the crazy one, it’s probably you!  Thank God He loves crazy too!

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

This is a picture of two of my favorite people in one of my favorite places.  Without knowing anything else about them or the location, you would simply have to take my word that what I’ve said is true.  But I won’t leave you wondering.  Those are my parents, and they are sitting in the middle of a lavender farm at Hood River, Oregon, not far from the base of Mount Hood.

My parents are just that – mine.  Your parents, relatives, family, and friends are your favorites because they hold special meaning to you.  This place, Hood River, holds special meaning to us, as it is where my Dad was born, and it is a most beautiful place to visit.

As you think back (farther back for some of us!), especially to the holiday seasons, you perhaps remember all the family members who once gathered in droves to celebrate.  Many of these have long since inherited their eternal reward.  You remember the places, grandparents’ homes, special trips together, or family recipes that need to once again be brought out and dusted off for use!  You remember just a few of your favorite things (cue the music here with Julie Andrews singing).  And your heart smiles.
Our trips back to Oregon have been blessed ones.  My parents are still with us and continue to take one day at a time through health difficulties and those other ‘benefits’ of aging.  The majority of our crew was able to gather for this Thanksgiving – another of my favorite things – and we plan to do it again for Christmas.

Favorites.  Blessings.  God’s goodness, granted to us to through those we love and hold dear and through precious memories of days gone by.  My Dad’s mother, in particular, would be especially pleased that we’ve visited their old stomping grounds in the beautiful northwest U.S.  She would be thrilled at the family gatherings, and she would be right in the middle of the kids’ games herself.  But I believe she would be most proud knowing that her “favorites” love the Lord and continue to rely on Him daily.
God doesn’t have favorites among His children.  — Oh, but maybe He does.  Maybe we are all His favorites.

You are one of mine.

Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

It’s all the same.  We just use different words to describe it.  Some say it’s a momento,  Some might call it a treasure.  Some would say it’s an artifact.  And still others might call it junk.  Whatever the word, the fact remains that whatever it is to them, we might have other ideas.

A few years ago, a cousin who has now recently passed on to her Heavenly reward sent me a package.  The first thing I noticed was her name and return address, of course, but immediately also noticed that the box seemed to weigh nothing at all.  I ripped into it as soon as could, and I found this old hat along with a handwritten note.

It seems that her father, my great uncle, found the hat in the barn on the family property one day many years ago and brought it home with him because it belonged to his father, my great grandfather.  He held onto the hat for years, then my cousin wound up with it.  And then, because she called me the “family historian,” she thought I might like to have it.  I was thrilled, and the hat is high on a perch in my home today.  I never knew this particular great grandfather.  He died five years before I was born.  But this old broken well-worn hat became for me a connection to my family and my past.  I have many other momentos (or pieces of junk, depending on your view) from other various family members, and each have their own connection for me.

Interesting, isn’t it, that we hang onto things that remind us of our past?  And yet, our future is so much more important!  One thing the holiday season helps to do is remind us of what is most important in our lives — faith, family, and yes, good memories.

It’s okay to look back on the past.  Just don’t set up camp and dwell there.  I look to hand off some things to my kids one day.  Whether they keep them or chunk them will be their prerogative.  What I most want them to look back and remember is that their old Dad tried his best to teach them about those most important things.

Enjoy your holidays.  Make new memories.  And share the old ones as you do.  Introduce the new generations to stories of faithfulness and God’s goodness in your family!
Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

Even if you’ve never been around any pigs long enough to pay attention to their behavior and habits, you probably have seen pictures, like mine here, of pigs playing in the mud.  It seems that when we think of pigs, we think of mud and messes.  At some point, most of our mothers even accused us of keeping our rooms in a mess like a pig sty.

Pigs wallow in the dirt and muddy mire.  They seem to enjoy getting nasty, and they enjoy it very much.  As a matter of fact, these pigs are playing in the one lone mud hole in a several acre pasture.  They sought it out and spent quite a while in it.  But why?  Pigs wallow in the mud, not necessarily because they love the look, but because it makes them feel good, and they don’t care what anyone else thinks.

Too many times, we wallow in our sin.  We seek out opportunities to play in the mud and mire of the world.  And why?  For the same reasons as the pigs.  It feels good, and we don’t care what anyone else thinks.  But sin makes us dirty, it makes us stink, and it very often makes us unpresentable — all because we simply want to feel good!

Pigs are great animals.  They’re smart.  They can even make good pets.  So, don’t look down on them because they wallow in the mud.  Don’t judge them, or any one else around you, simply based on where and how they wallow.  Remember the dirt in your own life.

The grace we can all receive from God Almighty will clean us up from our muddy filth, though!  God knows I can’t get cleaned up on my own.  But praise His Name, He loved me anyway, called me to Himself, and cleaned me up.

Pigs will always be pigs.  Humans will always be sinners.  But as Christians, we answer to the One Who loves us anyway, and will forgive us of our sin every single time we choose to go wallowing in it.  Let me encourage you to bring your nastiness to Jesus today!  Wallowing in the sin of the world may look like fun, but all it will do is remind you of what a pig you are without Jesus!
Just a thought.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

This redheaded woodpecker is a beautiful sight to behold.  We actually have several different woodpeckers that frequent the property around our house and the neighbor’s, and they are entertaining to watch.  This one, for instance, was making quite a bit more racket than what I would normally hear.  So, I looked to see why.  And as you can tell, the bird was pecking on a plastic and metal television satellite dish!  No wonder it was making a racket!

My first thought was that the bird is crazy!  But the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it knew something I didn’t.  Surely there was a reason for his satellite dish knocking rant.  Surely there were bugs or worms or something hiding in the cracks or around the base.  Surely the bird had seen something to make the work worthwhile.

