Wow…thanks…and Ow… This morning I encountered this startling statement from Psalm 138: “I will …praise Your Name for Your love and faithfulness, for You have exalted above all things Your Name and Your word.” That’s a pretty strong statement about where He has placed the value of His word: exalted Read more…
“No discipline is joyful.”* Oh, how I hated this verse as a child! Hearing it was supposed to make me feel better about feeling bad about something that was being done to make me be better! It is challenging enough to give thanks for the hard things God brings into Read more…
Recently an old friend asked for the words of an old song. I had to dredge my memory for the words, since my only partial copy of them is 90 miles away! Searching the dusty vaults of my mind, I found them, still vital and vivid, but perhaps requiring a Read more…
If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you Read more…
Good morning, Papa-God, My heart is heavy, my body weary and pained, my mind restless. I need You, Your peace. You know the source of my trouble. I know the circumstances (at least in part) but, You alone know the end from the beginning, and You know the true root Read more…
Not neat and tidy. Nope. This following-Jesus stuff is messy! Questions come up that don’t have any neat solutions. Or even straight-forward ones. Conflicts arise for which there is no resolution. Depression hits and won’t let up. Disease and death still affect and afflict us, cheating and robbing us of Read more…
God makes a stunning commitment to Samuel: He did not let a single word from Samuel’s mouth “fall to the ground.” Reading this yesterday, my response was to pray, “Let none of my words ‘fall to the ground,’ but keep my aware of them so that they will bear fruit, Read more…
Usually when we say “everyday,” we mean common, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, and that is certainly what I intend when I talk about following Jesus in the everyday: dishes, laundry, gardening, family relationships, church stuff. When Jesus was introducing His hearers to the Kingdom of God the way God sees it, He Read more…
Depressed children often chatter like George Washington’s wooden dentures at Valley Forge, and bounce off the walls. Depressed adults are often quiet — silent, even. I was the classic depressed adult. I sat at the computer last week, and wrote nothing, because I had nothing to say. I was depressed… Read more…
Seeking for the source of the withered places in my heart, I had a “chance” conversation with someone who is getting therapy for trauma. I asked what the trauma was, and the answer sent me diving into research about trauma. Here’s what I found from UNYTE-ILs. It can include ANY Read more…