The Name

What’s in a Name?

Nehemiah’s job it is to see to it that no one poisons the king through his wine, tasting every goblet that is offered to the sovereign. (This is some high level security clearance, as well as a high risk job, and his boss is not even a Jewish king.) In Read more

Feed the Leaves

For years I have fought them! Those pesky little critters that ruin the grapevines! They suck the juice out of the leaves and leave behind a fungal infection that pock-marks the leaves and eventually destroys them. Since the leaves are the food-making factory for the vines, you can guess the Read more

My Great Object

We finally got around to watching “Amazing Grace” this week. It was an utterly satisfying film. It depicts some of the life of William Wilberforce, who was the primary force behind banning the slave trade in the whole British Empire in 1833. After 66 years of pushing, pulling, and risking Read more

What If…?

So…her phone is on the fritz; her ride-share doesn’t show up; she forgot to put a birthday letter in the mail. Any of these is enough to make her frantic; to have all of them come down at once is enough to make any of us frantic! “Why?” is always Read more

What Kind of Fruit?

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

Not Good Enough

I have been reading in Revelation the section that describes the assault by “the great red dragon” (also called “the accuser of the brothers and sisters”). Furious with the woman (who gave birth to the One who is to rule all the nations, a.k.a. Jesus the Messiah) and with her Read more

Tales from the Cooped

This morning I opened the door to the chicken tractor expecting the usual squawk and dash from my tiny flock. None of them moved a muscle. No one made any noise. It was later than normal, and they were abnormally quiet. I lifted up the roof to check on them Read more

Snippets of Everyday Prayers

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