I recently was having a conversation with a new believer, who was sharing that he feels it is very difficult to be a Christian in today’s society. The temptation from the devil is prevalent, and he was not sure where to begin in his faith journey. He felt like he kept messing up and not doing “the right things.”

It got me thinking about when Jesus saved me. “I want to follow God but this is all new to me. What’s next? How do I read the Bible? Where do I even begin?” Those are just some thoughts I had. I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, and I am one of the few believers in my family. In a way, I felt alone, but all I knew is that I asked God to be Lord over my life. Now looking back four years later, I am in awe of how far God has brought me. So, I want to share with you some thoughts the Holy Spirit spoke to me during my prayer time on how to take your next steps as a new believer.…

God does not look for us to be perfect. He looks for us to follow Him daily. We all have a past that we may not be proud of, and have done things that we wish we hadn’t; but do not let the enemy attack us in our thoughts about those things. The enemy is in the world, but so is God, and as children of God we are called to shine light in the dark world. Everybody’s walk with Jesus is going to look different. We cannot look at christianity as a checklist, marking off the boxes when we complete something. We just need to have a personal, intimate relationship with Him. What the enemy meant for evil, God turns to good. It makes me think of the worship lyrics that say “I sought the Lord and He heard and He answered and that’s why I trust Him.” There are many different influences going on in this world but we have the power of the Holy Spirit to be the influencers, not influenced. God is in control, but He is not a dictating God - He gives us free will. We have the choice every day when we wake up, before our feet touch the floor, to stretch our arms out wide, and say “God, use me today to further your kingdom, use me to lead people closer to you.”

Biblical community is key! The enemy wants us to be alone- he attacks us when we are in solitary and when we don’t surround ourselves with other believers. That’s why it’s so crucial to seek counsel, to pray and encourage each other. Do not look at your past and your mistakes as a failure, shame, guilt, or a burden, because that is all a lie from the enemy. We need to take our testimony, share it, and give God all the glory and praise. The power of your testimony will show people what He can do when you choose Him to be Lord over your life. There is power in your testimony, so He will equip you to share it! God is working through you. Don’t shy away from passing it on when the enemy tries to attack you, because he does not want you or others to know God. We should feel so incredibly grateful that God rules over the enemy, and we have the power through the Holy Spirit to rebuke the enemy when he tries to show up.

We cannot do any of this by ourselves. We need the Holy Spirit, so invite Him into your heart and ask Him to lead you. I encourage you to not be lukewarm, but to speak the truth in love every time God gives you the opportunity and watch lives be transformed. 

Untangled

By Eileen Glotfelty • October 7, 2025
What do these things have in common: a dog's leash, Christmas lights, yarn, and neck chains …they all get tangled! If you've ever tried to untangle any of the above, you know how frustrating it can be…especially for a control freak. The neck chains are the worst. I can remember pulling one out of my jewelry box only to find a twisted tangled mess. I used to get a safety pin and painstakingly pull on each loop. I couldn't put it down until I had it untangled. OCD? Maybe. Life gets tangled in much the same way. For me, it happens in relationships, especially with loved ones. Maybe it's because the standards are higher and expectations are not met; or it's because we make ourselves vulnerable to those we love and our hearts feel the pain more deeply. Whatever the reason, things get tangled and become complicated. I have found myself in that place several times in my life. I don't like it when someone is upset with me so I try hard to make things right. It's not a matter of who's right or wrong. It's about the fact that in their eyes, I've offended them and whether it was intentional or not, they were hurt. Sometimes an apology isn't enough. Trust has been broken and it takes time to build it back up again. So what do you do when you've done everything you can to reconcile and the rejection is still there? You take a step back. You wait and you pray. You'll need to fight against the anger and resentment. Keep your heart in the right place. For me, it's a place of love and forgiveness and hope. Depending on the circumstances and the depth of the relationship, it could take awhile. I'm in a waiting period and I'm not going to kid myself. It may not happen in my lifetime but I do know this, I can wait with hope and peace and I can pray for them. Does it still hurt? Yes. There are days I grieve the loss of them but then I am gently reminded to let them go and trust the One who loves them more than I ever could. I read this verse today which may have have prompted my thoughts: John 13:34 NIV: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If anyone knew how to love others through rejection, it was Jesus. He loved, He suffered, He forgave and He waits. He waited for me, He waits for you.

