Psalms 118:24 “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The first spring after my husband’s passing brought fresh reminders of my loss. His favorite past times were all around me. When our sons were young, Ken was a soccer coach. He embraced the game fully in spite of having never played it himself. When our grandchildren came along, he enjoyed the comfort of the sidelines as he watched our younger son coach his boys. Ken also loved baseball and was a pitcher for his high school team. …
A New Day
Do some days feel like deja vu? Some call it ‘groundhog day,’ where life is a perpetual circle. You wake up and go through the same routines as yesterday. You have a choice in this matter. You can follow God and expect great things or you can follow your own way and be stuck in a rut. This is the day that the Lord has made. Be glad and rejoice in it. 2 Corinthians 4:16 – “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by …
Wish You Could Sleep Through It?
God wants us to know today that even though we want to sleep through it, He is wide awake and always on the throne. This morning I woke up and thought “wish I could just sleep through it”. Rain again. Today’s rain makes this the longest stretch of consecutive rain days since 1986. I truly just want to sleep through it. Oh beloved, there are other things we’d like to sleep through aren’t there? The virus situation, family problems, financial woes, uncertain outcomes. All these things make the heart faint and the body tired. But God wants us to …
Wilting
“I’m wilting.” Two words I recently told a friend. They were out of my mouth before I even had a chance to realize what I was saying. But after the words were out, I couldn’t quit thinking about the state I was in. I was wilting. Wilting: to become limp through heat, loss of water, or disease; to droop Yes, I was wilting…I was becoming limp through heat– certain trials I was up against had proved to be very hot; through loss of water– I was looking inward to myself rather than looking at Jesus, the very source of Living …
You Were…. But Now You’re NEW
Renewed – to begin again, to make effective for an additional period. Wow, when we look at the dictionary definition of “Renewed” we probably all wish we could be that or do that. I am sure our minds go immediately to moments in life that we wish we could “do over”. Of course that’s where the enemy wants to take us…to the moments in life that we were at our worst. But the truth is apart from Jesus we are the worst. Thank you Jesus because of the cross, because of the blood shed on …
Wisdom: What We Can Expect
Averages and Expectations. I read that the average washing machine will perform 5,100 cycles before biting the dust. The average length of a mystery novel is 70,000 words. The average person speaks 138 words a minute. The average toddler sleeps ten hours a night. And the average passenger 747 airplane is retired after 27 years of service. For researchers, these tidbits of information are important. If a product or service is being offered, averages provide a guideline of what a consumer can expect. I’m usually on the consuming end, so I’m more about the expectations. I want the life …
Mercy: A New Way
Definition of Mercy: not getting what you deserve Mercy changes how we interact with others. Jacob favored his son, Joseph. It made his brothers so jealous, they sold him into slavery. To make matters worse, he was accused of misdoing and thrown into prison. But God was watching over him. Joseph was released and even given a powerful position. Imagine his surprise when, years later, his brothers stood in front of him. Due to a famine, they had traveled to Egypt in search of food. The men didn’t recognize their grown brother in his administrative position, but Joseph knew …
Life from Bones by Heather Patterson
I began the year on a cloud that carried me for many months. We were still tan from a trip to Disney World. My dad’s January surgery went great and if April’s went as well, he would be cancer free by May! I had a book released about finding our identity in Christ, then was allowed to speak to over 100 women at my church on it one night, then teach it through a 10 week study. My husband was doing great in his school, and we entertained thoughts of all the different places we could move …