Who needs a spiritual boost today?  

Sometimes God's hand in human affairs is downright stunning even though we readily affirm this reality based upon the Scriptures.  Such was the case this week when our own Debra Hix-Sykes made a startling discovery while undergoing lab work at St. Luke's Hospital.  As some of you know, Debra is regular at the hospital, something of a fixture, really, where she routinely undergoes a variety of tests and procedures in anticipation of a liver transplant.  Her journey to wholeness is fraught with more complicating factors than one can imagine.  Yesterday she was pleased to cross paths again with a woman she describes as her favorite lab technician.  Something about the kindness, warmth and attitude of this employee had impressed her over the last two years.  On Tuesday she discovered why.  None other than Julie LaBouef--the daughter of one of the most beloved couples in Layton's history--was at her service.  Julie combines the best qualities of the late Dick and Rolanda Johnson!  Debra and Julie recognized their bond in Christ and spent the next few minutes encouraging one another in ways that only the Lord could have orchestrated.  And oh yes, expressing gratitude to healthcare workers in memory of Julie's dad was something of the genesis of Layton's "Soup for the Soul" ministry (for information, see below) in which Debra is up to her waist.  "My grateful meter," she said, "went off the chart.  God is something else."  My guess is that Julie felt the same way.  Maybe you needed this reminder today.  I did.  Pastor Keith Cogburn.

Scroll further to see what's going on at Layton in the coming weeks.  Thank you!