In keeping with tradition Bayshore Baptist has produced its annual Advent devotional booklet. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent and going all the way through Epiphany (January 6) there is a one page devotional thought for each day of the Advent/Christmas season. Each day's devotional is provided by a different member of the Bayshore family. That means a total of 41 different saints have offered their reflections on the Scriptures in light of this holy season.

I have been truly blessed by this simple resource. I begin each day by reading and reflecting on the thoughts read more...

"When do we get to sing Christmas carols?"

It is a question that church members usually start asking somewhere around this time of year. And for good reason! The opportunity to sing the beloved carols of the season is an annual highlight for many people. Every year we look forward to plugging in the Christmas tree lights and singing Silent Night or O Little Town of Bethlehem. There is an emotional and spiritual release that comes when, after another year of struggles, we can return to the innocence of a baby in a manger through those familiar read more...

He was feeding ducks. It caught my attention because, well, who has time to feed ducks? I was rushing from one thing to the next on a busy morning, and I saw him as I slowed down long enough to pull into a drive-through window for a cup of coffee. With the kind of morning I was having I needed a little caffeine boost. The ducks apparently lived in the small pond behind the shopping center where the fast food joint was located. Whether it was planned or just a spontaneous act on his part I cannot say, but some read more...

"Daddy, where are those tall buildings and why are they on fire?" I was watching a documentary on the September 11 terrorist attacks when my oldest daughter happened to walk through the room. She was born on August 30, 2002, just a few days short of the one year anniversary of the attacks. That means she has no knowledge of what life was like before that terrible day. When I was just a little older than she is now I went on a class field trip to New York City. To this day I can still remember the excitement I read more...

I am not aware of anyone in the Tampa area that felt the effects of the earthquake that shook the eastern seaboard yesterday, but even still the news of its occurrence was disturbing. The east coast is my home. I have spent most of my life in Georgia and the Carolinas, and I have traveled often through Virginia. These places are more than just familiar; they are also solid and safe, or at least I have always thought of them as so. Earthquakes happen in far away places like California or Japan or Haiti ?" places that I hear about read more...