Posts by jhumphries

March 19, 2018 DAILY READING John 19:30 This weekend’s reading: John 19:30 FIELD NOTES On the cross, Jesus cries out, “It is finished!” On Georgene Johnson’s 42nd birthday, she decided she was going look like a young healthy 42-year-old. She started exercising and running. She ran farther each day. Then, she decided to enter a…

March 17, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 72:1-7 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESGive the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.May he defend the cause of…

March 16, 2018 DAILY READING Isaiah 60:1-6 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESNotice the language the prophet uses in these verses to portray unification and solidarity among people and nations. “Nations shall come to your light, kings to your dawn… they all gather together… the wealth of the nations shall come to you.” Jesus…

March 15, 2018 DAILY READING Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESI’ve read these verses countless times. Yet today I notice something different. Verse 11 particularly stands out to me: “God has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they…

March 14, 2018 DAILY READING Psalm 8 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTESThis psalm of celebration reminds us of God’s ultimate power and authority over all Creation. And yet as I read through the verses I am reminded yet again of God’s propensity to flip power on its head. “Out of the mouths of…

March 13, 2018 DAILY READING Matthew 25:31-46 This weekend’s reading: Luke 2:1-20 FIELD NOTES“Thank God I didn’t give her any money.” The words were full of anger as a Christian member of my family recounted the story of encountering a woman panhandler and her children one day outside of a grocery store. The woman had…

March 10, 2018 DAILY READING Isaiah 6:8 This weekend’s reading: Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34 FIELD NOTES(Student-written poem.) “GO: It says Go, make disciples of all, for the Father and the Son,not sit down and hope others will get it done. God’s Heart is never closed, and you don’t need a warning. His door is always…

March 9, 2018 DAILY READING Isaiah 6:8 This weekend’s reading: Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34 FIELD NOTES(Written by a volunteer on the 2012 Sonshine Choir Tour.) On Thursday, July 19, 2012, the Sonshine Choir arrived at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago, Illinois, at 9 a.m. After 125 youth and chaperones were processed through…

March 8, 2018 DAILY READING 1 Timothy 4:11-16 Isaiah 6:8 This weekend’s reading: Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34 FIELD NOTES(Written by a volunteer on the 2016 Sonshine Choir Tour.) This was the first time I had helped chaperone a choir tour. I was pleasantly surprised to learn on the tour that students wrote daily devotionals for…