NEW SERMON SERIES: THE ART OF FAITH
Beginning January 12th

Yolanda Miller

A New Year's Resolution

A New Year's Resolution

When I was younger, I remember trying to make New Year’s resolutions. I quickly learned that I was the resolution-making type--but the resolution-keeping type...not so much. So, for much of my adult life, I refused to make New Year’s resolutions because they only served as blatant reminders of my impending failure and general ineptness at being Someone Who Has All Her Stuff Together.

As I grew older, I had a change of heart...

Sometimes You Just Need a Nap and a Snack

Sometimes You Just Need a Nap and a Snack

Many years ago, when my daughter was about three years old, we made the long trek from Hawaii to visit family on the mainland. At the end of our trip, we woke up at 6 in the morning to fly home. It was a bit of a milestone because my daughter was finally grown enough to walk and pull her own little rolling backpack, which meant I no longer had to deal with an unwieldy stroller.

We were a little dismayed when we discovered...

The "S" Word

The "S" Word

A few months ago I saw a bizarre sight as I drove through the suburbs of a nearby town. A woman was walking down the sidewalk, wearing an oversized t-shirt with a hand-scrawled message across the back: "I made my boyfriend eat food with spit in it." 

I surmised that either she had spit in her boyfriend's food on purpose, or for some reason or another, it was an accident. Either way, gauging from the outcome...

That Time I Hated Prayer

That Time I Hated Prayer

I have a confession to make. For most of my life, I have hated praying. I have always known it was important and, theoretically, one of the most powerful tools made available to followers of Jesus. But I rarely experienced that power in all the years I spent growing up in church, or as a volunteer and professional leader in various ministries. Prayer was my place of shame, and I struggled with the guilt of hating prayer and not doing it well, or sometimes, even at all.

For an extrovert addicted to people, prayer seemed like the worst kind of torture... 

Rejoicing and Mourning

Rejoicing and Mourning

"Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." ~Romans 12:15

I still vividly remember the day I discovered I was miscarrying our first child. Although I was fortunate enough to conceive again within a year, and hold that healthy baby safely delivered in my arms, the unspeakable joy of a dream fulfilled did not cancel out the grief of our prior loss. For years afterwards...

We Love Everyone

We Love Everyone

At the end of July 2016, a couple friends invited Jim to speak at a "Bible study" that unintentionally exploded into a small church. It was that day that it became clear God wanted to do something new--something exciting, scary and definitely messy. But for those of us there, we knew we had to answer the call, because it was a call to love everyone.

That morning in the park, Jim outlined a vision of three things we were called to do in learning to love everyone we could: be accepting, be authentic, and be transformed.