A Safe Place to Land
by Laurie M. Brown

Talk is cheap but a divorce isn’t.  And the costs aren’t measured in dollars alone.  For many, when talking and compromise have exceeded capacity, couples find themselves facing the break-up of a marriage, and even, at times, a family.  The pain of divorce is likened to the loss experienced through the death of a loved one:  fear, anxiety, confusion, bitterness, anger, loneliness, stress.  It takes a long time, a lot of self-care, and often professional help to actually heal. 

There is hope though, and many here at West Shore can attest to the state of grace one achieves when spiritual, physical and emotional healing takes place.  This is a process that frees us to become a “new creation.” 

More about David Miller . . .
In 1982, David Miller (30) and his wife Deborah felt a calling from God to emigrate to Israel. The couple, born and raised in the United States, had never lived or visited the Middle East before, yet felt an intense command from the Lord to make a move.  “We had never even visited Israel and didn’t know what to do when we’d arrive, but the calling was clear,” says Miller.

Verses for the New Year
by Mike Oravec

Each year, as January approaches, I try to discern a scripture verse or verses that will serve as a centering prayer for me in the New Year.  I write it on the flyleaf of my date book and often in another well-trafficked place in my life, where I will surely encounter the words and needfully remember their meaning.  As sometimes happens, life’s events turn wildly, and here then an opportunity to pause and reflect (a personal “Selah” if you will) in order to restore the truth of God’s control and start forward again.