(Today I begin a series of posts that examines the Christmas Story found in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2. My prayer is that this helps us all understand more deeply that Story and keep it as our focus over these last days of Advent.) Let’s take a few minutes toContinue Reading
“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me. I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.”Continue Reading
Joyful God, How your world needs a huge infusion of JOY right now! The darkness of these last few years has been so severe – so much pain, hurting, chaos, upheaval, and angst. But you are the same yesterday, today, and forever; you never change and you always call usContinue Reading
What do you do when God calls you to a new place and you don’t understand why? What did Noah do when God’s said to him, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely goingContinue Reading
I don’t remember exactly how we came to the book Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story – probably it was in a list of recommended books for reading aloud to children. After repeatedly checking it out of the local library year after year, I finally purchased my own copy. TheContinue Reading
I have two Christmas-related books I remember from my childhood. One is a vividly illustrated version of the poem “The Night Before Christmas” and the other is The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazwell. I have love, loved, loved! reading books with my children and, over the years, we have foundContinue Reading
Father God, As we look toward the celebration of Christmas, we remember the important role that Joseph played in fathering Jesus. We thank you for Joseph’s heart of love and obedience to listen to the voice of the Lord as he protected and provided for Mary and Jesus. Today we prayContinue Reading
Change. Transition. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” “God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.” “It’s all the same, only the names are changed.” “When you go through the storms I am with you…you are mine.” “Not everyone likes the new things.” At this timeContinue Reading
“Anyone who has spent any time at all listening to the Father, really listening and therefore learning, comes to me to be taught personally—to see it with his own eyes, hear it with his own ears, from me, since I have it firsthand from the Father. No one has seenContinue Reading
Last summer while I was hanging clean clothes out on the clothesline to dry in the sunshine and breeze, I was thinking about how my mom and grandmothers used to do this task at their homes. Similarly, as we canned food this summer, I remembered back to watching (and sometimesContinue Reading