After years of being away, Jacob was headed home with his family and possessions. As he neared Canaan, he was told that Esau was coming toward him with 400 men. Jacob and Esau had not parted on good terms. Was Esau coming for revenge?
All in Spiritual Growth
Cultivating What Matters
I have the heart of a gardener…I guess to serve my need to nurture something. I love to watch something grow and I especially love it when a plant grows big and beautiful after a long, hard winter.
What Are You Searching For?
The other day I was taking off my jewelry, and I must have pulled too hard on my ring. It flew off the end of my finger when I pulled it over my knuckle. I heard it hit the carpet. I immediately got on my hands and knees to look for my ring. I must have looked for 20 minutes before I decided to stop and try again later. After looking later, I still could not find my ring. I knew it was there, and I also knew that I would find it with continued searching.
To Grow or Not to Grow
It is officially spring. The weather and the calendar agree. I am starting to see birds making nests, flowers budding out, and green grass peeking through. Spring marks the beginning of baseball season. One of my favorite things to do is watch my two kids play ball. Of course I’m a fan of these two!
Drifting
I watched my husband and our daughter paddle out into the surf in a kayak. They moved through the water to look at the array of fish under them. At times they stopped paddling, but they did not stop moving. Sometimes they drifted further away from where they wanted to go. It required intentional effort to move in the right direction. To go where they wanted to go, they had to pursue it. Just drifting was not going to be enough.
Bean Soup: Day 2
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him? (Psalm 8:3,4)
When My Plan Doesn’t Work Out
“What if I can’t have a baby? What do I do with the rest of my life? That’s my purpose in life!” That was my prayer at the altar that day. My husband and I were facing the heartache of infertility.
Only a few times can I say I heard, without a doubt, the inaudible voice of God speaking to my heart. This was one of those times.
The Upside of the Struggle
The disappointment, the losses, the failures, the fears, the betrayals, the waiting and waiting. Why? What good is this in the life of a believer??
Are You Listening?
Have you ever noticed how God speaks in multiple ways when He is trying to get a point across to us? Often when I read scripture and God reveals a new truth, or reminds me of something He previously revealed and I have ignored, I begin to see the same truth in other ways.
Follow His Example
Does anyone else have as hard a time memorizing scripture as I do? I participate in a Bible study which encourages scripture memory, but I have found it so difficult to actually do. I decided to get serious about it with Ephesians 5:1-2.
God Surrounds You
My ten-year-old loves playing the game Battleship with her dad. They both have quite different approaches to trying and mastering the game.
God’s Mighty Hand
My daddy’s hands were also the biggest and the safest hands to be wrapped up in. When I needed protection, his muscular hands were my help. When I needed comfort, his gentle hands would wrap me tightly and hold me close.
Strong and Courageous
Strong and courageous are two words I would not normally use to describe myself. As a little girl, I was afraid of many things. My mind would wander immediately to “what ifs” of a certain situation, and then fear would creep in.
Watch Out for the Potholes
One particularly cool spring morning, I had decided that I was going to walk around the
neighborhood and catch up on reading my emails in the process. I thought I was being wise with my multi-tasking skills until I found myself down on the ground.
Weed and Sin Control
As I was helping my husband mow the grass one humid spring morning, I noticed how the weeds were suddenly sprouting up and overtaking our grass. As I was moving right along with my mowing, I also noticed how many different types of weeds there were in my yard.
Once Upon a Garden: Day 3
“Well, what did He say? What did He say your name was? Tell me, tell me, tell me!”
“He said my name would be ‘elephant’.”
Once Upon a Garden: Day 2
What is the image of God? Because God is Spirit, we know that it is not a physical likeness. Because He created both male and female with this image, it is not confined to a gender likeness.
Once Upon a Garden: Day 1
What is it about the summer?
Why Is This So Hard?
Today, I write from a place of raw emotion. How is it sometimes the people closest to you wound you the most? If God created us for relationships, why are they so hard? At times, friendships prove challenging. Sometimes, family trumps the charts in difficulty.
The Learning Curve: Day 1
It was our regular Thursday after-school special with the youngest grand girls. When our time was over their dad pulled up in the driveway. As our nine-year old gathered up her backpack and rushed out the door to get in his car, she called back over her shoulder, “I want to learn to bake a cherry pie.”