Essays in Ephesians #3

Essays in Ephesians #3

Thank you, Father that when we look upon the mystery of the cross, we can be confident in Your love. You always know exactly what’s going on. You have wise solutions; You see eternal outcomes. When crosses come our way, when situations look dark, we don’t have to know it all.

Nature is Wild

Nature is Wild

The phrase, the wildness of nature, brings memories of waking up in the night to the crash of winter ice breaking up on Lake Geneva . . .

Stewardship

Posted in Scripture Insights
Stewardship

My husband’s gift is helps. He loves to help people. When he was young and strong, he worked tirelessly with the Salvation Army—serving in soup kitchens, working in thrift stores, pouring coffee for emergency workers, . . .

Knowing God through His Word — Part 18

Knowing God through His Word — Part 18

When prayers go unanswered, asking “Why?” may bring insight, but more often it erodes peace and disrupts abiding in God’s love. Most believers already know all the pat religious reasons why God doesn’t give us what we pray for. Usually, the first is doubt . . .

Unfinished Business

Unfinished Business

January 24, 2019 — I published a book yesterday. I’d been looking forward to it with eager joy. But when I saw it for sale on amazon.com, I froze. My brain jammed. My stomach constricted. When I began to thaw, I was confronted by my fear to publish the following story.

A Living Witness to Love

A Living Witness to Love

An agnostic friend recently asked me, “Why do you want me to change? Why do you care what I believe?”

Humility or Pride

Humility or Pride

When the hard walls of opinions, judgments and unrighteous anger rise up in me against pain, violations, injustice, foolishness and selfish immaturity, I might be able to spout off in ways that persuade others of the righteousness of my position. I might be able to suggest solutions. I might be very articulate and convince my self and others— and I might lose God’s presence and purpose in the process. That’s because pride is the mortar cementing those hard walls within my heart and soul.

Water

Water

Reverie from a February Day, 2018: It’s warming up today; as earth begins to thaw, thick clouds of fog settle over the ground and icicles drip steadily from the eves. Bits and chunks are drop to the deck outside my window; giant water drops are splatter and slide down windowpanes wet with condensation

Charlie and Sheila

Charlie and Sheila

A light breeze wrapped us in the newness of spring; the warm sun cast leafy kaleidoscopic patterns upon the ground. I was out for an afternoon walk, pushing my twenty-month old daughter Annie in her blue canvas stroller, joined to the play of light and shadows, soaking in a perfect day—until the thought came again to go there. I didn’t want to go there; to spoil the tranquility; to interrupt our walk.

Likes

Likes

I felt like a lurker. Stunned by what I’d just seen, I began checking out the Likes on a young friend’s Instagram photo. I felt uneasy, guilty, like I was trespassing. Why should I care who Liked the photo? Scanning a list of names, my heart beat sadly; I turned off my phone. . .

Hot and Cold

Hot and Cold

Dense clouds have dropped down, hugging the earth with a thick haze. In yesterday’s sunshine, autumn’s tall dry grasses waved above the snow warming the whiteness of winter with hints of tawny gold. Today, all color is muted. The edges of familiar tree-bark-browns fade away; treetops dissolve into fog. It looks as if a paintbrush has […]

Seeking Joy

Seeking Joy

Recently, my husband fell and broke two bones in his foot. My care taking responsibilities increased and I began to feel tired, overwhelmed and insecure. Discouragement began to gnaw at my heart until I countered it and encouraged myself by reading of a list of antidotes to stress, tension, worry, fear, anger, anxiety and depression. […]