Life is a series of short stories. Years ago, I was hiking the jungles of Peru. Two weeks before that, I was sitting on a front porch with an elderly gentleman, watching the clouds go by and thankful for my blessings. It’s been a few years, but he’s passed on, and even though I am sad that he’s gone, I feel blessed to have known and cared for such a great man. Today, I sit with a lovely lady. Once a model, today she faces her days with lost memories of the past. But still, we sit …
When Jesus Comes To Get Us
Remember when we were kids and our generation had phrases we used a lot? Right on. Groovy. Far out. Peace. Those were the best phrases! Lol I think every group of people who have had such phrases believed in them at the time. For months I have been hearing a phrase over and over again “When Jesus comes to get us”. And you know what? It’s time to believe in that phrase for our season as believers. Oh beloved, when Jesus comes to get you and me… The Lord wants us to live by that phrase. He wants us to …
Serving Our Country
I drive in my car today and watch the sun dance across my windshield. It is cold outside, and the extra warmth from the light feels good. I am on my way home from a special presentation by some military people on Veteran’s Day. I am so thankful for life in a free country. I heard some interesting information. One surprising fact was that only one percent of the population in our country has direct experience with the military. This creates a gap in community understanding. Used to be a person served a tour and then was back home, but …
Chronic to Release
We woke up early one morning. By early I mean way before 4:30 am, which is my usual wake up time. Hubby’s back was hurting a little, so we decided to get up and move around. It made me think of one of our precious family members who has truly suffered with back problems for many years. In fact they’ve had surgery several times, alleviating the problem some each time. Recently they had surgery again, but this time the outcome seems to be much more effective. Hopefully and prayerfully, her chronic back pain has truly come to an end. So …
Discard The Leftovers
This morning as I realize our refrigerator is full past capacity and bursting at the seams with leftovers, I am trying to remember what my parents did with the leftover Christmas food. We will keep those delectable dishes for a couple of days – maybe even have a plate or two of the remains. But beyond that I have learned to discard it before it ruins altogether. So not only will our beloved live now crunchy Christmas tree go, so will the holiday food. Oh beloved, we may all want to discard the leftovers of our holiday meals, but there …
Life is Good But God’s Love Is Better
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Psalm 63:3 Life is good. You’ve probably said that a few times – perhaps in response to a passing “How are you?” from a friend. The response has become almost a cliché, on par with: Can’t complain! Awesome! Fine! Great! One organization has successfully transformed “life is good” into a thriving business. (Maybe you own a Life Is Good tee shirt.) Their mission is to spread the power of optimism and their tag line reads: LIFE IS NOT PERFECT. LIFE IS NOT EASY. LIFE IS GOOD. As a follower of Christ, …
Jesus The Way, The Truth and The Life
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 This verse may be familiar to many of us. The phrase, “…the way and the truth and the life” may easily roll off our tongues, because we have heard it quoted many times. We may have committed it to memory if we grew up in Sunday School or Awana. We may be struck by the combination of these three descriptors: way, truth, life. These are an interesting combination. As we focus on the words individually, it prompts us to …
The Doll
I love baby dolls. So I had the most awesome time hunting for the perfect baby doll for our youngest granddaughter, complete with all the sounds and effects of a real baby. Not long after Christmas she was visiting at our house and I asked where her baby was. “Oh she’s turned off” was the reply. You can turn the sounds of that baby off with just a flip of a switch. Being able to silence the baby doll meant that nobody has to hear all those noises at her house and granddaughter can leave it all behind when she …
Don’t Live Looking Back
We made a quick trip to my husband’s childhood stomping grounds. Unfortunately it’s another family funeral. But as always along the way there are highlights of his youth and we talk about special places like the first place he killed a deer. Then there’s Ranger Hill. Always fun because it’s like a wind tunnel with signs to warn the driver of the current. Except they are now in the process of cutting back the grade of that hilly climb. It’s for safety but another childhood spot will be just a memory. Oh beloved, it’s a good thing we don’t have …
Post The Word
With some of my grands in tow I went over to see a friend’s house still under construction. She invited us along with several others to write Scriptures and encouragement on the studs of the building before the sheet-rock and trim went up. What a cool idea! Even the grands, who know her and like her a lot, took a marker and wrote! It was so much fun! To know that through the years the words written will remain as a hidden reminder of the blessings of God is quite wonderful. Oh beloved, the Word is Spirit and life! When …
The Word is – Anniversary
Well, anniversary. What can I say? We have a lovely 45th one coming up in November. But our big anniversary was that just 12 months ago we were out of the hospital and ready to embark on recovery. We hoped and we planned, but God took us through it and at the end of 2017, November, we celebrated by driving to the Gulf and having a beautiful anniversary – simply because we were ALIVE and TOGETHER! So what do I want to tell younger wives? Don’t sweat the little stuff. And it’s all little stuff. If you want to make …