by vfcadmin | Jul 23, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Summer’s Abundance Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer One of the pleasures of the season of the summer solstice is a drive through the verdant countryside with the light of early evening making the newly cut hay golden. If you drive down a country road with your windows...
by vfcadmin | Jul 16, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Longing for the Heart’s True Home Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer The Wind in the Willows provided us with the imagery for a longing for home last week. Mole finds his old home and leaves it again for adventures in the “upper world.” This week I want to look at that...
by vfcadmin | Jul 9, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Leaving Home for the Wider World Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer As you have no doubt guessed, I like unusual words. Here’s a good one anthropomorphism defined as “the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities.” In literature this...
by vfcadmin | Jul 2, 2025 | Year of Reflection
How We Will Be Measured Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer In our Reflection for Week Twenty-One, I told the stories of two people who lived about 3000 years apart in time, Julia Child and King David. Not only did they live millennia apart, but their deeds were also vastly...
by vfcadmin | Jun 25, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Who We Used to Be Shapes Who We Become Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer When I mention the name Julia Child the first image that probably comes to mind would be Julia in her kitchen teaching us how to make something very French ending with the dish beautifully plated and...
by vfcadmin | Jun 18, 2025 | Year of Reflection
A Royal Personage: You Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer As children of God and co-heirs with Christ we are part of a royal priesthood (Rom. 8:17; 2 Cor. 6:18; Heb. 4:14-16; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Rev. 1:6). Have you ever stopped to consider what your responsibilities are as a...
by vfcadmin | Jun 11, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Dandelions and Praise Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer For Mother’s Day Sunday this year our church music team chose the song “Handful of Weeds” as a tribute to our mothers. The imagery of the song is of a little girl carefully picking her mom a bouquet of dandelions to...
by vfcadmin | Jun 4, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Unexpected Help Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer The other day I was getting ready to leave the house in my car. I walked around in front of it and saw one of the green and bronze lizards who enjoy my front yard. It was in line with the front tire. Not wishing to run...
by vfcadmin | May 28, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Nothing Says ‘I Love You’ Like… Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer This Memorial Day weekend was also the anniversary of the devastating tornado that struck our area of Benton County a year ago. I had purchased flower arrangements to place on my parents’ and grandparents’...
by vfcadmin | May 21, 2025 | Year of Reflection
Nature’s Gifts Ruth Ann Stites, Staff Writer Spring is a time of promise for nature’s bounty after the chill of winter. Birds are nesting. Trees are blooming. Fresh greens are ready for harvest. And gardeners are planting as well as beginning to pick their garden’s...
