You won’t believe what happened in a very formal church, several years ago. My son, Jonathan, not quite one year old, had the fantastic gift of throwing up everything he ate. So much so that I thought I would catch a lung at some point. I had moved to Dallas several years before and […]
Category: Grief/Encouragement
Ageless
It’s confession time. I am now 44 years old . . . I think. I remember at age 13 thinking that people in their 40s had reached the summit of being “over the hill” and were gaining speed down the back side of life. Older people (ha! those 40-somethings) seemed to my 13-year-old mind to be constantly irritated, as […]
Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
His name was Theodor Geisel, but everyone knew him as Ted. Born in 1904 to German immigrant parents, Theodor and Henrietta, the family settled on Howard Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Ted and his sister Marnie recalled a happy childhood; Ted’s favorite memory was being soothed to sleep by his mother’s soft words she had learned […]
Prayer Bear
You may be surprised to know a little bear lives in our home. He showed up shortly after the birth of my youngest child, Jonathan (now 18 years old). He’s a softly stuffed, six-inch teddy bear that wears a light-blue and white striped night cap sewn on his little head. But this stuffed animal is […]
The Serenity Prayer
We have just begun a new year. Hopes are high, goals are made, and efforts are in place to accomplish what we have set out to do. One thing is for sure: surprises await us all. Some will be great, and some will be painful. I have found the following prayer and its personal application […]
God’s Mysterious Plan
“I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God.” (Isaiah 45:5) There are occasions when we are surprised by God’s decreed will . . . like when we get the results back from our physical exam and the MRI reveals a tumor we had no idea was there. . . . Or when the stock market plunges […]
Illumination
Some feelings are universal. At some point, we have all felt happy and hopeful; yet, we have all felt disappointed and distressed. We long for happiness and pursue pleasures. However, when pain enters, disillusionment and despair invade our lives. We fight for relief, looking for ways to fix or avoid painful situations. Some of us […]
Removing the Blind Side
Family traditions stay with us for life. One of our favorites was to go to the movies on Thanksgiving evening. I remember seeing Rain Man, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Apollo 13, and The Fugitive, among others. In 2009, we saw The Blind Side, a truthful account of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became […]
May It Be
The most significant transformations that occur in our lives are often hidden by pain, as God carefully and purposefully carves our souls into His form. Painful events, shocking discoveries, and dark valleys offer us the choice to either trust God’s Word or ignore it. This past year, I wrestled with some of the deepest struggles […]
Change
Change—real change—takes place slowly. In first gear, not overdrive. Far too many Christians get discouraged and give up. Like ice skating or mastering a musical instrument or learning to water ski, certain techniques have to be discovered and developed in the daily discipline of living. Breaking habit patterns you established during the passing of years […]
Dependence
For most of us, asking for help is difficult. I really don’t prefer it; some of you may not as well. Yet, God lets us know time and time again that we need help. After all, He refers to us most often as sheep—the most difficult and demanding of any livestock on earth. Admitting need […]
Thanksgiving
I’ve got a love affair going with Thanksgiving. It has been going on for over seventy years, as far back as I can remember. Hands down, it’s my favorite holiday of all. Here’s why. First of all, it seems to blend together all we Americans hold precious and dear—without the sham and plastic mask of […]