As a Christian in today’s world, folks will see you, and they might even hear your racket, but most certainly they will at times think you’ve lost your mind.  But what they don’t know is what they don’t see.  They don’t see Jesus, so they can’t see why we work for Him.  They don’t know the Lord, so they don’t understand why we look for Him daily.  They don’t understand what the Scripture means when it tells us to “taste and see that He is good!”  Ah, but we Christians do!

Now, I realize that by categorizing myself like this satellite-knocking woodpecker, I may have labeled myself a birdbrain.  Oh well, to be a birdbrain for the Lord is the best kind of crazy there is!

Let them look at you and wonder this week.  But, keep on pecking, looking, and searching for the goodness of God in everything.  I promise you’ll find it!

Just a thought.

By Madison Moore –

Do you ever just wish you could tell someone off for their offense against you? I do. I’m a peacemaker, which means I want to run away from conflict at all costs, but sometimes I don’t back down and I’m too quick to speak. Not just my words but also my thoughts. I find myself dwelling often on the sins of others instead of seeing that person as an image bearer, fearfully and wonderfully made and in need of grace. Because as we all know, we are just as sinful as the next person, and our eyes and hearts need adjusting to see our own messiness.  

Yesterday I was reading in 1 Peter 3 and read these verses:

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

There’s a lot packed in here, but what struck me is Peter telling Christians to bless those who do evil against them. Yes, I know that revenge belongs to God and that we’re supposed to offer grace, but, bless—that’s a lot to ask, God.

In the Greek, ‘bless’ here, means to speak well of; to praise. We do this because of the grace and mercy God has shown us in Christ Jesus. We’re imitators of Christ, and if our hearts are seeking God, the Holy Spirit will help us bless others in word and deed. Practically speaking, this could mean asking God to bless a particular person’s day, for them to have a revelation in Christ Jesus, for there to be healing in their life, and so on. Or, you can respond with kind words and a smile.

In the following verses in 1 Peter 3, Peter references Psalm 34:12-14:

For ‘Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.’”

Peter continues to warn Christians against speaking evil and urges us to seek peace and pursue it. I’m reminded of Proverbs 18:21:

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

If we truly believe that God is who he says he is, then we must believe that our words matter and hold power—that we can tear down ourselves and others, or we can speak (think and pray) words of life and follow in the footsteps of our Savior.

It’s not easy, but it’s what God has called us to do. It’s for our good and his glory, and God’s ready to bless us for doing so.

By Brad Campbell –

Just a thought to help start your week.

An old window in an old house down an old dirt road, telling of the old days.  I don’t remember my thoughts at the time I took this picture, but I do find it interesting that all of the old original glass in this window remains intact.

Here in the side wall of a grand old abandoned house is this dusty window.  Its panes are somewhat wavy.  It hangs in a frame covered with flaking paint and in need of caulking.  At one time this window, like many others, would have been raised to let in a cool summer’s breeze.  And those of us who have lived in old frame houses such as this will understand that the same window, in its closed tight position, somehow always let in winter’s cool breezes as well!

This window allowed the residents to peer outward into the yard to watch the neighbors or the occasional traffic coming down the dirt road.  The same window, with curtains and sashes pulled back, would have allowed the occasional passerby to gaze inward and observe a family sitting down to dinner or a child attempting to chase the beloved pet back outside.

Windows keep in the heat or cold, and yet they also keep out the heat or cold.  Windows allow you to see outward, and they also allow you to see inward.  The window protects but also allows some interaction.

If you compare this window to the Word of God, you might find some similarities.  The Bible allows one to see inwardly and address the needs of the soul, while it also allows one to see outwardly and apply it to a world much bigger than our little space at home.  The Word protects me from the evils of the world, and yet it gives me insight into the same things so I can be better prepared when they happen to come my way.  Through the divinely inspired Scriptures, I can see God.  And perhaps even the most beautiful thought is that He looks down, sees me through the old wavy crookedness, cracks, flaking paint, and draftiness of my life and loves me anyway!

What will He see when He looks through your window this week?

Just a thought.

By Ryan Kelly –

Have you ever felt the Lord telling you to step out and do something, only to back down thinking that you aren’t good enough? Most of us have.

The vast majority of people have a fear of failure. This is why a boy may shy away from asking a girl out on a date. This is why many dream of owning a business, but they never start one. This is why people don’t go back to school, don’t strive for the better job, and don’t speak to the stranger across the room. They are afraid of failing.

Fear can be paralyzing, and it can affect us all.

Think about this: how many people do you think God equips to do a job, for them to only refuse to follow this calling out of fear? So many people fail to witness to a non-believe because they don’t think they know Scripture well enough. So many people fail to help someone less fortunate because they don’t think they can offer enough. So many people have fear over the Lord’s calling in their life…and they fail to realize that God did not give you opportunity without also standing beside you.

Sure, there are plenty of people out there that may be smarter, quicker, more well spoken, or more popular. But are they following God’s will? Are they willing to take the chance? Remember Moses – he was likely a stutterer and was far from the “best” person to talk to Pharaoh about releasing the Israelites from Egyptian captivity. But Moses was willing where everyone else was not. They were afraid, he was not. He took what God gave him and trusted that the Lord was by his side, and in doing so he led a nation out of captivity and into freedom.

What do you think the Lord will do with you? When He opens a door for you, it is no accident that you are the one standing there waiting to go through. You must simply have enough faith in the Lord that He will help you accomplish the task set before you. And, you must deny yourself and be willing to sacrifice the time and effort that it will take to accomplish this task.

There are so many verses in the Bible speaking about fear, it’s hard to cite them all. But one of my personal favorites is 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 

Don’t be fearful of your inability to do what God wants you to do. If you are willing, He will make you able.