“Take my hand, Claudia, I will keep you safe crossing this road.” I cannot count the number of times my parents said this when I was a child.
Between A Rock And The Best Place
Many “several years ago” when I had a hard body and long hair, I did some mountain climbing and rock climbing. During those times, I heard many climbers making pleas and promises to God such as: “Help me, Jesus! Lord, if you just get me off this mountain, I promise I will never do this again.” Sometimes during climbing the fear level on a Richter scale of 1 to 10 can be a 25.
Beauty in Barren Places
Last month, while jeeping on an alpine trail at 12,500 feet altitude, I was astounded at the bounty of glorious flowers. There were natural-formed bouquets of golden sunflowers, delicate lavender blooms scattered among them, and an array of pink and white blossoms peeking around the rocks.
The Real Super Glue
My professional background is in healthcare, and ever since my very first anatomy and physiology class I have been fascinated with the beauty, complex simplicities, and precision of God’s creation-----us!
Lost Fawn
In the little one stop-light town where we vacation during the summer there is a herd of deer that roam the yards, streets, even Main Street, and the parks much to the delight of everyone except some avid gardeners. As my little nephews excitedly exclaim, “Look there are mommy deer, daddy deer, and baby deer!” What a pleasure to watch them quietly move gracefully by you.
The Work of a Lifetime
It is hardly news that traditional marriage is in trouble. And its main competition is not from all the inroads made by its exotic rivals--same-sex marriage, open marriage, polygamy—as we might fear. These days, traditional marriage might just be its own worst enemy.
The Unforgivable Sin
The Pharisees had been shadowing Jesus from the beginning of His ministry. They had heard His teaching and were eyewitnesses to His miracles. And when He quoted the Law, likely their lips moved in silent unison. Their verdict? “He has a demon.” In doing so, they denied both His Divinity and the Holy Spirit’s presence and power in His life, concluding that He was just a man. And a damaged one, at that.sin
Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!
Three different types of behavior but each stamped with the same label: hypocrite. And hypocrisy, bottom line, is pretending to be something you aren’t.
The Toughest Words You Will Ever Love
It is hard to read these words of Jesus without a Halloween-like movie scene coming to mind. And since most of us fret over the occasional splinter, we can’t imagine that submitting to a voluntary amputation as much of a solution to anything.
Starving to Death
Almost 2,800 years ago, God came to a farmer named Amos. He told Amos to put down his rake and pruning shears and take up the mantle of a prophet. Amos’ assignment was to speak uncompromising words of coming judgment to the corrupt northern kingdom of Israel: prophecies that included natural disasters, military defeat and eventual exile. Then, in the middle of graphic descriptions of earthquakes and foreign invasions, came this warning
Praise
One of my favorite places to have my quiet time is at my breakfast table because it overlooks into our backyard. I love watching the sun come up in the morning and hearing the birds chirp their morning tunes. I can’t help but give the Lord praise for giving me another day.
Listen
My oldest daughter loves her drama class. She enjoys the spotlight, developing her character, and entertaining the audience. One of the most important lessons she has learned in drama class is to pay careful attention to the vision the director is trying to achieve from the cast. If one fails to pay attention then the whole production could go wrong. In essence, many are affected, cues for lines are missed, timing is all wrong and the mood the director is trying to achieve is blurred. Paying attention is critical to the overall success of the play.
Fear
My family and I had an exciting opportunity to visit our local renovated movie theater and game center. It was advertised as providing great entertainment with movies, games, and bowling that the whole family could enjoy. We were especially looking forward to playing laser-tag with each other.
Receive
It is the beginning of summer break, and one event I look forward to each summer is Vacation Bible School at my church. It is a full week of Bible stories, worship, crafts, and games. I love seeing the kid’s eyes light up as they see God’s Word coming to life through fun activities and songs.
Persistence
I have bird feeders in my backyard that I enjoy looking at throughout the day. We have seen a variety of beautiful birds over the years. Joining these beautiful creatures is a pesky little squirrel that climbs up the bird feeder to enjoy a delicious meal.
Model Behavior
“Excuse me. May I ask you guys a question? I noticed you praying before your meal.”
My husband was meeting with a friend over lunch at a local restaurant when the young man interrupted them. The man and his wife had recently moved and were looking for a church home. My husband and his friend had a nice conversation with the man, inviting him and his wife to church and welcoming them to town.
Guard the Treasure
Over the years, I have been gifted many varieties of flowers and plants by my mother-in-law, Joyce, which beautify my yard. That I knew nothing about growing things never deterred her. Whenever she came to my house, she would bring cuttings or thinnings from her garden.
May I Help You With That?
Moses wondered if he could keep going. God had shown up in miraculous ways for Moses and the Israelites. With God’s help Moses had performed signs and wonders before Pharaoh, led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea on dry land, and provided manna, quail and water in a barren wilderness.
Here Comes the Bridegroom!
“I like it when it storms because we get to eat ice cream!” a neighbor child told my daughter. That is a little odd, I thought at the time.
The Presence of God
The testimony of a young woman caught my attention. Her family practiced one of the major religions but not Christianity. She was brought up to do the same. The girl was going through a particularly hard season of life. An older co-worker, an older asked if she could pray for her. As the woman prayed, immediate peace come over the girl.