If These Walls… (Part 2)
Come, see the glorious works of the LORD… Be still and know that I am God (Psalms 46:8a; 10a — NLT). We sat on the old front porch, swinging like girls on the porch swing. The men were men–surveying the property, walking its boundary lines….
If These Walls… (Part 1)
Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches (Proverbs 24:3, 4–NKJV). If these old walls… If these old walls could speak Of things that they remember well– Stories and faced dearly held; A…
God In A Haiku
I must go begging For water… morning glories Have captured my well. (Chiyo) The first haiku I ever remember reading was in my poetry volume of Childcraft — The How and Why Library. When I read it, I had no idea that a haiku is…
Mother’s Day, May 12th and ‘Evan Almighty’ — Oh My!
Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3 — Holman Bible). Mother’s Day fell on May 12th in 1996, just as it did this year. I know this because that was the year…
Birthmother — Such a Beautiful Name
You have turned my mourning into dancing; you have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy… (Psalm 30:11). Tomorrow, many women will celebrate how — through the arrival of a child, that glorious gain that’s both beautifully life-changing and heart-enlarging (and yes, sometimes excruciatingly heart-wrenching) — a new…
Donnie Harrison — Another Sort of Hero
Our Father in heaven… (Matthew 6:9a — ESV). This morning, I tucked into Ian’s keepsake box several newspaper articles and the memorial bulletin from his heroic friend Riley Howell‘s funeral. As I closed the lid, I thought, The loss of a friend is no small thing. I…
Jesus-Joy for Breakfast
May my Lord never let me grow cold in my longing to be a cup in His hand for the quenching of His own royal thirst. ~~ Oswald Chambers A simple thing — a tray of toast. Coffee with cream. Jam and sliced apples. A…
Our Prayer for Jacob
On Wednesday, March 6th, we celebrated our son Jacob’s 19th “Happy ‘Gotcha’ Day” — a day we celebrate much like a birthday, because it’s the day he officially joined our family through the miracle of adoption. As with marriage, someone who is licensed to officiate…
Let Your Light Shine
“You are the light of the world…. let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16 — Holman Bible). When I taught Christian education some years ago, I was affectionately…
MEPS — More Extraordinary Plans, Son
‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the LORD, ‘plans to prosper and not harm you, to give you a hope and a future’ (Jer. 29:11). This morning, without any real fanfare or hype, I–though terribly under-dressed in pjs worn for the…