I grew up in a time and place where people came to church to strengthen and sustain their relationship with the Lord. They came in obedience to the scriptural mandate to “forsake not the assembling of yourselves together.” They considered it their duty, their pleasure, and their reasonable service to faithfully attend and support their church.

They prayed for the Holy Spirit to lead them to the church of God’s choice for them – a place where they would be fed and nurtured by the Word of Truth being rightly divided; a place of fellowship with like-minded followers of Jesus Christ. So the church did not have to advertise, market, entertain, or compete to get and keep members.

I have no idea how many people actually read my blog. For those who were reading it, and interested in my sharing of my thoughts, experiences, insights, etc. – I apologize to you for the lengthy absence of new material here. My silence was not planned, and it has not felt voluntary. I have not written in a while, because I’ve been going through a very difficult time of back-to-back blows to my spirit and body – what the “old folks” in my youth would call “times of hard trials and tribulations;” times that test one’s faith and, pretty much, force one to stop, be still, and get back in touch one’s core beliefs about God.