Hello and Goodbye

By Eileen Glotfelty • September 24, 2025
Mountains and valleys. Hellos and goodbyes. For me they're one and the same. I woke up this morning with a sense of dread because I knew I would be saying goodbye once again. Thankfully , I didn't get stuck there. My daughter and her family left today after coming up for a visit. They weren't here the whole time as they had places to go and people to see but it was nice having them near. I've come to realize that when someone is leaving me, I need to prepare myself emotionally ahead of time. I tend to focus on the negative aspect of things at times and saying goodbye is one of them. There was a time when saying goodbye would send me in a downward spiral. Not today and hopefully not ever again. After my family left, I went out to my happy place…my backyard swing, and as I was thinking about my family, this thought popped into my head. “Every time I've said goodbye, it was because, at some point, I said hello.” I latched onto that thought and realized goodbyes are only temporary. It may be awhile before I can say hello, but that day will come and it gave me hope. Until the next hello, I will think of the sweet memories we made while they were here…playing Old Maid and Uno; teaching the girls how to twirl a baton, laughing and singing and just the sheer joy of being with them. I know some goodbyes seem more permanent and I'm not making light of them. I've lost many loved ones and the separation seemed unbearable. There were days the grief was so strong, I didn't know how I was going to make it. But even in death, goodbye is only temporary. I say that because I know I'll see them again. I know because God said so. I started writing this because of saying goodbye to my family. I didn't expect it to take this turn but I'm thinking there's someone who's going to read this who is struggling with their own goodbyes. I want you to know you will be ok. God cares about our goodbyes and He will give you hope. I know because He did it for me. So take heart my friend. Hold onto Him. He'll bring you through. Goodbye is just a gateway to a new hello.

Reset

By Eileen Glotfelty • August 15, 2025
Recently I returned home after being away for a few months. It felt strange to walk into my own home. I wasn't accustomed to what should've been normal. That soon changed. The next morning I was at the kitchen sink and went to turn on the garbage disposal only to find it not working. Usually if it's jammed, you can still hear the sound of electricity but there was not a sound to be heard. My first stop was the circuit breaker box. Nothing was tripped so I moved on. As I stood in front of the sink, I knew what needed to happen next. That involved me kneeling down on the floor and looking for the brand and model number. I thought long and hard because after two knee surgeries, this was not a good idea. I did the next best thing…I called my sister for help. I wish we had a video camera, then again it was probably better that we didn't. She has a bad knee but that left her with one good one. She made it down onto the floor and got a picture of the label. We googled the unit to troubleshoot the problem. It turned out we needed to find the reset button on the bottom of the disposal. Easier said than done but we did it and power was restored. It needed a special wrench to unjam it but Amazon saved the day! Now why would I go on and on about a jammed garbage disposal? It's not about the fact it was jammed but that it could be reset. After that incident I was talking to my daughter and I heard myself say that I needed to push the reset button in some areas of my life. I wish it would be as simple as pushing the button on a garbage disposal but when you need a reset in life, it usually involves a long process. The areas I need to reset didn't get jammed up overnight. It took years of making excuses and wrong choices. The result of these choices found me powerless and stuck in a place I didn't want to be. As I thought about this, I looked up “reset” in the dictionary. One definition caught my eye. It said, “an act of fixing something in a new or different way.” That's what I need…a new way, a transformation. I don't know what the reset is going to look like or where it will take me but I do know that God made a promise. In Isaiah he says: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. I know it has to be His way, not mine. That's where the power is. That's where I can move forward. With His power, nothing is impossible. I've wrestled with Him for many years and it was a waste of time. It will be a daily surrender to His will. I'm not going to dwell on the wasted time and say, “if only.” Instead I'm choosing to dwell on and be thankful that His mercies are new every morning. That is my reset button.