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Have you thought much about your thoughts lately? Scholars from psychology to spirituality write about the importance of thinking about what we are thinking about. Some refer to what’s going through our brain and inner life as an “inner narrative,” or simply, “self-talk.” Our narrative is formed by many different sources, some of them are out of our control. Our narrative becomes the story we tell ourselves about what life is about and how to live it.

Calvary Baptist Church has been missions-minded for most of our 80-year history. Why? Simply put, because God wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. If we care about what God cares about, we’ll care about local and world-wide outreach. I’ve borrowed a term from others to describe this paradigm. The term is “glocal.”

I have had the privilege of hearing many, many “giving stories.” Truthfully, Diane and I have some amazing “giving stories” of our own. I hope you have some, and I pray you have more! A giving story is an example of how God cared for, blessed and/or provided for you with a direct connection to your giving. I first heard giving stories from my mom and dad. My dad would tell us at the end of the year how amazed he was with God’s provision.

If you grew up in church, you have heard these words before. Some churches refer to Baptism and Communion as sacraments, we prefer to call them ordinances. Does it matter? Is there really a difference? Webster’s Dictionary defines sacraments as “rites ordained by Jesus and regarded as a means of grace.” The same Dictionary defines an ordinance as “a prescribed practice.” I trust you can see the difference.

It may seem hard to believe right now but there has been a victory of eternal and monumental significance. It’s hard to imagine with all we see right now. We see war in Ukraine. We see war in Israel. We see wars in other nations that have been going on for years. We struggle in our own lives with depression, addictions, conflicts and sorrow. When will it end? Will I ever live in peace? Will there ever be peace in the world? Will there be an end to the conflict, tension and unrest? Yes.