Why Was Jesus Born?
Leave your thoughtsWith all the ugliness in the world and our lives today, you may be asking yourself, “Why was Jesus born? Wasn’t He supposed to end all of it?” Christmas is the time of the year we celebrate with the birth...
Posts by Lisa Jansen
How to Give Back During the Holidays
Leave your thoughtsIt’s the season of giving, but this Christmas is different from any other. We’ve all had to adjust to new means of communication and serving others. And. If you’re looking for ways to give back this season, here are some...
How to Help Someone Who is Grieving
Leave your thoughtsWe all know someone who is grieving a loss: new or old. The holidays can bring old grief to the surface and make more painful the feeling of a recent loss. But, how do you help someone who is grieving?...
What is Advent?
Leave your thoughtsAt this time of year, you may hear a word you’re unfamiliar with: Advent. But, what is Advent and how does it relate to this time of year? What is Advent? The word “advent” is from the Latin word “coming.” The...
Coping with Loss During the Holidays
Leave your thoughtsWe’re all coping with loss this season. We’ve all lost something in 2020, whether it be a person, a job, or just plain normalcy. This holiday season will be bittersweet for most of us simply because of the fight against...
How To Pray
Leave your thoughtsHave you ever wondered how to pray? Maybe you have felt intimidated by the prayers of others, thinking they are eloquent, and you may not be able to do likewise. Have you looked for resources to learn how to pray?...
Learning from My Own Prejudice
Leave your thoughtsGrowing up, my parents taught my brother and I to “never judge a book by its cover.” I thought I was doing a pretty good job of that, not being prejudice, until a few years ago when God showed me...
Does God Hear Us Cry?
Leave your thoughtsOne Sunday morning when I was a young mother, I took my one-year-old daughter to the church nursery for the first time. I headed to the nursery after the service ended. Someone stopped me along the way to ask me...
When Alzheimer’s, Cancer & COVID Comes Home
Leave your thoughtsNancy Reagan said it best: Facing dementia and Alzheimer’s with someone you love is like a “long goodbye.” In December 2019 and through 2020, my life has been rocked. My faith was tested and tried by events not on my...
How to Teach a Child to Pray
Leave your thoughtsAs parents, we are our child’s main influence. As Christian parents, teaching a child to pray is similar to teaching them anything else in life. So, how do we teach a child to pray? We must first lead by example....
Shepherd’s Gate Serves the Community
Leave your thoughtsStep Out & Serve 2020 Recap It’s hard to believe it’s almost been a month since our Step Out & Serve 2020 event at Shepherd’s Gate Church. Our local outreach coordinator, Ron Kuczera, spent months leading up to August 22-23...
What’s In A Name?
Leave your thoughtsWhat’s in a name? We often choose our children’s names to honor someone we know who has impacted our lives. We even pick names for cars, boats and vacation homes—even those have meaning. Sometimes the meaning may be apparent, other...
