I wrote before about my small dog, Buddy, that was attacked by another dog. This happened on a Sunday morning shortly before we were to leave for church. My husband, John, was walking our dog down the street. A big, muscular dog grabbed our dog in his mouth, shook him fiercely from side to side and finally dropped him. In all of this, the stray dog’s teeth sank into John’s hand, leaving behind several puncture wounds.
My little dog, Buddy, was recently attacked by a much bigger and stronger dog. The veterinarian performed surgery to save Buddy's life. He had a wickedly long incision on his underside. The veterinarian told me to let him know if the incision became infected.
Do you have any enemies?
No one wants to think there are enemies… but they are real, and YOU do have them.
The Bible is clear… God’s children have spiritual enemies and those enemies hate God!
Do you want some encouragement today?
Hang in there… through any testing or temptation happening.
Look at this promise…
Your heart, my heart… the heart can be a mess. Torn apart… pulled so many directions.
Yet… God says…
This may seem simple… but what happens to you if you make the choice for life?
You live.
I have learned a secret… Do you want to know it?
When I don’t know what to do, I pray this prayer…
In the days before HGTV revealed the intricacies of home decorating, I naively decided to redo the wallpaper in our bathroom myself. Why hire a professional when I could do it, right? Little did I know how tricky it would be to remove the existing paper or how tired I would become before finishing the project.
I sank into the overstuffed rocker and massaged my throbbing forehead.
For the past few days I’d been obsessing over a difficult situation. Not only did I think about it all day long, I woke up during the night to think about it some more. I kept chewing on the situation like a dog gnawing on a bone.
My grandson plays high school baseball. He can throw a wicked pitch called a curveball. It’s especially hard for batters to hit because it dives downward as it nears the plate.
“Hang in there” is an expression of encouragement in today’s world. It’s a way to say, “Don’t give up.” Recently, I needed to apply the hang in there concept to my prayer life.
The young man sitting across the table confided, “When I was twenty-five, I thought I knew everything and was bullet proof. Nothing could hurt me, and no one could teach me anything. In the past few years I’ve discovered neither of those was true.”
I love wrapping gifts. It brings me as much joy to make a present beautiful as it does deciding what to give.
Suffering. No one wants it. In fact, we work hard to prevent suffering from finding its way into our lives. No matter how you slice it, life is full of challenges and times when the shadow of suffering lingers. Death, job loss and financial stress, difficult relationships, unmet expectations, chronic pain, or living through a natural disaster can all bring great suffering into people’s lives. Each hardship represents loss which is why these experiences can be so painful.
When I sin, for some reason, I ask for forgiveness over and over. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have a hard time living in the forgiveness that Jesus offers.
Sometimes we find ourselves in the midst of trials of our own making. Because we are imperfect and human, we mess up. We sin, and sometimes experience the natural consequences that come with the choices we make.
Chains. What comes to mind when you read that word? I think heavy, binding, prisoner, captive, sin. Sin has the potential to hold us prisoner, deeper and stronger than we ever thought possible. Is there any hope of being free from the bondage of sin?
The young man sitting across the table confided, “When I was twenty-five, I thought I knew everything and was bullet proof. Nothing could hurt me, and no one could teach me anything. In the past few years I’ve discovered neither of those was true.”
I have always loved the word, “Sanctuary”. It takes me back to the church of my childhood where I sang about Jesus even before I knew Him as my Savior. The building that was the sanctuary was old with red carpet and pew cushions and arched windows with fake stained glass. The wood was honey-golden and the pulpit was smooth from use. I was baptized there above the choir loft, and I learned so much about God in my years there.
My husband and I were diligently seeking God’s direction in our business. After thirty-five years, we were weary and behind the technological times. We sensed that closing our business was ahead of us, but the timing was questionable. One day, this verse shouted to us: Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord. He is with you…Do not be afraid or discouraged (I Chronicles 20:17).
