Dear Cobham Park Church Family, Each day, we are buried in bad news. We see it on TV. We read about it online. We hear about it from our friends. Yet another funeral is scheduled. Health dwindles. Relationships splinter. Nations totter. Hope falters. We grieve. We worry. We’re angry. How can we escape this unyielding… Read More »

Dear Cobham Park Church Family, Immediately after our last snow, little green daffodil shoots began poking through the dead leaves and brown grass by my front porch. They are standing taller now in little clusters, like prophets announcing that winter’s days are numbered. And although it still doesn’t feel very warm, I’m sure that they… Read More »

“We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us…” I John 3:16a (NLT) Dear Cobham Park Church Family, In my fourth grade class, I had a crush on a girl named Julie. At the time, I was pretty sure that I was in love, and so I decided to make… Read More »

Dear Cobham Park Church Family, Yesterday, I heard that my grandson Shep took his first steps—four, to be exact. For months, he’d been crawling and pulling himself up to stand by gripping nearby furniture. He might carefully sidestep a bit while still holding on for balance (that’s “cruising” in parenting lingo), but he’d eventually squat… Read More »

Dear Cobham Park Church Family, I remember how proud and confident I was as I rolled off the assembly line. My chrome sparkled in the sunlight. I was painted in spotless Wimbledon White. My interior was dressed in dark blue Corinthian vinyl with matching Shetland check cloth. My big-block V8 growled at idle, ready to… Read More »

“My eyes are ever toward the LORD…” —Psalm 25:15a* “…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus…” —Hebrews 12:1b-2a Dear Cobham Park Church Family, One evening during last month’s vacation, I went out onto… Read More »

Dear Cobham Park Church Family, I usually don’t tell creepy stories, but I’ll make an exception with this one. I’d traveled to the rural hills of South-central Virginia to preach Revival for a pastor-friend. After the first night’s service, I was looking forward to the lodging he’d arranged for me. I’d have some time to… Read More »

“I’m kind of homesick for a country to which I’ve never been before.” —from “Sweet Beulah Land”, by Squire Parsons “But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” —Hebrews 11:16 (ESV).”… Read More »

Dear Cobham Park Church Family, Can you imagine living through a Northern Neck summer a hundred years ago? Our ancestors did what they could to deal with the heat and humidity. They slept with their windows open and braved mosquitoes and flies. They sat on the front porch. They went swimming. They bought ice blocks… Read More »

Dear Cobham Park Church Family, [The following story is true. Only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.] I find myself at an all-American Fourth of July family cookout. I have grass-stains on my clothes from playing ball with the kids. I feel the growing warmth of sunburn on my neck and arms.… Read More »