Arrival in Heaven

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Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.                   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 ESV

Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks put the circumstances of our lives, both good and bad into God’s hands and help us see them through His eyes. Last night our beloved daughter-in-law Melinda slipped from this world into the presence of Jesus. And while we are overwhelmed with grief and shock, these words are promises to which we cling. Melinda has finished her race. Her battle with cancer is finished. And while that pernicious disease claimed her physical life, it could not touch her soul. That remained fully and exclusively in the hands of Jesus with whom she now lives. Nancy and I didn’t know how to process the news that came in three words. “She is gone.” Yet as sadness rolls over my heart I sense the message echo back from Heaven, ” She has arrived!”

Memories and Stitches

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My memories feel like balls of yarn
Which from a basket spill
And then I watch my threads of life
Go tumbling down the hill!

So lately I have been wondering
How to catch those memories
And knit their jumbled tumbled mess
Into the things I please

But then my Lord reminds me
In whose hands my life is held
That through each tangled strand and stitch
He will His story tell

I will praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well.
Psalm 139:14 NKJV


Memories and Stitches
by Peter Caligiuri
copyright © 2026
all rights reserved


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Team Ministry

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All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthinas12:27 NLT

Many of us have been blessed to spend a single Sunday afternoon, singing or serving communion at a nursing home. But to carry on a long-term ministry outreach in our community calls for the teamwork of the body of Christ. None of us possess all the gifts, and our schedules are often dictated by things out of our control. People get sick, travel to visit family or have the water heater start leaking. That is when having other people pitching in makes a big difference. We were richly blessed this past Sunday at Discovery Villages to have my friend Ed come to play the piano. After seven years of singing along with my guitar, our residents were delighted to have a talented pianist leading us in the sweet hymn, “O! How I love Jesus!” I hope you will enjoy singing along with us and that you might consider getting involved in long-term care ministry in your own community. Have a blessed weekend everybody!

God Meets Jacob (and us) in the Desert

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And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep. Genesis 28:11 ESV

Until this time Jacob’s life had been easy and predictable. His father was a wealthy and godly man, and his mother favored him over his brother and made sure that anything he needed was provided. But, because of his own deceitfulness and trickery, Jacob was now running away, and uncertain when he would ever see his parents again. At the end of day one in his journey, as Jacob watched the sun set in the desert, he realized that for the first time in his young life he was completely alone. Yet in spite of everything he had done, God loved Jacob and had scheduled a meeting with him that night, that would change the course of his life.

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Ironically, it was Esau, not Jacob, who knew about camping and hunting, and Jacob in his hurry, had not thought to bring along a tent, a sleeping bag or even a pillow. Today’s verse tells us that when he lay down to sleep, Jacob had to use a stone for a pillow. I will bet that as he lay tossing and turning with his head resting on that rock, that Jacob was missing the comforts of home! Some of us can look back and identify with that moment. or maybe you are in the middle of a desert right now! The good news is that in this, desert moment, with our heads resting on a stone pillow, God has not forgotten us. In fact, He has chosen this dark and lonely time to meet with us, not to solve all our problems, but to begin or deepen our relationship with Him. In Jacob’s life, it would be another twenty years before he would return home, but that night was a start. If you are ready for a new start, a dream, and a ladder, then get ready for an adventure that only God Himself could have planned. Then, stay tuned for the next installment in Jacob’s life, as God replaces his scheming with blessings, that are wrapped up in hard work and some hard knocks!

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! Genesis 28:12 ESV