“Kisses From Katie” -Highly Recommended
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Biographies are one of my favorite genres to read. They record a person’s life. The good choices and the bad. The unintended consequences that result from those choices. The lives touched, the places visited, the sorrows endured, the joys discovered. The impact one life can have on others inspires me and gives me hope.
“Mmmooooooommmmmm,” my teenager moaned last night.
Moms know that the amount of needed emotional support is directly proportional in how long it takes to say our three letter name. So from the way she prolonged my name, I prepared myself.
“School is so hard! And I am struggling with getting everything done! School is so much harder for me than everyone else! And I am tired! And I don’t want to do this any more!”
Collapsing on my bed and burying her head in my lap, my precious daughter delivered a sigh that originated from somewhere near her toes. How could I help? Being a teenage female isn’t easy for anyone. Ever. And this girl does have to work twice as hard to learn as most other people. Her brain likes to take the roundabout way of learning things. Trying hard all the time is exhausting.
It was the time for brilliant Mama wisdom, but I was feeling anything but wise. I was feeling almost as tired and depleted as my daughter. What could I do?
Then God reminded me of a very visual lesson He had given me just that morning. Continue reading
Having a consistent Quiet Time through my adult life has built my faith more than any 
book, sermon, or conference. God’s work through His Word is miraculous. Like feeding 5000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish, type of miraculous. He multiplies. He deepens. He extends.
Let me qualify one thing- I want to define “consistent” Quiet Time. What that means for me is that while there are seasons I am almost daily reading, there are also seasons when I read sporadically. Consistent means I return to regular reading as quickly as possible. Think of it this way- if I regularly eat healthy food but occasionally eat fattening food, will I generally be healthy or unhealthy? And the converse is true.
So, in reality, I regularly read the Word, except for the times I don’t….. Continue reading
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“Just as some people are motivated in their vocations by political ideology or patriotism, we were motivated to serve the poor by our love for Jesus. He loved us enough to rescue us from our destructive behaviors, selfishness, bitterness, and isolation. He was a faithful friend who protected and provided for us. We wanted to do the things that he considered important.” -Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer
(emphasis added)
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What happens when we take Jesus seriously? How different would our lives be if we actually laid them down, took up our cross, and followed Him? (Matthew 16:24)
What happens when two Baylor students, from middle America, through inspiration from their local church, develop a heart for Afghanistan? Such is the story of Prisoners of Hope written by Dayna Curry and Heather Mercer.
Many young people take summer mission trips to difficult locales. Most return home to pick up life where they left off. Hopefully their hearts have been touched and the spirits awakened to the global nature of the Kingdom. God is not just building an American version of the church. His call to His disciples was to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…” (Matthew 28!9, NASB) Continue reading
THIS POST IS FOR WOMEN 50 AND OVER.
PC: Alex Harvey
Seriously.
All men, go away.
Women younger than that, I am warning you- you are reading at your own risk. It may be beneficial to your happiness to remain ignorant of the following information for as long as possible.
To women of my generation, the ones alive for over 5 decades- I need to know. Am I the only one? Is it just me?
I seem to have turned a corner in this autumn part of my life, and my body apparently is concerned I will blow away or fall over. To prevent this demise, my anchor is growing. I am not speaking metaphorically and this is no analogy. Continue reading
God reigns over the nations,
God sits on His holy throne.
-Psalm 47:8, NASB
Today I need to remind myself that God is on His throne because there is a pit in my stomach and an ache in my heart.
I have never been so scared for my country. Our enemies increase in both number and viciousness. Our freedom decreases daily from within. Our military is the smallest and weakest it has been in decades. Sky rocketing insurance costs crushes almost everyone I know. Our country stands at a crossroads.
And we have a demagogue and a socialist as serious contenders.
Is this what comes from not teaching actual history in school? Ideas matter and they have consequences. History offers many examples of charismatic leaders with flawed character. Eventually the rhetoric runs out and the flaws take the forefront. Then a nation realizes that, like Esau, they have traded their inheritance for the proverbial crust of bread. Continue reading
Entertainment for kids has become big business. And expensive.
Bravo Broadway!
The local amusement park is well over $50 just to get in. Add on the overpriced food and drink and the price per person is way up there.
But all amusement, from bowling to laser tag to arcades to restaurants with fake elephants glaring at you from the corner, is pricey and over-the-top.
Is it just me, or does it seem like it takes increased noise, fancier lights, louder music and just plain MORE in order to begin to satiate the need for the modern child to be entertained? Continue reading
So much to do and so little time.
Control. So fleeting. So constraining. So illusionary.
When I asked Google ® for a definition for control it gave me this: the power to influence or direct people’s behavior or the course of events.
Isn’t that nice? I don’t know about you but when I try to control people and events, it is rarely pretty. Or effective. Actually words like frustration, stress, and failure come to mind.
So I am on a quest to figure this out- what can I control and what can’t I?
I think figuring this out will make not only me happier, but everyone I live with, too. Here is what I have figured out so far. Continue reading
Sending my daughter off as a bride.
Nobody tells you how bad it is going to hurt when your kids leave home.
Oh sure, older parents tell you how quickly time flies, as they watch your toddlers crawl all over you. And as a young parent you wonder at the wistful look in their eye.
But now I get it. With four of my seven gone, with their own homes, lives, and responsibilities, I confess to feeling surprisingly sucker-punched in the gut by how much this hurts. Continue reading
Simon Peter then, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear; and the slave’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”
Matthew 18:9, 10 (NASB)
Let’s set the scene-
Where: The Garden of Gethsemane
Who: Jesus, the disciples, the Temple soldiers
What:
-the soldiers have come to take Jesus away
-Peter tries to fight them off
-Jesus intervenes with the most amazing words
I have read this scripture numerous times over the years. It is a familiar scene in my mind. But this time it struck me differently. Personally, that is why I am so in love with the Word. It never ceases to teach, instruct and convict, no matter how many times I have read a passage before. Continue reading
