Recently a reader suggested that my posts were written looking for sympathy. At first it stung a little, but it did prompt me to look at my motives. I have some choices of how to respond when someone challenges me. I can bristle and rebel and say “How dare you Read more…
By this we know love, that He laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. –I John 3:16 It was a bright, chilly morning near the base of Cat Peaks in Usery Park. Fifteen or so of us had made our Read more…
I do not occupy myself with thing too great and too marvelous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother… Psalm 131:1b-2a I hate not being listened to. I resent not being asked for my input, especially when it comes to Read more…
If I had received the affirmation from my parents that I desired, if I had garnered the attention of young men I longed for, had heard the accolades I dreamed of from or found the acceptance I looked for… I do not know what might have been. It no longer Read more…
A few days ago, our prayer ministry team was blessed with a brief day retreat in the pines and meadows of the Mogollon Rim country. Turned loose for two whole hours to be quiet with Jesus near the softly chuckling creek, under the whispering walnuts, or in view of the Read more…
It started with the death of a lizard – a gecko, actually. We have bugs in our house. The big kind you can hear coming, or the kind that try to sing you to sleep at night. My tendency is to smash first and think about the consequences later. This Read more…
I heard Jesus inviting me to come away one Saturday morning not long ago, or I would have remained in bed despite the urging of my alarm. (Exhaustion seems to be the theme of my life lately.) Yet there I was. I was not alone. I had anxiety, fear, burdens, Read more…
My verse for 2019 is familiar “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.” (Matthew 6:33 ) Easy to quote. Hard to practice. As I explore this verse, I discover places in my life that are still my territory, rather than the Read more…
On the ninth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me…nine fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control: the nine-flavored fruit is fragrant evidence of the presence and work of the God’s own Spirit in our lives. It describes a living still-life Read more…
Moses had led the nation of Israel through forty summers of blistering heat and brutal thunderstorms. He longed for his last words to them to be like the gentle rains of winter and the trickling dews of spring. Oh, how we love the tender sprouts of spring here in the Read more…