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Jumping at Shadows
If you have ever read Pilgrim’s’ Progress you will remember the time when Christian is walking up to the big house and he has been told to stay straight on the path. It is in the middle of the night and he could hear the lions guarding the walkway. Afraid, he continued to walk till…
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Going Deeper
My pastor preached a sermon on Jonah a while back. As he read over the part where Jonah finally repents in the belly of the fish, it hit me: sometimes we need a fish to take us deeper in our relationship with God. Sometimes we need a hardship to helps us find that deeper relationship…
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Invisible in His Creation
The other day I was out walking and I heard scurrying in the woods behind me. Being a country girl, I start looking for the large animal that was making the racket. Sure enough there was a beautiful and healthy doe bounding away. I guess my singing scared her. But as I smiled at the…
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Pressed for the Best
“I am being poured out as a drink offering. …” This is what Paul said as he was in prison and getting ready to be beheaded. I know that is not a pleasant thought, but think on how many people Paul touched with his prison Epistles. While in Prison, Paul wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossian, and…
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Mistletoe
One day I was driving and noticed all the mistletoe in the trees along the road. As I discussed this at home my sister spoke some profound words. We as humans do not like the Winter seasons in our lives where it feels that everything has died and we are bare and exposed, but my…
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The Mansion on the Other Side
On a particular street in Downtown there is a row of Mansions, one of which looks like it was made in the Civil War era. Nerd! I know, but I love old homes. Directly across the road from these beautiful houses there are smaller normal homes. As I was driving through, I thought how easy…
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Ring the Bells
Have you ever noticed that to ring a huge bell, all that has to be done is to pull on a long rope and then the bells will keep ringing over and over far more times than the rope was pulled. This is the way our thoughts work too. When we stew on past pains,…
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A Simple Thank You
“Thank you” goes a long way. As we celebrate Thanksgiving we have set aside a time to give thanks to God and to others for their love and many kindnesses. So often in life we get so busy we do not even remember to say “Thank you.” Allow me to lead by example: Lord, thank…
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Why Were You Born?
“Why were you born?” was a common question I was asked as a child. It was not in exasperation, but to remind me of the answer that follows. “To serve God.” That was the answer when I was growing up, but as my nieces and nephews have come along the answer has changed. The question…
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Something From Nothing
As I drive to work every day, I pass this old post. Over the years there has been a little cedar tree that has grown. It used to be a little sprig, but now the tree is almost as tall as the post. Yesterday I realized that this tree had become so big was now…