His Beautiful Bride — An Allegory of The Church
“This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.” (Eph. 5:32 — ESV) The Bride stood before the mirror. Seeing her brokenness in the reflection brought back a flood of memories — the events that took her right…
Mary’s Little Lamb
Near the cross [where The Lamb hung] stood his mother… (John 19:25) (The following story, though allegorical in nature, is true — as recounted by my dear mother, Mary. It is fitting for her to have witnessed this, as she is, to me, a person who…
Lesson Learned from a Restive Retriever
“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Ps. 16:6 — NIV) Unlike our Pyrenees prisoner, whose restlessness landed him behind extra strands of barbed wire on our neighbors’ farm, our restive Retriever puppy faces restrictions for…
A Lesson Learned from a Pyrenees Prisoner
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight…” (Jeremiah 15:16 — ESV) Our Great Pyrenees has traded open pastureland for a confined space measured in yards rather than acres. We drive by where Finley is now a prisoner,…
The Gift of Waiting
I’d been waiting — holding on for a quarter of a century. Only recently have I let go. In the early 1990s, I collected everything I could Noah’s Ark-themed. This was a time in my life when I yet believed my broken body would one…
Jesus Always
Our first Sunday evening of Advent was perfect. May I repeat? PERFECT! I had the wreath displayed so nicely in a central location in our home. I had the candles ready. Our little plastic Mary and Joseph were preparing to embark on their journey toward…
Lamb Light
The City doesn’t need sun or moon for light. God’s Glory is its light, the Lamb its lamp (Rev. 21:23 – The Message)! Well past midnight on Christmas Eve, we made our way to the barn and to the pasture beyond. No celestial orb lit the…
Where I Walk
“The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.” William Blake I walk a parish called White Oak, which inconspicuously “becomes” after a simple bend off Fines Creek. We have a community center; a church with a bell that rings “Welcome!” three times a week;…
Walk On
On our recent trip to D.C., Bill bought me a new pair of shoes. Black ones — simple, beautiful. In them, I walked. I walked the spacious grounds of Mount Vernon — strolling in my shoes where George and Martha Washington once walked in theirs….
Your Golden Year, Jacob
Last night we sat outside, enjoying extended conversation after dinner — Jacob, Bill and me. It was the Golden Hour, and I noticed something. There weren’t any fireflies. Typically they illumine the hillside — a synchronized light show over our pasture and in the trees…