Category: Meaning
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Showing Up When the Work Is Quiet
There is a particular kind of weight that comes with leadership in a small rural community. It is not loud or dramatic. It does not announce itself. It settles in quietly and stays. You carry it when you unlock buildings early in the morning, when you answer questions no one else has time to answer,…
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What I Would Tell You Now
For Joshua Blake Hargrove from John Hagrove his dad June 2025 1984–2002 My son, If I could sit across from you today—twenty-three years after you left this world—I would begin with the words that still rise unbidden in my heart: I miss you. Every day. Not with the same sharp ache as before, but with…
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Adam and Eve: A Biography
With Reflections from Various Theologies, Early Church Fathers, and Zola Levitt Studies Names & Meaning Adam means “earth” or “ground,” referencing his formation from the dust.Eve means “life” or “living,” reflecting her role as “the mother of all who live” (Genesis 3:20). Scriptural Origin Genesis 1–5 tells the story of Adam and Eve: the first…
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My Epitath
Here lies John E. Hargrove January 24, 1958 – [date yet to be written] A boy from Buna who never stopped wondering how things worked and never stopped trying to make them work for others. He chased signals across microwave towers and fiber miles, built networks that carried light to forgotten places, and in the…
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Reminder of the Light
Some days I’m reminded to go back to the starting point. “In the beginning was the Word…” That truth centers me. It reminds me that everything we’re doing—family, work, community—rests on something solid and steady. The scriptures in the RCL today lean into that same hope. Daniel talks about God standing with His people even…
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Let My Love Open the Door
Let My Love Open the Door (inspired by Pete Townshend’s song and the words of Jesus in Matthew 22:37–40) When Pete Townshend sang, “Let my love open the door to your heart,” he probably wasn’t trying to preach a sermon—but he touched on something deeply spiritual. Love is the master key. Jesus said it even…
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Faith That Holds in Shaky Times
Faith That Holds in Shaky Times Life has a way of shaking us. For some, it’s addiction that never seems to let go. For others, it’s broken promises, betrayal, or the crushing weight of loss. In moments like these, faith can feel more like a whisper than a roar. But here’s the good news: God…
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The Pain We Carry
– Lament with Jeremiah & the Psalmist There’s a weight we don’t often talk about in church life—the grief that lingers in the soul when things don’t work out the way we prayed they would. Jeremiah knew that weight. He wrote, “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain…
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The Prayer Compass – Orienting True North
True North – Christ Himself “Lord Jesus, keep me aligned to You—not outcomes, not fears, not even my own dreams.” North – Renewing Faith and Hope Renew my trust in You each day. Restore hope where it has grown dim and strengthen my heart to endure. (Romans 15:13) East – Vision Open doors for growth…
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Precious Memories
1984 was the year that I became a father 2002 was the year that my son left this world the moments in between those two events were precious. https://biblehub.com/psalms/10-14.htm 4But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of…
