Category Archives: Uncategorized

The earth is the Lord’s…

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“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof”  ~ Psalm 24:1a

Following up on this CP post about a Healthier Planet, is a listing HERE of 15 things earth.org suggests as potential actions.

Today we’ll focus on one of those actions, quoting directly from the earth.org article regarding “reduce plastic usage”

Single-use plastic is one of the greatest threats to the environment. Approximately 300 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide every year, with more than 90% ending up in landfills, the ocean or simply dumped.

When ordering takeout, consider using your own reusable food containers. Going for coffee? Bring your own portable mug or thermos. Going grocery shopping? Bring reusable shopping bags. Opt for reusable products instead of single-use plastic to limit your plastic consumption. Being a bit more aware of your consumption habits will definitely help you help the planet. 

This topic area gets some movie buffs to thinking about The Graduate (see HERE.) As with so many innovations, they bring with them some unintended consequences.
 
The good news? There are activities afoot to limit plastics from single-use, including

How will you find your way to plastics-limiting efforts to share gratitude with this earth of ours?

May you enjoy your time on this beautiful earth, filled with the Spirit!

Seeking solitude while admiring God’s creation? Check out this spider’s web-work, losing yourself in the artistry of the webbing (and 20 feet above the ground at that! Watch out, high-flying insects!)

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 30, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically

Including Creation (according to Non Sequitur) …  plus toonfever like this one:


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Positive Thinker: Al Roker…

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“Always be yourself. People can do whatever they want, but they can’t take that from you. Everybody wants to be somebody else; just be you.” ~ Willard Scott

Guideposts is a wonderful read. Now you can also listen to many of the articles at their website. This one HERE – Positive Thinker: Al Roker – Today Show weatherman, journalist, author – can be read (or listened to at that webpage.)

As a positive thinker, it’s fun to see/hear his responses to several questions (with details in the full article)
  • Your real-life hero: wife Deborah
  • What you do for your spiritual well-being: journal every day

How inspirational to read such materials. Thanks to Guideposts and Al Roker for sharing some wonderful tips and tricks for living life in positive ways! Who knows, maybe some of us will journal as a result?

Enjoy your time on this beautiful earth, filled with the Spirit!

Seeking solitude while admiring God’s creation? Check out this spider’s web-work, losing yourself in the artistry of the webbing (and 20 feet above the ground at that! Watch out, high-flying insects!)

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 23, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically

Including Creation (according to Non Sequitur) …  plus toonfever like this one:


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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God Never Gives You More Than You Can Bear…

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“God Never Gives You More Than You Can Bear”

Really?

That phrase troubles many of us. In fact, there are certain situations when such a statement seems just flat-out wrong to use!

Perhaps the perspective printed HERE from Cardinal Manning in a 1911 Australian Catholic newspaper helps? Some CP take-aways:

  • in certain situations, the idea of the accumulation of life experiences – including eliminating some challenges and adding heavier ones – can fit
  • for other times, it’s still hard to imagine how “never gives you more…” sharing is helpful

When about to utter some common phrase, catching oneself can be helpful. Is this really the right time for that sharing? Perhaps in some cases, your presence is all that’s necessary, without a word to share? 🙂

PROSPECTIVE ACTIVITY: Consider making a list of some “common phrases” you have heard that in certain situations may not be helpful.

  • To get some perspective, find a friend to discuss your list, possibly asking them for a few “common phrases” that cause them discomfort.
  • Are these phrases in any way like Cardinal Manning’s perspective – – in the right spot, or given enough context, they can feel helpful? 

Enjoy your time on this beautiful earth, filled with the Spirit plus situation-appropriate phrases!

Seeking solitude while admiring God’s creation in action? Click on the picture below for 3 minutes of the Twirling Primrose going from bud to glorious flower

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 16, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically

Including the one HERE about the first publisher to be smote  …  plus toonfever like this one:


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Becoming Like Children…

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“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;” ~ Matthew 11:25b

Today, imagine you’re in the lobby of the Mount Washington Public Library in Cincinnati around 11 AM. A variety of children will be coming in the library doors with their adult companions for a special scavenger hunt. These children, over the course of June weekdays, have been lovingly mentored by adults/teens/pre-teens during “Summer Camp.”

On the last day of camp these children heard/saw a book about ways to make a difference in our world’s climate. Some concepts were new. How many adults will these children influence with the new information?

As we – Children of God – think about making a difference, perhaps we can use such children as examples. Their school is composting, creating a pollinator garden, raising plants. In camp they learned how to cooperate, consider water and air pollution and much, much more.

PROSPECTIVE ACTIVITY: Want to learn more about more lovingly treating our earth with a child-like mind?  Some links and excellent book summaries about climate issues** are HERE. Perhaps this will allow you to share such wisdom with “children of all ages?”  🙂

Enjoy your time on this beautiful earth, filled with the Spirit!

