Friday, March 5, 2021 | Reflections
This verse reminds me of a friend. After only a few days of studying a language, he would begin to complain about the details that made that language difficult. Soon after, he would completely stop studying it. Then, in a bit, he would start the cycle again with...
Thursday, March 4, 2021 | Reflections
The psalms describe several instruments for worship, including brass, woodwinds, strings, and percussion. Regardless of the instrument, the message is the same: praise God! In my career as a musician, I have learned a difficult lesson: do not judge others....
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 | Reflections
In my gardening experience, I have learned that the rain nourishes my plants in different ways: It feeds the plants and washes off any dust or dirt or even excrement. The rain turns that debris into fertilizer, signaling the seeds to germinate, and encouraging fungi...
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | Community Ministry, Reflections
In her book, The Recovering: Intoxication and its Aftermath, Leslie Jamison writes: “From the night of my first buzz, I didn’t understand why everyone in the world wasn’t getting drunk every night.…. Scientists describe addiction as a dysregulation of the...
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 | Reflections
Will my son live? I can imagine that this question is racing through the royal official’s mind when he begs Jesus to heal his son. He must be anxious about his son’s condition, and his faith is shaken. Desperate and wondering if his child will l….(View this...
Monday, March 1, 2021 | Reflections
In this chapter of John, Jesus starts his conversation with the Samaritan woman by talking about her marital situation. However, rather than heaping condemnation after condemnation, Jesus teaches her. He chooses to continue the conversation without dwelling on the...
Sunday, February 28, 2021 | Reflections
So is it perfect obedience or is it our faith that makes us God’s children? A girl in my preschool class sat crying at the bottom of the slide. I asked her what was wrong, but she wouldn’t say. Across the playground, my teaching assistant spoke to her gr….(View...
Saturday, February 27, 2021 | Reflections
When my sisters and I were young, our mother punished us for fighting by making us sit on the couch and hold hands for hours (or maybe it was ten minutes). We squirmed and glared. We muttered, “Mom is so mean.” We bonded together against our perceived co….(View...
Friday, February 26, 2021 | Reflections
When I read Moses’ question about God’s requirements answered with the word only followed by: fear God, walk with God, love God, and serve God with all your heart and soul, I think, “Oh, that’s ALL? Those are the only requirements?!” ….(View this reading and...
Thursday, February 25, 2021 | Reflections
In our small, high-desert town, my siblings and I often spent whole nights in the backyard under deep, dark skies filled with unimaginably brilliant stars. At fifteen, while attending a revival service, I suddenly felt God’s presence overtake me. No wor….(View...
Wednesday, February 24, 2021 | Reflections
Abide is a seldom-used word. In most contexts, it means to live or stay or remain. How can we remain in Christ’s love? One simple approach is to sit comfortably, close your eyes, and slowly and prayerfully repeat these words from Psalm 46:10 like this:….(View...
Tuesday, February 23, 2021 | Reflections
For thirty years, I was married to a home builder who smoothed concrete, swung a hammer, and raised walls. We used to laugh when friends said they were “building a house” when they really meant signing a contract and picking out paint, tile, and carpet for a home...
Monday, February 22, 2021 | Reflections
At age five, I asked my older brother what infinity meant. He said it meant “to go on forever.” I looked in the bathroom medicine cabinet mirror and saw myself reflected over and over again. Where would it end? Was infinity in there? I puzzled over it. I asked more...
Sunday, February 21, 2021 | Reflections
A dear friend once said, in her west Texas accent, “When I try to control everything around me, I find I make a pitiful God.” When I am sure I am right and others are wrong, I lead with pride, not the humbleness encouraged in this psalm. Sometimes I may be right, or...
Saturday, February 20, 2021 | Reflections
Have you ever felt distant from God, as if your prayers bounced off the ceiling and landed at your feet? I have waited decades for a healing miracle in my family. I have prayed and wept. I’ve begged to be repaid “for the years that the swarming locusts have eaten”...
