[Our second day of camp began with severe thunderstorms about 5:30 a.m. that knocked out power to many families in the area and caused road closures because of trees down. We did delay the opening of camp by one hour to give families a chance to make adjustments, but thenContinue Reading
[We had a fantastic first day of the arts camp. The joy and energy of pre-teens and teens is contagious, especially in a loving and well-organized atmosphere. Yesterday we talked about building our lives on the foundation of God’s word because we are God’s masterpieces. Today we’re talking about creatingContinue Reading
Praise the Lord, my soul.He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. (Psalm 104:1, 5 NIV) [This first day of the arts camp we are talking about building the foundations of our lives on the Word, Jesus Christ. This post comes from those devotions.] Imagine, for a moment, aContinue Reading
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7 NIV) As I write this I’m listening to the rain pour down upon our home, grateful that this cold front can pull the temperaturesContinue Reading
“And may the Lord cause you to increase and excel and overflow in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; so that He may strengthen and establish your hearts without blame in holiness in the sight of our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus withContinue Reading
Establish the cause of the righteous, for you are the righteous God, the soul searcher, who tests every heart to examine the thoughts and motives. God, your wraparound presence is my shield. You bring victory to all who are pure in heart. God, your righteousness is revealed when you judge. Because of the strengthContinue Reading
“If there is no struggle, there is no progress.” – Frederick Douglass I’ve heard it said that you should never “help” a baby moth or butterfly out of its chrysalis or cocoon. When that creature is ready to emerge, the struggle of getting out helps the wings to develop fullyContinue Reading
“Keep your thoughts continually fixed on all that is authentic and real, honorable and admirable, beautiful and respectful, pure and holy, merciful and kind. And fasten your thoughts on every glorious work of God, praising him always.” (Philippians 4:8 TPT) Who are the people whose comments, encouragement, put-downs, or other speech still rings in yourContinue Reading
“O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! You’re the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do— You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble, rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph.” (Psalm 77:13 MSG) Once my family and I watchedContinue Reading
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” (3 John 1:4 ESV) The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. (Proverbs 23:24 NIV) “I remember standing in the hospital room, holding myContinue Reading