I grew up in the church, and I don't think I ever really took it seriously. The old church I went to made me feel like I needed to be perfect to be baptized. So I always avoided it because I thought I wasn't good enough. I left the church when I graduated high school because I planned on partying in college. I thought I would return when I was ready to settle down with a family because then I would be worthy enough. I got further and further from God as the years went on. I drank heavily for a long time and started abusing drugs as well. I was digging myself deeper and deeper into a hole. I was in a dangerous relationship with a dangerous mindset and an even more dangerous addiction.
Read MoreAs followers of Jesus, we can up our own joy level when we do like Jesus—when we go about doing good, focusing on the needs and spirits of others. That’s a great goal for you and me today. I will be a carrier of calm, peace, hope, possibilities, joy, and Jesus everywhere I go. I will look for people who need a lift and provide it. I will get over my moods, and put aside my self-centered concerns, and my negative outlook. I will be the person who leaves the people in my wake saying, “Wow! Thank God I ran into her/him today!” I will intentionally open my heart for God to use me to make life a little more fulfilling and joyful today.
Read MoreThis year we had our Cornerstone Kids Christmas event "Merry Marketplace." Families visited four different stations making crafts that correlated to the birth of Jesus. They started at Station One, "The Angel," decorating their wooden angel ornament while hearing about how an Angel of God told Mary that she was going to bear a child - the Holy Child! Then, they moved to Station Two, "The Donkey" and decorated donkey ornaments while hearing how Mary and Joseph rode a donkey to Bethlehem. The third station was "The Manger." The kids decorated a canvas with popsicle sticks arranged to look like the manger scene. The finished up at Station Four, creating little shepherds out of cardboard tubes while hearing about how shepherds followed the guidance of angels and a star to bring baby Jesus gifts. We wanted to bring the story of Christmas to life!
Read MoreThe downtown area of Mayfield is completely gone. Blocks and blocks of nothing but rubble. The old brick buildings 4-5 stories high are now flattened. There are no freestanding buildings. This was an old and deeply valued town. A lady who has lived there all her life, her grandfather was a local pastor for 48 years, told John, “As I walk through what is left of my town, it is like a devastating death. This town will never be the same again. It’s like when someone dear to you dies, you just try to get through the next day.” For many people, this is sorrow upon sorrow. One of the residents deeply affected by the tornado’s destruction was already heartbroken. In December of 2020, just one year prior, his mother died of COVID, and his daughter was murdered that same month. The local librarian’s family home was very damaged. The library was still able to open, however, and this lady courageously and unselfishly went every day to keep the library open and read to and talk to children. She considered it “doing what she could.”
Read MoreIf you ask anyone over 50 years old, they will fondly tell you, of their yearly pilgrimage to downtown Akron to see the Nativity set and the Christmas display windows at both O’Neil’s and Polsky’s department stores. Some will remember what seemed like a whole floor of both of these stores being designated as North Pole Akron. The nativity set had its place of prominence displayed on the marquee on the facing of the O’Neil’s store. Driving down S. Main Street it could be seen by everyone. It was a magical time of the year and in Akron’s history.
Read MoreWhen I was in elementary school my parents got divorced. It was really hard because I was so young. I didn’t understand what was going on.
After their divorce, I would go to church on Sunday mornings out of obligation, not because I wanted to.
Read MoreI have no family relationships in my life and it's tough. But the quality of the relationships I have with my Cornerstone Church is much greater than just that...they are my family.
Read MoreHEALING & OVERCOMING
God had his hand in our situation all along. I say He put the butterflies in my life long ago, knowing they’d flutter again many years later. I believe that with Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, we will overcome any obstacles that enter our path.
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