Thoughts

Turn on your television, and you will find a home improvement or makeover show. Renovation is the going thing. People are updating, creating, repairing, and they are telling everyone else about it. Even our bluebirds got into the action this year. Our family put up a beautiful new birdhouse, but it evidently did not quite […]

Though this life may press and pull on my soul, Though I may fail as I seek the Lord, Though sorrow may toss me as a leaf in the wind, and my eyes pour out my soul, Though others may ridicule and accuse, I will rejoice – For my God has mercy, and He will […]

Today, I am thinking about seeds. Seems appropriate on the first day of summer, but I am not referring to plant seeds. I just finished watching the memorial video of a dear friend who passed away at 82. Last week, another friend’s son was suddenly taken at age 50. Another friend is battling a disease […]

The message of Horatio Spafford’s great hymn It is Well With My Soul has ministered to thousands of suffering souls through the years. One could wonder how such simple words could have such impact in times of great need. Written with ink from a broken heart, these words look beyond the real and devastating sorrow […]

I John 3:1 – Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: Behold! I love that word! While no longer found in many translations of the Bible, I find it particularly suitable for identifying thoughts, events, actions, or people that require attention. It says […]

The heavens declare the glory of God. So must I! Psalm 148:5 Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. Isaiah 41:20 That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it. Isaiah 45:18 For […]

Two words. Ten letters. Words, that when taken to heart, can change hurt to healing, guilt to grace, despair to hope, and lost to found. Eternal and priceless, they are simple, and yet all of Heaven rings with them. They are easy, but they were bought with tremendous suffering. These words offer balm to the […]

I love starting a new journal. Blank pages beckon with potential and promise. They invite me to spend time with my Father and to fellowship with Him. This day, today, is no different. It spans before me as hours and minutes to be filled. The potential for joy and fellowship is real, and each moment […]

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Hebrews 13:8 What is trustworthy in this world? friendships change marriages fail people turn goods deteriorate relationships end dreams dissolve hopes diminish How easy to become disillusioned and turn to despair. How easy to allow darkness to take over? When my trust rests in […]

Do you know what Jesus was doing in the days just before His arrest and crucifixion? He was sharing a meal with friends. He was standing for the sanctity of the Temple, confronting evil. He was walking with friends. He was serving. He was washing feet. He was teaching. He was praying. During the week […]

God does not fit into our rules and procedures and committee meetings. We can’t wrap Him up neatly, reach consensus, and place Him in a box. God is about love, and love is messy. Love places the receiver before the giver. It reaches to the unlovely and ungrateful and continues in the face of hatred. […]

I remember a song that I sang as a teenager. Even though I loved that song, I didn’t really understand what it meant. The song, Through it All, was written by André Crouch, and it spoke of trials endured and storms survived. I didn’t fully understand because I had not yet faced my greatest trials […]

God has blessed me with two beautiful daughters, two fine sons-in-law, and four grandchildren. I have other family, but these are my children. They are always on my heart. Throughout each day and each night, their names and faces circle through my mind, and I pray for them. They are precious to me. The other […]

Driving along an Arkansas road early Sunday morning, I watched as the sun dawned its color in a cloudless sky. We passed trees standing as sentinels around fields serving breakfast to herds of cows. Here, fall had passed, and winter had fully come. The bare trees, having lost the last of their autumn colors, stretched […]

Most days I am fortunate enough to see my grandchildren head out the door to their daily activities. They pack, with mom’s help, their supplies, their lunches, their special items, an extra jacket or whatever into backpacks and lug them to the door. It gets interesting when they start to get into the car with […]

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Have you felt knocked around lately? When I was a child, I loved those inflatable punching toys. Each one was decorated with a clown face and stood about 2 ½ feet high. The bottom was weighted. I could punch it, and it would rock, but it always bounced right back to the upright starting position. […]

Thanksgiving evening, and it has been a beautiful day. My heart is full. The past two years have been challenging. It seems a little impossible that two years ago I had never heard of COVID. During these two years, I have rejoiced at births and sorrowed at deaths. I have moved into places and […]

Last week I had a terrible, horrible, no good, very blessed day (apologies to Judith Viorst and Alexander). I realize that those terms are contradictory, but they accurately describe the occurrences. After work, I went home. I needed a nap; my head hurt, but I planned to go to a prayer meeting that night – […]

I know what it is like to be in one location while my heart resides in another, to live torn between two places. My husband travels for work, often requiring us to set up housekeeping away from our established home. He lives there, and I move between the two. So, I find myself busy with […]