Hagelbooks

When I was little I used to love going “exploring,” which meant going to play outside. I especially liked the woods behind my childhood home. These explorations created some of my favorite pastimes and memories. However, there was one little challenge: I was a snake magnate. This became apparent one year when every snake we…

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord…” (Jeremiah 29:11). God knows what tomorrow holds before we even think about it. And He is in control. Sometimes we try to make things happen or think that our plans are better than God’s plans – Wrong! God’s plans are always best. Mom…

I saw a tree today growing out of a fencepost. Yes, out of a fencepost. And this tree is very much alive and thriving. Who would have thought that such a thing could grow there. But God knew it could. Sometimes, in our lives, God plants us in the most strangest of places. We think…

When I was young and we would read the verse in Proverbs that said before honor comes humility, my young brain always saw it as before we would be honored, we would have to go through humiliation. But that is not what the verse is saying at all. It is simply saying that God honors…

“Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Paul asks the churches in Galatia. No one likes correction. We like to be told we are doing well, doing right, but sometimes we need to be told what needs to be corrected. This is never fun. And how many of us get angry…

Do you know Pollyanna and her glad game? She constantly tried to find something to be glad about. Well, for me it is the Thankful Game. We were sitting outside one sunny afternoon, my siblings and I. The day had been one of those off days – things just did not feel right, depressing thoughts…

When I was little and was told to wait one minute, I would begin to count as fast as I could to make time go by faster. But when mom said one minute, she actually meant sixty real seconds, not the milliseconds I was counting. Sometimes we are like that with God. When He says…

There was a fearless little boy who was playing in the water with his dad. He was perched up on his father’s knees so the water would not cover him. This was an exercise to help him practice swimming. With gusto, he would jump up and down on his father and feel the cold water…

Driving to work I saw a turkey by the side of the road enjoying whatever bugs were hiding beneath the dark green grass. Her feathers were a beautiful brown and her long slick neck jerked up as the car passed by. She took one step to the side and went back to eating. This was…

A few weeks back a group of us went down the Coosa River. With every trip, the owner gives a briefing of what to expect, dos, and don’ts. In his instructions he tells the newbies when you come to the Rapids, don’t try to come up with all these plans of how you are going…