Thoughts

In the confusing messages of the day, we can have trouble discerning the Truth. We are bombarded with opinions and unsubstantiated ‘facts’ and accusations and condescending attitudes toward those who disagree with the given message. Some days, it is hard to stand. So, how do we find Truth? How do we know for certain what […]

Dry, hot weather has ruled this summer where I live. Scorching days that caused the flowers to wilt and some to die. While I tried to keep them watered, there were periods of time when this wasn’t possible. I would leave home saying good by to a garden of robust blooming plants and return home […]

I’m not sure you have lived until you have stood on a riverbank on a rainy day, sheltered only slightly by trees, brushing off the droplets bountifully supplied by the squirrels shaking the wet branches overhead. I’m not sure you have lived if you have never soaked in the silence that accompanies the gentle current […]

“The sun is coming up. I see it in the clouds. Wow! Wow! Wow!” Those were the awestruck words I heard from our four-year-old grandson as he rounded the corner of the patio on his small bike. He was getting rid of excessive early morning energy, and his whispered thoughts recognized the wonder of the […]

Sometimes the words don’t come. Sometimes I bow my head and confusion clutters, sorrows shadow, and problems persist. Burdens press down on my heart. I try to pray, but there.are.no.words. No words to convey my heart or my loved one’s need. No words to express the hurt, the fears, the uncertainty that fills me. No […]

I love the David of the Bible. I think this is because I identify so fully with his words. He was not a perfect man, but he was an honest man in his relationship to God. As I thumb through the Book of Psalms, I read about his questions and fears and confusions (Psalms 2, […]

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 […]