Vickie Robinson (formerly 2PC's office administrator) writes: Since the Thanksgiving Holiday is over, my focus has now shifted to the excitement and joys of the upcoming Christmas and New Year's Holidays. My mind is forever filled with those who are not so fortunate, who cannot enjoy either holidays or life in general. During the pandemic, I was blessed with my position at 2PC and the ability to work from home during those uncertain times, when so many people were getting sick, dying, losing their jobs, and their homes. Neither my finances nor my life was interrupted. Being given such an opportunity made me realize how blessed and fortunate I was, and still am . Due to this appreciation, I was able to donate to the Good Ground Food Pantry to provide a family with a holiday meal and other necessities.  When I was a child, I often heard the saying, "It's better to give than to receive." I didn't realize how profoundly that saying would impact my life until ...

Vickie Robinson writes: It’s funny how news can change our lives in an instant. There is always joy, sadness, and uncertainty in the news. The news of my coworker’s new role at a new congregation in Colorado brought to mind feelings of joy and sadness. The more I wrestled with my feeling of sadness, the more I remembered all the times this coworker took me under his wings during my times of stress in my new position as an office administrator that I did not think would ever improve. He always let me know that the achievement of working on the weekly church bulletins would get easier with time and that if I didn’t understand something, it wasn’t the end of the world, and he was always there for me. My once sad news has now turned into news of joy because I now realize what an honor and blessing it has been for me to work alongside such a phenomenal and talented colleague and friend as Andrew Peters. Andy, thank you so much for being there for me even when it s...

Vickie Robinson writes: When I watch the world around me slowly repair itself, and life as we once knew it returns to the world, I am forever grateful and thankful for every single time when the news reminds me of the staggering numbers of Covid cases, catastrophic events, and the number of Afghan refugees and migrants trying to cross the border. Knowing this, I have realized how blessed I have been. I have not had the virus, nor have any of my family members; I have not experienced natural disasters such as Hurricane Ida; and I have the freedom to do things that others can only dream of. If you run into a rough patch in life, remind yourself how blessed you are to have your health, freedom to live your life the way you want, and no natural disasters.  And remember to thank God for it all.

Vickie Robinson writes: As I drove into work last week, I could see the driver behind me moving from one lane to the next.  Apparently, my driving speed and the other drivers wasn’t fast enough for her. As she tried on many occasions to intimidate me into driving faster, I continued to drive the speed limit. After about a mile, the driver quickly came around me, she failed to see the policeman that was sitting in a blind spot. He pulled her over without hesitation. As I looked at this young lady and I thought about the mistakes she had made, not only was she driving recklessly, she also could have hit someone who was getting ready to cross the street. As I witnessed this, I thought about my personal and spiritual life. As the young lady was so eager to speed, it reminded me of how quickly I was with making decisions without waiting on God to answer my prayers. This always resulted in me, so to speak, getting pulled over. If only I had just taken my time and listened to Him, not ...

Vickie Robinson writes: Lately, my daily commute consists of me passing by a lot of churches and funeral homes that were once closed in the early hours.  These locations are now open to host funeral services.  As I think about the current reality of the pandemic and now the new strain that has entered Missouri, I realize that Fear is one of Satan's most popular weapons that he uses against us. The most common lie that Satan uses to instill fear into us is that God is far away or absent from our presence. I’m forever reminded that God promises in His Word over and over again that He is always with us. And He has proven time and time both in the Bible and even in our lives today that He is still there. The presence of bad times such as these might work to persuade us of God's absence, but remember that at various times in Biblical times, God was there even in the midst of war, famine, flood, and even storms. God is with us always and promises to never leave us no...