Do you not know? Have you not heard? It was 1995, I was sixteen years old, and I thought I did know and I had heard. I’d grown up in the church: sang the songs, memorized the verses, assembled the Vacation Bible School crafts. So when I opened the devotional booklet during the “quiet time”…
Finding Renewal While Wasting Away
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For…
A New Beginning
There are times in our lives when we actively seek change. Some roles we can give up quite gladly, but there are also times when God uses unpleasant circumstances to grow us. He moves us from where we are, where we have become comfortable, to somewhere new. Often, for change to occur, we need to…
A Definition of Trust
Did you ever play the game “Trust”? The “victim” stands facing away from a group of people and is to freefall into the arms of the “trusted” and be caught. A popular game in my high school youth group, but I never could muster the courage to fall. When I attempted this game, I would…
No Place Like Home
I love to travel. I love seeing new places and coming home packed with memories to savor. But often I don’t sleep well on trips, even when we stay in the best hotels. Whether our days are full of sightseeing, hiking, and shopping, or sleeping late and laying by the pool, I never fully let…
Whom Shall I Fear?
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 KJV I underlined this life-changing verse In the first Bible I ever owned Its leather binding the color of blood With which Jesus for sin atoned It should have given me…
When Hope Feels Unsteady
The world around us is shifting sand. I suppose it always has been, but the past four months have revealed its instability in profound ways. Medical advice and predictions regarding COVID-19 change daily. Businesses have closed, never to re-open, while others struggle to adjust their models to new and ever-changing standards. Neighborhoods near my home…
Clouds of Hope
As a child, I lived in a small coastal town where the summer days took on rhythms. Typically, the summer days would start out gray, cold, and with fog enveloping the small town in its soft, airy fleece. By 10 am the blue skies broke through the clouds and gave way to sunny days and…
I Stand Corrected
I have been reprimanded several times lately, by different individuals. Even though not all were harshly delivered, they took me by surprise and bit into my fragile ego. I instantly felt like an eight year old, caught with my hand in the cookie jar. I’m a grandma for goodness sake! Shouldn’t I be past the…
Hope in the Midst of Bereavement
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (NASB) Isaiah 55:8-9 We don’t get used to people we love leaving this earth. The bereavement…
Anchored Voices 