Here's a Thought with Jay Daniels

It was sometime around late 2005 or early 2006. I was working my first job at the Virginia Center Ukrop's in Glen Allen, VA. By this point, I was cashier on the front end of the store. It had been a fairly quiet afternoon when it came time for my 15-minute break. After making a salad at the bar, I went to the upstairs break room in the rear of the building.  As I finished my ascent up the stairs, I heard a voice singing a familiar melody. It was my friend Constance. She stopped for a moment, but I asked her to please continue singing that wonderful music. (She now shares her talent with a church praise team near her home in Dallas.) The words she was singing still resonate with me today. Perhaps, this weekend, we could all be reminded of these words written by Joseph Scriven. "What a friend we have in Jesus All our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry Everything to God in prayer. Oh, what peace we often forfeit! Oh, what needless pain we bear! All bec...

I watch the news... I scroll through my Facebook feed... I hear the conversations of many on the streets. Our nation is more divided than ever. Folks are pointing fingers at each other. Their words spew feelings of hate not compassion. Their actions speak volumes to the condition of their heart.  Frankly, I have grown tired of these childish actions. I'd rather flip an off-switch and make it all go away. Christians and all peoples alike... we are called to love our neighbors. All of our neighbors. Not one can change the entire world, but one person at a time can make a difference in their corner of the world. Think about what you say... what you post... and most of all... think about what you want your life to stand for. I share with you now these words from a little-known Irving Berlin composition, as performed here by Frank Sinatra on a radio broadcast from the 1940s.  "Help me to help my neighbor. Help me to understand. Help me to hear the pleading Of an outst...