This was a doctor’s office first. The room was superbly sterilized, and I was nervously flipping the pages of a magazine when I saw something move across the floor. Tiny as it was, its color caught my attention. Wrapped in its itsy-bitsy armor, colored red with black dots, a ladybug was crawling across the floor. […]
Category: Grief/Encouragement
Be Still My Soul
We all have little habits that help us along in life, and writers are no different. Some need silence; others compose in chaos. When I write, quiet music calms my soul, soothes my busy mind, and sweeps away the troubles of the day. However, the other day it felt like no words would come. I […]
Dealing with Doubt Today
I think Thomas the apostle gets a bad rap. Nicknamed “Doubting Thomas,” he is often negatively characterized and judged in many Christian circles. Who would want to be looked down upon as a doubter? Have any of us lived without wrestling with doubt? When our faith grows deep, doubt is often a part of the […]
Star Charts
Charts are everywhere. We have navigational charts, weather charts, score charts, charts for accomplishing tasks, and charts for measuring progress. When my kids were little, I would make “chore” charts. When the chore was accomplished, a shiny star sticker was put on the chart . . . and they’d receive two stars if their attitudes […]
The Blame Game
My dad has this very funny statement: “The Lord gets blamed for a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with Him.” Being in ministry for so many years, he’s seen the Lord get blamed for a lot. We blame Him for our problems, irritations, time constraints, job losses, house and car repairs, money […]
He Is God, and I Am Not
Her story was a tough one. She needed help! She had lost her husband years back. She had three children—one with special needs, one “typical,” and one who went to heaven shortly after birth. She was aging, endured chronic pain, and had just been diagnosed with stage-two breast cancer. She was facing radical surgery, rounds […]
Homework
Homework . . . need I say more? It had been one of those days, and endeavoring to help my son Jon with his homework was not on the top of my “want-to-do” list. He was tired. I was more than cranky. The combination was not going to provide a successful outcome . . . […]
Despite Your Circumstances
Few people in the first century had a deeper understanding of God’s grace than the apostle Paul. Redeemed from a life of vicious brutality as a rigid legalistic Pharisee, the man turned the corner, repented, and through Christ’s empowering became a gentle soul, gracious and affirming. Understanding. Forgiving. Approachable. He reached the place where he […]
Just after Dawn
Ever felt drained by the day and it’s only dawn? My family and I had one of those days not long ago. It was still dark outside . . . my daughter had pneumonia, my son had bronchitis, and both needed medicine. The new container of almond milk slipped and spilled ALL OVER the kitchen […]
Robby
My dad told this story in a sermon a long time ago. It’s a heartwarming urban legend, so I’m passing it along in a way similar to how Christ taught using stories, or parables, in Scripture. Parables are story-like word pictures that contain powerful life lessons many of us can remember with ease. May the […]
Being Calm in the Chaos
Life was relatively manageable until about three weeks ago. And then the storm hit—“BANG!” “BOOM!” “BLAST!”—almost like those old Batman comic strips. “BANG!” I’ve not written about this, but my younger brother has been battling a very serious form of cancer for nine months. Watching his suffering is more than I can put into words. […]
Acceptance
There was nothing simple about my friend’s situation. One of her three sons was diagnosed with severe autism at age 11; his world and his parents’ world flipped upside down. For reasons only the Lord knows, his behaviors became aggressive, dangerous, and terrifying. For over a year they tried everything, prayed, tried more of everything, […]