--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- “From the very beginning, the skies have displayed the glory of God. The skies over creation. The skies over the miracles of the Old Testament. The skies over the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus — these same skies are the ones we live and... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- We've just had the carnival season, and Lent has now begun. I think these two periods show how different certain phases of our lives can be. During carnival season, you can do whatever you want. It sometimes even "forces" you, to break with everyday norms... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- In many if not most cultures, names carry meanings. In many “western" societies, my impression is that names are mostly given not so much for the recognition and/or aspiration of their inherent meaning or spiritual association, but rather inspired by family and friendship associations or... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- This morning, during my daily prayer, the verse of the day was Philippians 4:6–7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 We live in a world that values speed, immediate results, and quick answers. Yet Scripture repeatedly shows us that God often works most deeply during seasons of waiting. In... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- Have you ever considered that there is no AD 0? This is more than just a fun fact. It shows how the Christian calendar challenges secular, biological, and most significantly, personal calendars. In this the first Midweek Meditation of 2026, I want to reflect on... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- As this year draws to a close, we find ourselves at a threshold—looking back on months now passing, and forward into a year not yet known. At such moments, Jesus’ parable of the fig tree speaks with particular tenderness. The owner comes seeking fruit and... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- Each year we contemplate the Nativity scene: clean, orderly figures, illuminated by a warm light that conveys peace. And without realizing it, we have completely transformed the scandal of Jesus’ birth. We have made it romantic. We have decorated it. We have turned it into... Continue Reading →

--- Midweek Meditations:thoughts, inspiration and encouragementfrom ACF community members --- November, with the appropriate mixture of rain, cold, grouch, and people in the streets wheezing and coughing. Also the month that starts with All Saints (Allerheiligen) and All Souls Day (Allerseelen), followed, at least in my home region in the Lower Rhine, by “Allerhubert” on... Continue Reading →