JEFFREY SWAINSTON, CHAPLAIN
P.O. Box 77
Manton, MI 49663
(616) 405-6921
revjeff82@gmail.com
"COME TO ME, ALL WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST." - MATTHEW 11:28 IN MEMORIAM 2014
Geraldine Bailey - North Adrian #721
Philip Clipfell - Colon #215
James Hazel - Home #129
George Huffman - Home #129
Margaret Wetzel - Home #129
Richard Kelley - Rome #293
Kenneth Murray - Fredonia #1713
Rita Orlowski - Barnard Grange #689
Doris Ely - Lime Creek Grange #712
Marge Wagner - Summit City Grange #672
Gary Hallock - Burns Grange #160
Mary Carson - Burns Grange #160
Dick Wooters - Summit City Grange #672
Alvin Thelen - Capitol Grange #540
Jerry Dennert - Oceana Center Grange #1047
Alice Beebe - Rome Grange #293
Charles Johnson - North Adrian Grange #721
David Armstrong - Adams Grange #286
IN MEMORIAM 2013
Ed Schwartz - Fredonia #1713
Joanie Miller - Fredonia #1713
Eva Grant - Home #129
Esther Pfister - Rome #293
June Ohlman - North Adrian #721
John Baldwin - Oceana Center #1047
Margaret Beardslee - Community #1675
E. Marie Dean - Summit City #672
Eva Grant - Home #129
Ruth Strebbing - Plymouth/Westand #389
Donna Jean Hauri - Studley #1174
Dean Yoder - Torch Lake #1840
Vivian Foor - North Adrian #721
Jody Barnes - Gratiot #1898
Peg Brown - Burr Oak #1350
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2024 GRANGE NEWS
God Helps Us Live in Freedom
God Helps Us Live in Freedom
We need to beware of over thinking things, obsessing about unimportant matters. When our minds are idle, we tend to go into planning mode, attempting to figure things out and make various decisions before we really need to do so. This is an unproductive way of trying to grasp control, and it’s a waste of our precious time. Often, we end up changing our minds or forgetting what we even decided. There is a time for planning, but it’s definitely not all the time, or even most of it.
We should seek to live in the present moment, where God’s presence awaits us continually. We should refresh ourselves in God’s nearness, letting His love soak into our inner-most being. Relax with God, putting aside problems so we can be attentive to Him and receive more of His love. Our souls thirst for God, but often we don’t realize what we’re really longing for, an awareness of God’s presence. Let God lead us beside quiet waters and restore our souls. Just as in our personal relationships, we don’t need to say much to communicate deeply, so it is in our relationship with God, the lover of our souls.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:17–19
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:17–19
MARCH/APRIL 2024 GRANGE NEWS
It’s a mixture of sadness, grief, discontentment, loneliness, and maybe even a bit of anxiety when you’re missing someone you love. When you miss someone, that void can’t truly be filled unless they are in your arms, hugging you. But that doesn’t answer the question of how you can get to sleep tonight, when you’re feeling their absence so tangibly.
The answer is simple, but it’s not simplistic. Call to God to fill your void.
He hears you, and He will come to your aid. It may not be in the way you want or expect. It won’t mean a certain loved one will come jetting back to you in the next twenty-four hours. It doesn’t mean that you won’t feel a palpable absence. But when you cry out to the Lord, He is quick to bring compassion and comfort. He will be your refuge, dear friend. He will console you in His perfect, timely, all-knowing way.
We can find comfort in the presence of our God — especially when we are troubled or missing a loved one.
2 Corinthians 1:4 says that the God of all comfort “comforts us in all our tribulation.” Cling to that truth, dear sister or brother. Look for the Lord’s presence today. He can fill that empty, cavernous hole that feels so desperate. Pour out your heart to the Lord; He will sustain you in your most pain-filled moments. He will provide a light in the darkness; He is a reprieve in the pain, a provider to the weary, and a strength to the weak.
God’s Peace
Missing a loved one is a very lonely feeling.
The only thing to really resolve the ache of loneliness is to actually see the person you’re missing. But many times, it’s not that easy. You may miss your mother who passed away last year, your daughter who is away at college, or your spouse on a long business trip. Even though it may not be an easily fixable situation, there is a longing in your heart that cannot be denied.
It’s a mixture of sadness, grief, discontentment, loneliness, and maybe even a bit of anxiety when you’re missing someone you love. When you miss someone, that void can’t truly be filled unless they are in your arms, hugging you. But that doesn’t answer the question of how you can get to sleep tonight, when you’re feeling their absence so tangibly.
The answer is simple, but it’s not simplistic. Call to God to fill your void.
He hears you, and He will come to your aid. It may not be in the way you want or expect. It won’t mean a certain loved one will come jetting back to you in the next twenty-four hours. It doesn’t mean that you won’t feel a palpable absence. But when you cry out to the Lord, He is quick to bring compassion and comfort. He will be your refuge, dear friend. He will console you in His perfect, timely, all-knowing way.
We can find comfort in the presence of our God — especially when we are troubled or missing a loved one.
2 Corinthians 1:4 says that the God of all comfort “comforts us in all our tribulation.” Cling to that truth, dear sister or brother. Look for the Lord’s presence today. He can fill that empty, cavernous hole that feels so desperate. Pour out your heart to the Lord; He will sustain you in your most pain-filled moments. He will provide a light in the darkness; He is a reprieve in the pain, a provider to the weary, and a strength to the weak.
