https://network.crcna.org/ The Network en Fri, 19 Apr 2024 00:55:51 +0000 Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/walk-your-steps There was a time we longed to know more about our loved one, wasn’t there?  When we were dating, we wanted to know everything there was to know about our beloved’s life… from childhood to adulthood… who they were in the depth of their heart, and what made them who they are today.  We of Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/walk-your-steps Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/grace G.R.A.C.E. Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/grace Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/you-quiet-my-soul Saturday morning while doing some garden cleanup, admiring the beauty of the autumnal leaf carpet, I listened to the quiet… broken only by low-flying geese honking their conversation, and several birds trilling their beautiful summery songs. Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/you-quiet-my-soul Mon, 30 Oct 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/do-you-love-me-peters-imperfect-and-deep-love-lord Impetuous Peter…the disciple like so many of us, if we’re honest. I tend to speak quickly, not always giving as much thought to my answer as I should. My late husband, on the other hand, would take time to formulate his reply. Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/do-you-love-me-peters-imperfect-and-deep-love-lord Tue, 04 Apr 2023 04:00:00 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/seeking-god-first This past week, my husband Ed was in the hospital a few days with worsening congestive heart failure (causing pulmonary issues with his COPD). Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/seeking-god-first Tue, 14 Dec 2021 14:44:17 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/changes-without-and-within Change, whether it's visible on the exterior, or inside and unseen, can be a hard adjustment to make. I don’t like change, and we've all seen a lot of it recently. Those who know me, know that aspect of me well. Change has not always been kind to me. Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/changes-without-and-within Tue, 12 Oct 2021 08:33:46 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/lets-talk-about/poem-those-who-are-struggling I recently lost a sister-in-law to COVID, and it was difficult only being able to give support to my brother (who lives halfway across the country) by phone. I know we are not alone in our loss as far too many have lost their loved ones to this virus. Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/lets-talk-about/poem-those-who-are-struggling Mon, 16 Aug 2021 15:26:20 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/contentment-flows Are we content yet? It’s just an accumulation of trinkets and stuff, an assemblage that needs to be fed every so often. I should know, because I have my own collections from the past.  Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/contentment-flows Tue, 13 Jul 2021 13:31:01 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/children-youth/parenting/releasing-our-children-love As we travel life’s path, we all manage to lose a few things… like special trinkets, and perhaps a few friends from another time and another place as life moves on. We even lose our patience a few more times than we care to admit. Though losing something special can be painful, it’s dif Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/children-youth/parenting/releasing-our-children-love Thu, 17 Jun 2021 18:21:38 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/lets-talk-about/carpenters-son Who was the carpenter’s son they called Jesus, and what was He really like? He lived, breathed, and walked the face of this earth some 2000 years ago, but how well do we really know Him?  Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/lets-talk-about/carpenters-son Mon, 22 Mar 2021 17:58:42 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/you-lead-me As each year draws to a close, we tend to be a bit nostalgic, looking back to remember where the prior year has taken us. This past year of 2020 marked the emergence of new problems we’d never dealt with before—a contagious world-wide pandemic called COVID-19, perhaps not unlike the Spanish Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/you-lead-me Mon, 04 Jan 2021 16:12:37 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/one-holy-and-silent-night What do an antique rocking chair and Christmas have in common?  Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/one-holy-and-silent-night Mon, 14 Dec 2020 01:01:23 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/lets-talk-about/broken-beauty Ever feel as though you’re broken and scattered—like pieces of shattered glass? You’re so overwhelmed by life, torn apart by one situation after another, perhaps in rapid succession. And you begin to feel like you want to run away from all the stress and responsibility. I have…and Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/lets-talk-about/broken-beauty Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:46:18 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/hope “You have cancer.” I heard the words, but was in shock. My mind was racing. Tears trickled down my cheeks. Numb, devastated emotionally, totally caught off guard. Me? Cancer? I could not think clearly. My heart was pounding. This can’t be happening;&nb Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/hope Mon, 05 Oct 2020 12:50:29 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/meditations-my-heart With another school year beginning, I am reminded of my own school days many years ago. Many an impact is made in the hearts of our youngsters attending school, but this memory is priceless to me. After my family moved back to Clifton, NJ, there was a verse which was our prayer at Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/meditations-my-heart Tue, 08 Sep 2020 16:12:47 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/come-walk-beside-me There are times in life when we each need encouragement—a few kind words, a loving smile, a card expressing concern, or a hand held out when the world knocks us down and we put up a wall of defense against further pain. During this COVID-19 pandemic, it seems too many of us are in a similar Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/come-walk-beside-me Tue, 18 Aug 2020 14:48:49 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/rock-we-stand Daddy, Papa, Pa, Pop, Pops… a dad by any name is still a dad! He’s part of the solid foundation of the home. Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/rock-we-stand Mon, 22 Jun 2020 00:11:15 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/when-doubts-assail Approaching Memorial Day, my thoughts are of all who gave their lives in war that we and so many around the world might live in freedom. Their battles on the field and in the mind are not what we who have never been there can truly fathom.  Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/when-doubts-assail Sun, 24 May 2020 00:10:13 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/crucibles-test Sometimes life takes a different path than we expect. Sometimes ya just gotta hold on tight and stay the course. Like a forest that takes a devastating fire to bring out its best in new growth, so we wend our way through difficulties in the midst of the crucible’s test. And, knowin Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/crucibles-test Mon, 20 Apr 2020 16:11:16 +0000 https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/peace-storm There have been many times when my peace was shattered: in difficult storms, painful wounds, and major losses…and I was in turmoil. Just recently my husband was found to be in life-threatening diabetic hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome. Linda Roorda https://network.crcna.org/topic/spiritual-formation/faith-nurture/peace-storm Tue, 28 Jan 2020 15:33:07 +0000