Thoughts

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1 – 2, KJV) Someone asked me this week, “What does it mean to bless the Lord? How can we bless God?” That’s a really good question, and […]

Paul lived in troubled times. During his time in Ephesus, Nero, a wicked tyrant, was the emperor of Rome. Jewish leaders sought to persecute Jews who turned to the Christian faith, and paganism was rampant. I don’t know if there was a right and a left, but there was certainly a right and a wrong […]

In the years before engines powered great sailing vessels, a ship crossing the Equator could drift for days waiting to catch a fresh breeze that would move it ahead. The ship and all those on it were caught in the doldrums, a hot, miserable place that sapped energy and derailed hope. The experience of the […]

Galatians 4: Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: […]

Anthills cover our yard. Step outside and it won’t be long before an ant finds you. I don’t like ants. I have told those ants to go away. I step on them when I see them. I spray water and other things on them. We put things on their anthills that they don’t like – […]

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” – Psalm 37:3-4 Honoring God is a privilege. Trusting in Him is a treasure. Delighting in Him is an everyday joy. […]

“Horror hath taken hold upon me because of the wicked that forsake thy law” (Psalm 119:53, KJV). There is horror in this world. We see it on every newscast. We read it in the headlines, and worse, we experience it in our own families. Even the psalmist David knew it. Death and destruction. Innocence stripped […]

Some days I shake my head and think, “I do not understand.” I can’t comprehend the evil in this world or the deceit that is spouted as truth. I can’t wrap my head around people’s motivation to hurt others or destroy beautiful things. I don’t understand how someone can take joy in another’s sorrow. The […]

If you ask my family, they will tell you that I am directionally impaired. We have the family stories to back up the diagnosis. Like the time I took a shortcut from the doctor’s office with my two girls and ended up in another state. Or, another shortcut experience that ended up taking an extra […]

We downsized and moved into a new home, and I thought that the days of items piling up in closets and drawers were over. We had given away, sold, and thrown away so much stuff. Now everything had its own place. Fast forward a few years and here we are cleaning out closets and […]

“Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation.” – Psalm 62:1 If I could paint a picture of faith, I wouldn’t paint a picture of a beautiful cathedral or a church on a picturesque hillside. My portrait would not be of a mansion or of a life without care and problems. While […]

“While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.” – Psalm 146:2, KJV The world is filled with chatter these days. Politics, philosophy, health advice, exercise advice, weight loss advice, the latest movies and television programs, sports, weather, you name it, we are talking […]

When our daughters were young, they went on many adventures with their dad in search of mullet and other fish in the bays and inlets of the gulf coast near our home. They learned to spot schools of fish and cast the net to catch them. They waded through grasses and water, often chest deep, […]

I have been watching this rose for weeks. It was the first tight bud that appeared as the bush began repairing itself after the winter hibernation. I was so excited. I waited. And waited. Slowly color appeared and the bud began to open little by little. It braved the blustery winds of March and survived […]

During the week of the crucifixion, the week that we call Holy, life went on as usual in Jerusalem. The people had welcomed Jesus in with palm branches and celebration and He was teaching in the Temple. Temple soldiers were scurrying, and Roman soldiers were watching, but everyday people continued their lives, not anticipating the […]

A Hug from HeavenSpring’s warm breeze embraced me,swirling around me in the quiet of the morning,caressing my face and armswith its gentle passing -a hug from Heaven.Shadows from clouds filtered the lightas they floated by,journeying to who knows where.My breeze,for now I claimed it,helped them on their way.In the stillness I listened.Hens quietly gossiped over […]

In America, we have been trained to shun controversial subjects in what is considered polite conversation. At the top of the list of subjects to be avoided is anything to do with God. We have allowed our society to effectively cut Him out of our everyday talk, voluntarily limiting our freedom of speech, although people […]

I walked outside into the crispness of a new spring morning.Leftover raindrops captured the rising sun’s rays making prisms of light on the fresh green leaves.The budding grass sparkles with moisture from yesterday’s rainstormand the world is alive with the colors of spring.For weeks we have battled the falling leaves of the Live Oak trees, […]

I woke up to a gray, hazy day preparing to attend the funeral of a lifelong friend. I wasn’t sorrowing as those who have no hope. I know my friend is with our Savior. But still, her passing is the turning of another page in this life, the ending of an era, and my heart […]

We take great pride in our ability to fret and worry, almost as if to fail to do so indicates a lack of care on our part. God, however, calls us to look beyond our circumstances and trust Him with the cares of this life. When God called the Israelites to cross over into the […]