If Jesus Had a Dog
(Read to the end for a chance to win a wonderful puppy dog book by a dear writer friend!) Mother’s Day weekend 2013, a mixed-Pyrenees pup joined our family–not long after our adopted daughter, having suffered great loss, too, joined us at the age of…
Before Day’s End
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted (Matthew 5:4 NIV). I received the text from my friend Marcia first thing the other morning– Well, here I am, back in the USA… We had a great time in Scotland, but on the last…
A Prayer for Fathers
“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver…
From This Day Forward
Dear Nephew, “… do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgement and discretion; they will be life for you” (Proverbs 3:21-22a NIV). Today you’ve met a milestone. All those steps, from preschool until the present, have brought you to this…
Power in the Pause
“Be still and know…” (Psalm 46:10a NIV). You love them too much. That’s what was written in red at the top of my 11th grade advanced literature assignment, with a circle and an arrow indicating the object of Mr. Fisher’s remark. Commas—the punctuation used to…
A Mother’s Day Song
What could sing more perfectly than scripture? This Mother’s Day, I offer you I Chronicles 16:8-36, with related encouragements between the stanzas of this ancient song of Asaph, as appointed by King David– 8 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what…
When God Changed His Mind–Altars and Isaacs
“When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood” (Genesis 22:9 NIV). The word ‘altar’ appears nearly…
Blind? Blonde? Or Both?
Sometimes how one speaks stirs confusion… creates trouble… or worse. Take Judges 12:1-6 (read for full context), for example–particularly verses five and six. “The Gileadites captured the fords of the Jordan leading to Ephraim, and whenever a survivor of Ephraim said, ‘Let me cross over,’ the men…
The Lord Is My Shepherd
“Momma, please come. I’m scared.” Those five words called out were a common theme when I was a girl of seven, too often breaking the silence of a sleeping household. And Momma would come, sit on the edge of my bed, and pray with me….
Prayer for Ukraine
Lately, I’ve felt as though, if I allowed myself to start, I’d never stop crying. And so, most of the time, the wall’s stood firm. Until recently. It crumbled as I watched with horror images on the news of a woman–a very pregnant woman–being carried…