Heart Hope by Olga

  What does your typical Christmas look like? Shopping, Baking, Decorating, Traveling, Church Services, Family and Friends? Or is it more like chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose, yuletide carols being sung by a choir? A typical Christmas may look vastly different to individuals, but if it’s typical to us it still seems right. And when things don’t go as planned it can make the season difficult. A couple of weeks ago I discovered that Apple and iTunes has hijacked my favorite Christmas music, I then arrived at church to find the kitchen flooded just as we needed to get the preparations done for the tea. Things were hinting at a different type of Christmas. And to top it off instead of being snuggled by a fire surrounded by family, I will be traveling on Christmas Day. All of those things make this a non-typical Christmas for me. Maybe your holiday is shaping up to be different this year too. Perhaps you have a loved one who is mis...

Many people are curious about their genealogy, some have it as a hobby, while a few are obsessed with it. I’m sure there are many reasons people research their family tree, but the past, the present and the future are three good ones. People want to learn about The Past – Where do I come from? Why am I like I am? They are also interested in The Present – Why am I here? What is my purpose? And they care about The Future – What is going to happen to me? What does my future hold? Who will I become? This is not a new phenomenon. It has been around since the beginning of the human race. In Genesis chapter 5 we see the first family tree and we find them scattered throughout the Old Testament. Growing up we wanted to skip over the “begat” verses thinking they weren’t important, but in God’s eyes they must be pretty significant because that’s the way He starts the first chapter of the New Testament in Matthew 1:1 it says, “A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the Son of Dav...