I snuggled onto our family room sofa to to read my morning devotional. But once I started into Colossians, Chapter 3, I could not stop. “Set your hearts on things above,…” I read. The room was quiet and the view outside was cloudy creating a calming spirit in the room. I could see that my heart and mind were not focused on heavenly things but on those of this world–the housework, bills, family issues, work, worry about the … Continue reading →
A few clicks of the phone keys as I walk across the cement pathways connecting classrooms on our elementary campus can ignite a charge of unnecessary emotions. The message so urgent to relay, I can’t wait until the last bell rings and the kiddos wild with elation dash for their buses. I press send, flip the phone closed, slip its slender case into my pants pocket, and walk into the classroom. Now, I just need a reply, a vibration … Continue reading →
The sky was a patchwork of puffy, white clouds stitched across a blue background. The air whistled a crisp fall breeze as the children danced around the play equipment and fed the curious animals in a traveling petting zoo. Adults dressed in purple shirts wearing warm, easy smiles wrapped their guests in love as all proclaimed the goodness of the Lord. After three long years, a sweet girl with brown ringlets had become the daughter of a very … Continue reading →
“A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.” Proverbs 29:11 NIV Like a tree tossed ferociously in a storm is a person consumed by anger. The feelings and thoughts whip one around with hurricane force. The person does not know which way she is bending but words spewed from the mouth in anger are carried on the vicious wind, never to return. So much damage can be done … Continue reading →
Questions Need Soul Answers-Psalm 131 I could feel the depression creep into my skin like an insidious attack of insects looking for a winter home in which to roost. I flipped my head to the other side on my soft pillow, hoping to rub out the feeling of invasion and a Saturday morning filled with dreariness. Only the morning’s grogginess filled my waking mind at first. But once the invasion began, my contemplation of the day ahead became sullied … Continue reading →
It’s been a while since I have put a number to all the thank yous my heart holds for the Lord. The blessings have overflowed: 683) the arrival of fall, even if the thermometer still reads 90+ degrees 684) this autumn season full of promise, bursting forth in harvest; a time to gather, and a time reap what we have sewn 685) the love of family and friends as we joined in the celebration of one of … Continue reading →
“Whatever is lovely…think about such things” “You worry too much,” my cousin wrote the words that so aptly describe the workings of my mind. Just a few weeks ago I was held captive by worry as I drove home from work, not an uncommon happening. Anxious thoughts crept into my mind and spiked on the Richter scale of patterns zigzagging across the internal screen. As I wound up the road home, the intensity of worrisome scenarios built for … Continue reading →
Sharon and I enjoying a moment at the cafe outside of her church Last weekend while I was in California, I had the rare privilege of meeting one of my favorite blogging friends IRL, Sharon of Sharon Sharing God. In blogging lingo, IRL means In Real Life. That moment captured all the excitement, fun, sharing, and friendship I had anticipated. As a way to share this moment with our readers, we’ve done a mock interview. We hope it … Continue reading →
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11: 19. NIV When my mother was in the hospital more than 14 years ago, I listened to this song over and over again. I needed the Lord’s heart beating in my heart to endure the months long trial of her illness. I needed to know His … Continue reading →
The orange glow of the sun ball slipped behind the ocean, streaming gold and apricot rays across the Western horizon. We curved across Pacific Coast Highway into the restaurant parking lot just in time to see the sun draw a magnificent close to this special day. The timing was impeccable as we watched the magic of velvet hues in lavender and sherbet pink layer upon gold and flaming orange. The horizon a reflection of the Master’s palette. He … Continue reading →
