The LORD bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26 I never thought about this blessing being for me. The thought of God smiling at Read more
It was a land barren, desolate, nearly without life…needing comfort. Many places that could be described as desolate are at least beautiful, colorful, or interesting. This was a waste-land: flat, sparse, featureless, dry, dull-looking. This was a place we just wanted to get through as we traveled over 4500 miles Read more
I have been sitting in the post-resurrection passages during this time of year known as Eastertide. (Thanks to the folks at Lectio365.) Today we were in John 21:15-19. One of the things that caught my eye was the way John see-saws between the two identities of the fearful, forceful, flaky Read more
I have chickens. Hens, but no roosters. That means that they lay eggs that will never hatch into chicks. It got me thinking about fruitfulness. . . I wonder if they produce those beautiful, extra large, brown speckled eggs expecting them to hatch. I wonder if they are disappointed when Read more
Grief. That word often conjures a picture of a woman in tears over the dead body of a loved one… or the hollow-eyed, soot-stained face of a child bereft and alone in a bombed-out house. God promises to bless with comfort those who mourn. Jesus’ words on the mountain where Read more
Leafing through my journal, I found nothing deep or even noteworthy to write about, but this was never meant to be a showplace for glorious victories, just the exploration of what happens to an everyday Jesus follower…and how she responds. So, here goes… Good morning, Papa, thank you for bringing Read more
(Sometimes the everyday gets to be too much!) Does anyone ever ask why Peter, who must have known how to swim, and was skilled in the ways of boats and well-acquainted with storms, was suddenly afraid of drowning? Why would a man operating in his strong suit be suddenly rendered Read more
The bedbugs are dead. As far as I know… Now it is the rats. And the need to bring our 60+ year-old house up to code… Now we are looking at more demolition, reconstruction, permits, bids, furring out, filling in, reconfiguring, rewiring, inspections, more waiting, waiting, waiting… So many more Read more
Waiting for bugs to die (Yes, a few survived.), waiting for a new bed frame to arrive, waiting to have somewhere to put the things we are keeping, waiting for new routines to kick in… lots of “waiting for-s.” There are so many promises connected with waiting for God. Here Read more
The battle I reported in last week’s post still rages. (Not that I really expected it to be over…) The good news includes: I am remembering to set boundaries around my house morning and evening, to armor up when I sit down to the Word each morning. (Maybe I should Read more