TFG Blog

Are You Diggin it?   I like to dig! Dig for bargains that is! My idea of a fun shopping excursion is spending a couple of hours at one of the many Goodwill Stores in San Antonio. That would drive some people up a wall. Like my husband. He can’t believe I would actually go into any store, much less Goodwill, and stay for that length of time. ...

A Bridge Too Far? It is fascinating to watch people work with their hands. The art of creating is truly a gift from the Lord. Writing, sewing, farming, florists are all examples of people utilizing their gifting. There is also the design that takes patience and time like a mother holding her young child’s hand and as the years wash over the rel ...

WInsome and You Lose None Being in China was such a great experience for our family.  Once we arrived in Hong Kong, we were met by our personal greeter.  Did I say personal?    I didn’t get to sip champagne on the flight, but we did get a personal greeter.  How awesome is that?  We were exhausted!  Luckily t ...

Put ALL Your Eggs in HIS Basket I am back from Missouri and I survived my 30th high school class reunion. There were a lot of pictures taken and as I suspected, we looked old. Or perhaps shall I use the word mature. Just like people did 30 years ago when I looked, in the paper, and arrogantly moaned in my naive, young mind, “They look old.” Well, ...

“Meet Me in St. Louis” I love God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  I love the way He weaves Himself in and out of our lives for His good purpose.  (Romans 8:28)  I love the way he makes Himself known in the most subtle ways when we least expect it.  I love the way He answers prayer in ways we couldn’t have imagined. ...

Why don’t more young girls today talk about Ruth, Esther or even Mary?Do the lives of these biblical heroines have anything to say to our young girls today? The answer to that is a resounding “YES!”. These stories are literally drenched in the sovereignty of God. Naomi and her family travelled all the way to Moab to make history with a young girl ...

There are many memories that I have, but I am only going to choose one. The memory that I share with my family and my friends, is the time I held my baby sister, Jordan. Now, I bet you guys are thinking, Baby sister, why is that a memory?” Well, I am gonna tell ya! You see, I was 5 years old when Jordan was born. I was in the delivery room but beh ...

Lights! Camera! Action! That is me, Sydney Liberto, at “Read All About It” Bookstore in Boerne. According to my family I did wonderful. I did not know that I was public speaking until 2 days ago! On the day of my book reading, I was so nervous I couldn’t even eat my Tortilla soup and I love Tortilla soup. Of course when I got there I was no longer ...

One of the prominent arguments I hear frequently in Christian circles including from my own mouth is how the state of the nation and its culture took a definitive turn downward when prayer was removed from public schools. This certainly seems to be apparent and difficult to argue against. But is it the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the t ...

 Does anything illustrate the Pavlovian principle like the seatbelt sign being turned off at the end of a flight? Ding! And the instinctive response is to stand as everyone does almost in unison like your team just scored a basket, goal, touchdown or fill in the blank to suit your own personal sports connotation. Even folks with window seats ...

  I wasn't planning on taking Ruth with me to Fiesta Texas, but when mom came up behind me and said: "Conner? I know you won't want to do this, but..." I knew exactly what she wanted from me. I'm seventeen years old! I'm half a year from adulthood and she wants me to drag a doll around Fiesta Texas? This is when mom put her begging into ...

  The following excerpt is from an article that I previously wrote that was published in The Old Schoolhouse magazine Fall 2011.  I am re-publishing in this newsletter in recognition of Father's Day 2012.    As I write this note, the paraphrased words of Mordecai in the fourth chapter of Esther ring clearly in my mind: "Who ...

I cracked, I confessed to someone the other day my occasional tendency to be a bad sport when I compete.  Okay, so it really wasn't a huge secret in the first place.  Anyone one who has competed against me before in anything has probably experienced my post game wrath.  Well, I suppose wrath is a bit of an overstatement.  I've n ...

I will start off by asking the question. What is encouragement? Or what is the opposite of encouragement? I’m sure most of you know what the opposite would be which is tearing people down. So what does it mean to encourage one another as brothers and sisters in Christ? Maybe before you 'jokingly' insult someone you tell yourself , "Oh they know I’m ...

Share your experiences with us of this past Christmas season.  We want to hear about the peace in your heart and the goodwill you extended toward your fellow man as inspired by the Holy Spirit.  Let’s talk about how we will pray for the Lord to stoke the flames of our heart this year with His spirit.  How He will fortify us to carry ...

Strong and True Be strong.  Be true.  You fellow youTrue is the best.  Strong is the crestGod makes you strong.  God makes you true.God makes the blessings go all the way through you.   ...

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Dear Jackie, Greetings in our Savior's name. I am writing to say thank you and God bless you for the gift of one of your precious Ruth dolls and the book that accompanies her. As I made the long journey to Nigeria this time I carried Ruth in my backpack with her head sticking out the top. I cannot begin to tell you how many conversations she start ...

I am free from sin and death because of Christ! John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life.” I love the fact that God loves us so very much that he gave his one and only son so we could have eternal  life with Him and we will no ...

A little over two thousand years ago, the Messiah road into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.  His ride was unpretentious with only a cloak covering the colt's back and yet, people still spread their robes and palm branches on the road before him in celebration of His kingship. "Hosanna in the highest!"  was proclaimed by the crowd as ...

  Everywhere we look we see broken homes, broken families and broken people.  There's an attack on the family institution as well as the sacred covenant of marriage.   There's fathers who abuse their children, mistreat their families or just walk out all together.  What happened? But then,  I look at my own father and I ...

What is the real meaning of love? Or what is love? What does it truly mean to love someone unconditionally? We as fallen human beings do not possess the same power to love one another unconditionally as God does. Although we can try, it’s hard to love that certain person ALL THE TIME through the good and bad, the ups and the downs, the highs and ...

Have you ever doubted God?  I have unfortunately.  It amazes me that I can read the stories of the Bible and be so astounded with the faithfulness of God and then something “weird” happens and I start to doubt!   Psalm 55:22 says: "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." &nb ...

Comfortable In Your Own Skin? Should one be comfortable in their own skin?  Well in one sense, there is a certain level of comfort due to familiarity.  In another sense it’s been said that familiarity breeds contempt. Certainly anyone truly wanting to walk with the Lord has asked the creator of our minds and bodies  to reveal thos ...

This month we celebrate the initial step in the formation of this great nation.  The colonists had already been battling the British for over a year when the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. One of the reasons for delay was the colonists insistence on unanimity from the 13 states.  Why w ...

“Fureeh” is good.An email came out a few days ago from our neighborhood email distribution.  “Free Fridge.  Email back if you want it.”  I could not reply fast enough!  I have never had an extra fridge.  I have often seen them in other people’s homes, but not mine.   And this was all the better!  It was fr ...

I recently went “home” to visit my family.  First, I am not sure why I call it home, but I always have.  I haven’t lived there for 25 years, but it is still home to me.  It is always refreshing to visit family and old friends.  However, while I was there I attended a funeral of a young man I went to school with.  His dea ...

This is the question I ask when I attempt to leave my house wearing something not at all pleasing to my parents. Of course I’m not wearing anything bad, they just have a different definition of "appropriate". Now I have been taught that I’m not allowed to wear anything too short and too low so I try my best to stick to modest dress. I still at tim ...