Author: lorybethhuffman

I discovered some new Christmas songs this year that I downloaded and added to my Christmas play list.  One of them was a version of Auld Lang Syne by The Tenors.  It forced me to listen to the lyrics in ways I confess I just hadn't before.  Part of it is I didn't really know … Continue reading A Cup of Kindness

We are in that season where it feels like more hours of darkness in the day than we have of light.  Throw in a little cloudy weather and we really feel the darkness all around us literally and figuratively.   And yet, this is a season that fights that darkness with Christmas lights strung around … Continue reading Being a Bright Light in a Season of Darkness in Swansboro, NC

I know we are all finding a minute or two this week to do a gratitude check.  But today I am feeling overwhelmingly grateful.  Today Greg and I celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary!  It feels like yesterday when we got married at First UMC Asheboro that beautiful November day.  I think that time does go … Continue reading Thanksgiving, Anniversaries, and Sweet Spots

Real conversations on topics that are difficult, or uncomfortable, or divisive are hard to have.  Avoidance is so much easier than real discussion,  Partly because we are afraid of how the conversation itself will affect our community.  Partly because we know some topics are so complex that there is no one answer that satisfies everyone, … Continue reading A Way Forward

I have been pondering for over a week now so many reflections resulting from the public discourse of recent current events.  Being in a new appointment and not being sure if people can separate spiritual and moral conversation from political it is tricky choosing my words.  However, being a woman listening to some of the … Continue reading Turning Down the Volume

First of all, this blog is not about the huge church bazaar that is taking place as I type in literally every nook and cranny of our church property explicitly.  It's more about the importance of having events and opportunities in our life that bring focus and fellowship, meaning and missional purpose.  The Fall Bazaar … Continue reading How Bazaar!

What does one do after the exhilarating but exhausting experience of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro? 3 days of Safari of course! What an exciting opportunity to explore the amazing animals of Africa. Standing up in the safari vehicles with the wind in your hair (and the dust in your teeth!) binoculars at hand waiting to see … Continue reading Saw the African Big Five!

How do you climb to the top of a really tall mountain? One small step at a time. And that is literally true. The Swahili phrase said over and over is Pole Pole (Po-lay) and it means slow or little by little. I learned this when I was in Kenya several years ago. East Africans … Continue reading Pole Pole (Slowly Slowly)

Have you ever had a life quest? Something you have wanted to do for a couple of years, or something you have thought about or worked towards for years? And have you ever completed said dream? I hope so. If you haven’t, sit down right now and mike a list and then pick something and … Continue reading WE climbed Kilimanjaro!

Jambo! (Swahili for hello!) And so it begins! Our team arrived over the past two days and we gathered for our first team meeting as we met each other and prepared for our pending adventure. We have a young couple from Seattle, a family of 6 from Iowa, a woman from Southern California (my roomie!) … Continue reading In the Beginning…