First Presbyterian Church of Valparaiso

A habit is defined as …”a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” We all have some. WE usually want to keep our good habits and, where possible, shed our bad habits. As a former cigarette smoker, even when I knew it was not good for me, breaking that ‘bad’ habit was one of the harder things I ever did. Yet, in 1986 I succeeded in giving up nicotine that had had its grip on me since around 1964. A rough couple of months. During the COV

We have heard it a million times, “April showers bring May flowers” (sometimes Indiana weather has other ideas). As a child when I’d hear someone say that, it would get me so pumped for summer! As I grew up and I learned more about energy, land, air and water pollution, recycling and so on, I wasn’t thinking about that sweet little rhyme as much as I was thinking, how did we get here? Mankind has been given this incredible gift we call Earth in which God is the gift giver and

These days I live in the Middle, between letting go of worn-out ways of being, and cultivating vitality in relationships, expectations, choices, faith. I transition through the season between winter with wet, windy gray days, and visions of glorious days of sunshine and clouds of dogwood blossoms in the woods. I journey to let go of launched children, and to foster adult relationships with them. I travel with other leaders envisioning new ways of being church, and letting go

For the past few weeks, Adult Faith Formation has been exploring how we can faithfully practice spiritual disciplines. The term refers to those intentional practices, experiences, and relationships that help us connect to God. We’ve tackled the disciplines of fasting, praying, and listening to God. Next up will be embracing simplicity and unplugging. Fasting has been a tough one for me – no candy, cookies, or pop. When my grandson asked me how things were going, I said, “Okay