P.S. Another cool thing about such child-like efforts? They frequently involve the Creating Independence moments posted earlier this week and some follow-up experiences!

** according to TIME magazine

 

Seeking some solitude while admiring God’s creation in action? Click on the picture below for 3 minutes of the Twirling Primrose going from bud to glorious flower

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 9, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically

Including the one HERE about the first publisher to be smote  …  plus toonfever like this one:


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Celebrating Independence…

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“Delight yourself in me, for I am the deepest desire of your heart” ~ God (Psalm 37:4)

It’s July 4th and in many corners of the U.S. it’ll be celebrated as Independence Day.

Perhaps today we can celebrate independence from the pressures NOT TO HAVE Solitude with God? 🙂

In her July 1 entry from the book Jesus Calling, Sarah Young supports what CP readers saw from Henri Nouwen as an element of Solitude Solidarity (CP post HERE.)  Jesus’ words – per Sarah Young in Jesus Calling – include fighting for precious time with God.

What are the ways you fight for that precious time with our Creator?

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES

  • before your head hits the pillow at night, say a gratitude prayer for the day just completed
  • before your head leaves the pillow in the morning, say an adoration prayer for the ways God has loved you and provides you the day ahead to show love to others
  • develop your own practice – the opportunities abound! Examples from CP friends include:
    • acquire a new daily devotional book and establish a ritual for reading the daily entry (Barb reads Jesus Calling right before bedtime – thanks Barb!)
    • “morning walks have unintentionally morphed into God time – being outside, walking @ a comfortable pace w/ no agenda – finds me in prayer mode – & I love it!” (thanks Sandy!)
    • “I often like to combine the morning devotional I read (usually Guideposts) with a few minutes “work” in my art journal. Sometimes I copy a favorite phrase, scripture and/or word onto a previously watercolored page. Sometimes I do a quick watercolor background and then add a thought. Just a few minutes of putting paint to paper is very calming” (thanks Toni!)

    • With young kids, being very intentional and proactive about gathering space for silence was important and reading books like Practicing His Presence (Lawrence), Celebration of Discipline (Foster), Spirit of the Disciplines (Willard), helped with lots of great ideas. I snagged my silence and solitude whenever I could get it, which was not an easy task! [FAST FORWARD TO NOW…] I don’t have to seek out solitude and silence. It’s already here. I savor and relish it, while still finding podcasts/audio books to fill hungry curiosities and some of the silence. (thanks Debbie!)

Enjoy your time, filled with the Spirit!

Seeking some solitude while admiring God’s creation in action? Click on the picture below for a 3 minute video of the Twirling Primrose going from bud to glorious flower

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 9, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically

Including the one HERE about the first publisher to be smote  …  plus toonfever like this one:


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Smile for a while…

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A good quote can motivate, make you think and maybe even bring a smile. Here are a few favorites…

  • If God is your co-pilot, SWITCH SEATS!
  • “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that he didn’t trust me so much.” ~ Mother Teresa
  • Life is fragile, handle with prayer
  • Be ye fishers of men. You catch ’em – He’ll clean ’em

Additional humorous lines are HERE and HERE

ACTION: Have some humorous religious quotes or stories to share? Tell a friend [and share with the Christian Playbook if you’re willing (salong.now @ gmail.com) ]

Enjoy your time, filled with the Spirit!

Click on the picture below for a 3 minute Youtube video of a wonderful, beautiful plant going from bud to glorious flower – the Twirling Primrose

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, July 2, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically

Including the one HERE about the first publisher to be smote  …  plus toonfever like this one:


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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In Solitude Solidarity…

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“In Solitude Solidarity” HERE, a Henri Nouwen site post can bring one back to the Maya Angelou video commentary in the last CP post about all of us having the opportunity to enjoy the best and suffer the worst while being a Child of God.

This part of the Solitude Solidarity catches attention

Rather, in the center of our solitude we meet all men and women as brothers and sisters. In true solitude, we stand so naked and so vulnerable before God, and we become so deeply aware of our total dependency on God’s love, that not only our friends but also those who kill, lie, torture, rape, and wage wars become part of our flesh and blood.

This solitude sounds pretty challenging. Yet, perhaps with this version of solitude, we can truly love one another, setting “othering” out of the game!

POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES

  • Did you miss the 3 minute video HERE with Dr. Maya Angelou, or want to hear it again? Powerful commentary!
  • Find 10-20 minutes for solitude with a focus on solidarity like Nouwen mentions: “Our hearts, full of God and empty of fear and anger, become a welcoming home for God and for our whole human family on earth.”
    • Do this in silence and stillness posture
    • Do this with some musical background? HERE are some possible meditation practices
    • Do this with some movement, perhaps like the Whirling Dervishes HERE?

