Last Saturday we celebrated the life of Don Neely, long time member of Valley Church and a life-long singer. Don and Anita were both active members of the Valley Church choir as well as a German choir. I always loved having Don sit behind us in the congregation, because with him singing in my ear, I felt like I could…
Posts by Kurt Jones (Page 4)
Dear friends, When you make a list of the things you are thankful to God for, what are the things that usually top the list? Most of us recognize life as a gift from God and so we’re grateful for breath in our lungs and hearts that keep beating. For those who follow Christ, we are overwhelmingly grateful for our salvation.…
All over the news for the last two weeks we’ve seen pictures of distressed children at our southern border with Mexico. One particularly touching photo was of a crying little girl looking up at two adults… There isn’t a human being alive who doesn’t sense that there’s just something wrong about a child not being with her parents. The powerful…
Dear friends, What kind of a “waiter” are you? Faced with an unexpected delay at the doctor’s office, mechanic, or on your favorite freeway, do you respond with foot tapping irritation or do you resign yourself to the unavoidable interruption? Do you pull out your “to do” list and get started with other things, or do you kick back and…
A crowd had gathered… Like most people, I was intrigued and went to investigate. Our family was hiking at Rancho San Antonio park on a Saturday morning. At “The Farm” there are all kinds of animals: goats, sheep, chickens. But the center of attention was a litter of cute, pink little piglets, who were squealing and skipping around much to…
Yesterday I was driving someplace I hadn’t been for a while, and (as usual) was in a hurry. Since I wanted to get there in the fastest way possible I pulled up a navigation app on my phone and plotted in my course. In a few seconds, I had a turn by turn description telling me how to get…
Unless you are very young, you probably remember sayings that were popular when you grew up, but don’t make as much sense now. Do you remember “Can you dig it?” or “Lay it on me.”? How about “Cruisin’ for a bruisin’” or “Made in the shade.”? Maybe you go further back to “Take a powder”…
One afternoon a couple of years ago I was working in the front yard on a bright spring afternoon–the sun was shining, the flowers were blooming, and the birds were singing. Except one. To my dismay, a tiny sparrow literally fell at my feet on the driveway, fluttered twice, and laid completely still. Yes, the…
Vacation. Vacation cross country. Vacation cross country in a car… with children…in August. Did your emotions change as this sentence grew? Everyone likes the idea of vacation, but driving cross country in a car with children in the heat of summer is almost comedic material for a description of suffering rather than something enjoyable. Why?…
Dear loved ones, This week one of our own Valley Church “locals” will bring us a message from God’s Word. He writes, “During a visit to Nepal a couple years ago, my eyes were opened to the tangible reality of God’s salvation among Hindus and Buddhists in that region. Time and time again, we heard testimony…