my faith is a focus today.

A wonderful weekend filled with many wonderful things and since it is Sunday it I'll share my gratitude for my faith, my religion and my church.  Day by day I need my relationship with God.  I'm able to ask for help and forgiveness.  When the day ahead feels particularly hard all is better if I center myself and ask for help.  We all know I have a lot of responsibilities and within those responsibilities are lots of responsibilities- prioritizing is key and sometimes I'm not correct in my decisions and order of actions.  But God's love helps me move on and keep moving forward.   Our religion and church help me to know this and have this base to keep me centered and happy.

This weekend I attended two beautiful funerals. Death is something I accept- I'm a realist. However the emotional side of me is often sad by the loss or removal of good people on this earth. Dottie Mann was a Works member from the very start- a loyal donor.  Her support and leadership of the wonderful Dawes Arbreum so valuable to our community.  I met Dottie as a Denison student and enjoyed continuing my relationship as her neighbor and fellow FPC member.  Charles Sinsabaugh another noble leader, an older member of our community that valued education his whole life and supported The Works.  I had such lovely interactions with him when introduced to him at The Works.  His son, daughter in law and daughter follow his footsteps in philanthropy and I feel for there loss.  Again thanks to my faith I believe the spirit lives on and I feel this emotionally as well.  However I'm someone that needs closure and the church does a wonderful job with a funeral to honor, celebrate, comfort and explain death to us.

Not so good things, bad things happen to all of us and are all around.  We know too many people that are sick and struggling.  Our baptism brings us to a place to work through and find comfort. I believe God doesn't want to see any of this suffering and our faith and church are to help us address this discomfort. God is comforting to me on Newark-Granville Road.  My time in the beautiful downtown Newark Lutheran church and FPC, plus the kids bluegrass, Trip's sermon, scripture and time to be in relationship with god made my life on Newark-Granville road happy and with a sense of peace.