Enjoy your time, filled with the Spirit!

unrecognizable man with bulb against sundown sky
Photo by Clement Eastwood on Pexels.com

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 25, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically

Including the one HERE about the first publisher to be smote  …  plus toonfever like this one:


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Juneteenth – reflecting and encouraging…

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Juneteenth is a federal holiday now, offering a wonderful time to reflect on our past while encouraging a better future. The TedEd 6 minute video HERE shares background history to this holiday begun in 2021, including this note:

“Juneteenth holds profound significance as a celebration of the demise of slavery, the righteous pursuit of true freedom for all, and the continued pledge to remember the past and dream the future.“

While the practice of slavery is now illegal in the United States, we find many quasi-slaved by the behaviors of the past coupled with opinions sadly still voiced by too many in powerful positions. As compassionate people of faith seeking peace, we have opportunities to help those quasi-slaved with justice-filled actions. To quote Meister Eckhart, “Compassion is where peace and justice kiss.”
 
Ready to be additionally inspired? Spend 3 minutes HERE with Dr. Maya Angelou which includes her “child of God” commentary and encouragement to embrace positive opportunities.
 
PRAYER: Creator God, help us examine the natural beauty wherever we are, including with those children of God who may not be acting quite the way we’d like (nor in the way we think you’d like…) Power us to act in justice-filled ways. Amen

Enjoy your time, filled with the Spirit!

NOTE: CP is indebted to Matthew Fox and his post HERE, helping spur several of the references and commentary about Juneteenth above. That blog posting is well worth a full reading if you have time

P.S. Want to know more about Juneteenth? AP has a “beginner’s guide” HERE

unrecognizable man with bulb against sundown sky
Photo by Clement Eastwood on Pexels.com

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 25, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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SONG: Mother Earth (encore)…

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Encore! Encore! This word, uttered by a young elementary school child this past week at a summer enrichment program, was a thing of beauty. She was enjoying a particular experience, wishing for another opportunity.

Encore! Christian Playbook readers may recall a CP post on the song Mother Earth. That song – now in the CP “All Year Round” song listing HERE – contains lyrics relating to our climate series

Now I am going on a journey
And I pray all things end well
While Mother Earth looks after me
I will follow faithfully

~  Mother Earth (full lyrics HERE)

When you have a few minutes, the song Mother Earth (HERE) is worth enjoying – as an encore or for the first time. The instrumentation, rhythm and lyrics will likely lighten your day plus get you thinking.

PRAYER: Creator God, help us examine the natural beauty wherever we are, with corresponding prayers of WOW, praising our connectedness to you and seeking ways to heal your creations… Amen

ENCORE! ENCORE!  🙂

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

P.S. Any of the 10 Ways to Confront Climate Without Losing Hope article ideas leading you to personal action?

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 18, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

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Feeling Climate’s Effects…

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Those in the Cincinnati region and various other geographies have been affected by climate recently – air conditions from Canadian wildfires causing masking and staying inside; severe lack of rain browning our earth; etc.. It’s yet another reminder of what some of us learned from margarine commercials many years back: “it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature!” (click HERE for an example commercial)

We are learning more all the time about the impacts of human action on our earth’s climate. What begins as a HUGE human discovery – “plastics,” for example – ultimately causes some rather substantial climate challenges (plastic containers clogging water sources.) Yet we also experience wonderful joys from human discovery – the abilities to fight wildfires with techniques including aircraft dropping water on specific fire targets.

This constant battling of good and evil is challenging. What begins as a good invention can cause many unintended consequences.

Our human condition relies on wise counsel and substantial discernment for “putting our best feet forward.” May this day find us all learning – including learning sometimes by “doing it wrong”…

Enjoy the day, filled with the Spirit!

P.S. Any of the 10 Ways to Confront Climate Without Losing Hope article ideas leading you to personal action?

Lectionary Texts for Sunday, June 18, 2023:

POTENTIAL ACTIONS – FOOD INSECURITY: This season will likely find increasing numbers of folks looking for food, presenting opportunities to

  • share financial and/or food offerings with a local food pantry
  • check with your faith community about upcoming opportunities to feed community members
  • volunteer to help with a local mobile food pantry or community dinner
  • find a Little Pantry in your area and help stock it with shelf-stable food items

NOTE: for those in the Cinci region, some food organizations are listed HERE

Know someone who might like receiving Christian Playbook messages like this?  If so, please forward this message and they can sign up WITH THIS LINK

CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK HUMOR – click HERE for MORE humor, updated periodically


Click on the cartoon above to visit toonfever.com!

STREAMING WORSHIP SERVICES – Cincinnati, Bowling Green and more!

CLICK ON ICONS BELOW FOR LINKS TO CHRISTIAN PLAYBOOK PAGES ON DEVOTIONALS, PRAYERS, MUSIC, STUDY AND LOVE

DevotionalPraying handsSingendes Quartett3StudyMobius strip