What If They Make Fun of Me?

sblumer — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 19:32:33 +0000

Kids can be cruel to one another. It doesn’t take long for a group of kids to form smaller divisions around commonality. Girls versus boys. Athletic versus book readers. Those who have versus those who don’t. Kids are constantly pushing the ranks to see how they fit and compare with others. It’s a natural occurrence that happens throughout one’s life and predominately between 12 and … Read the rest

9 Tips for Grieving during the Holidays and a Prayer of Comfort

sblumer — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 16:50:19 +0000

For many the Christmas season is bittersweet. They want to celebrate and get into the holiday cheer, but it is a sudden reminder of sad realities. Many are experiencing failing health, or the loss of a loved one, or the guilt and shame of not having any money to buy something special for someone else. Here are some tips about grieving during the holidays followed … Read the rest

Responding to Injustice

sblumer — Fri, 05 Dec 2014 14:40:13 +0000

“This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place.” (Jer 22:3 HCSB)

Injustice is quite an interesting concept because injustice is relative according to who sets the standard of justice. Even if there is a … Read the rest

Grief: It’s normal for even Christians to cry.

sblumer — Mon, 01 Dec 2014 20:14:19 +0000

These past several months I have been leading a Sunday school class around the subject of grief. There were many people coming with all different experiences of grief. Some on more dynamic levels than others, some from very fresh experiences, and some who can testify about it some 40 years from the initial loss. In reality, they all taught me and each other about grief. … Read the rest

Busy Work

sblumer — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 19:35:22 +0000

I didn’t realize that I haven’t posted in quite some time. Many changes and challenges and joyous times has happened over the last year. God has a way of keeping us busy. Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1:13 says that it’s something grievous, burdensome, miserable, or an unhappy task that God has given us to occupy our days with. And certainly there are times that I feel … Read the rest

We Were Made For Community and Cooperation

sblumer — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 13:07:15 +0000

Recently I became the Pastor of Family and Adults at Hope Chapel. This involves several things including the organizing of Life Groups, small groups that meet during the week to share life, have bible study, and pray for one another. Our Life Group motto is “Faith lived out in circles, not just rows.” Corporate worship and learning while sitting in rows is an important part … Read the rest

Parenting: A Caution in Making Everything about being Fun

sblumer — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 00:31:57 +0000

This summer was our church’s annual VBS. VBS traditionally stands for vacation bible school. It’s a time when the church rallies together to provide a week long experience of learning about God and Jesus, particularly for elementary aged kids (although some churches have it for all ages and we did provide a place for parents, particularly moms). Because kids don’t want to associate school with … Read the rest

Teaching Your Kids about Easter

sblumer — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 16:44:12 +0000

Chocolate bunnies, egg hunts, pretty dresses, and blood shed on a cross. One of these things is not like the other. Just like Christmas, Easter is an opportunity to teach our kids about the real reason for the season. It’s pretty easy to get caught up in Easter celebrations and traditions that don’t really have anything to do with Jesus, His death, and His resurrection. … Read the rest

Fathers Makes A Real Difference

sblumer — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:40:44 +0000

One of the best relational illustrations of discipleship in the Bible is the relationship between a Father and his children. Whether you grew up with a father or not, or whether you are close to your father or not, fathers have a big impact (either negatively or positively). I’ve seen men in their 70’s and 80’s get emotional over the relationship they had with their … Read the rest

Review: The Big Picture Interactive Bible

sblumer — Wed, 19 Mar 2014 15:21:11 +0000

As a Pastor of Children and Families, I get asked often what is a good bible to buy kids? Usually, the child is at the age where they can begin reading for themselves. Now when a parent asks that question, they are wanting a bible with a good translation for kids and one that has pictures (because every book a kid wants to read has … Read the rest