Bright & Shining
"This little light of mine, I'm goin' let it shine. This little of mine, I'm goin' let it shine. This little of mine, I'm goin' let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine. Let it shine." Standing tall, singing loudly, and…
Christmas Bells
"We have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." 1 John 4:14 ESV Bells and Christmas sound like a perfect pairing. Many of our favorite Christmas songs and carols feature the…
Comfort, Peace & Hope
In turbulent times... "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." Isaiah 26:3 ESV She closed the exam room door quietly and efficiently as she greeted me, then sat momentarily, reviewing my patient…
Personal or Community?
Us. We. Them. They. Our people. Our group. My family. My squad. Our team. Humans gravitate towards family, groups, teams, and collectives of many types. Unless you are genuinely a hermit, you enjoy (to varying degrees) being with others. Not all of…
Impatient
"Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city." Proverbs 16:32 NIV We are a world that lacks patience. Our many time-saving devices have spoiled us. We've created shortcuts for almost everything, and we become…
In Need Of Rescue
"Listen to me...you whom I have upheld since your birth, and have carried since you were born. Even to your old age and gray hairs, I am He, I am He who will sustain you. I have made you and I will…
Guilty
I stared at the old Singer treadle sewing machine. I had always been fascinated by the foot-powered machine, which required steady foot action and carefully coordinated movement of fabric and thread tensions. It was a graceful dance of feet, fabric, and fingers.…
Surrender
"Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28 I'm old enough to remember with great affection singing from hymnals at church. That was back in the day when the musical accompaniment was…
Whispers of Thunder
"How faint the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the thunder of His power?" Job 26:14 NIV As a little girl, I remember waking in the night to the sound of distant thunder. I listened to the whisper of…
Powerless
"O our God...we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you." 2 Chronicles 20:12 ESV Good King Jehoshaphat's heart sank as he listened. The Ammonites, Moabites,…
Tears
"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?" Psalm 56:8 ESV I confess. I am a weeper. Tears fall easily – happy tears, sad tears, emotionally responsive tears. Tears are the…
Belonging
"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God...Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone...." Ephesians 2:19 We want desperately to belong—to be accepted, to fit in, to…
The Tree & The Ivy
"Who is a God like You, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You...delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; You will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into…
Screaming Cows & Burning Fields
“But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, "You are my God." Psalms 31:14 ESV Standing on tiptoe, I balanced on the kitchen sink's narrow back edge, clutching the window ledge, and peered into the dark evening. I couldn't see a…
Time Keeps On Slippin’
"Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. James 4:14 ESV To borrow a line from Fly Like An Eagle, by the Steve…