Crosland Stuart

The sugarplums have danced, presents are unwrapped (some even returned), trash cans are bulging along with our waistlines, and there are three days remaining in 2016. Now that we have finished our Christmas lists, most Americans turn to compiling a list of New Year’s resolutions.  Is this among your annual rituals? Personally, I feel an … Read more

As mentioned last week singing familiar songs can become monotonous and it was this very problem that inspired Isaac Watts to pen Joy to the World.  For believers thoughts and celebrations of Christmas should always done in light of the cross.  Without the birth of Christ there would be no resurrection of Christ.  It is this … Read more

Music and specifically carols are such a wonderful part of the Christmas season.  Like anything else, singing very familiar songs can become rote, but beginning today I would encourage you to really pay attention to the lyrics.  So many of them are full of rich reminders of the true meaning of Christmas-the birth of our … Read more

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday setting all kinds of sales records this year, it is hard to escape just how monetized the Christmas season has become. Whether or not you participated in these shopping extravaganzas, this time of year we are well aware of our personal economies as we make our lists and check … Read more

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) was a British, Baptist preacher who was a great orator of his time and was known as the “Prince of Preachers.”  He remains popular today as he is well regarded and read across denominational lines especially among devotional readers and pastors.  If you have not read Spurgeon we would commend his Morning and … Read more

Technology is so much a part of our lives that we often do not realize its impact. It certainly is not all bad, but technology does seem to be one of those areas that we tend to be a bit careless about and underestimate its influence on our lives.  One of The Collaborative’s mantra is … Read more

What a great question! Should art matter to Christians? This is a topic that can be difficult to get our minds around, but that does not negate the need for us to explore the subject more intentionally.   The following article by artist and blogger Melissa Kircher from Relevant Magazine makes art and its practical application to our … Read more

Phalaenopsis orchids are stunning and one of my favorite flowers. They come in a variety of colors and will hold their blooms for weeks. Their beauty is radiant from any angle—up close, from a distance, in bunches and as a singleton. Scripture is like this, in that its truths have a multi-dimensional radiance about them. Passages … Read more

Our faith certainly affirms rest as part of the regular rhythm of a healthy life. But what about when our weekends and time away becomes our focus? What are we working for then? Walter R. Strickland of the Intersect Project explains in his post “Livin’ For the Weekend? Then You’re Working for the Wrong Reasons:” “The song “Livin’ for … Read more