What Hope Always Is (and What it Never Will Be)
As I searched the Internet on the subject of hope, these results popped up (I kid you not!): A guy claiming to be a physician (he wasn’t) was selling “hope” to cancer patients. He said his “magical pill” (it wasn’t) would cure them (it didn’t). A wikiHow article, titled “How to find Hope,”[ref]“How to Have […]
Examining the Four Letter Word
Physical therapy? Nope, I’m too busy! I was a few months late for the typical post-op back surgery appointment. I had been a little busy: my son’s small but complicated surgical procedure, two international trips in the summer, several pneumonia illnesses in July, and two broken ribs for my husband in August . . . […]
Why God Allows Us to Run Out of Hope
Interview with Wayne Stiles We’re doing something a bit different today. The next five minutes may be life changing for you because it’s about hope . . . or where is God when we run out of hope, really. It’s part of my interview with Wayne Stiles, author of Waiting on God: What to Do […]
T.I.M.E.
Our kayak bounced and bobbled near the buttressed, craggy cliffs of the ancient Mediterranean island. We paddled as far as we could from the port’s busy sights and sounds, then rested our oars and dangled our feet into the crystal clear waters. The tidal ebb and flow, the soft splash of waves against the coast […]
God Knows Your Ways
“God has the whole world in His hands.” Remember the old gospel song? He’s got the wind, the rain, the tiny little baby, yes, even you and me in His hands. How easy it is to forget that! And it isn’t limited to our geography or our culture, you know. He’s got the Middle East […]
For the Sake of the Children
This is a guest post by Barb Piel. Barb received her master of arts in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary and formerly served as managing editor and assistant writer in the Creative Ministries Department at Insight for Living Ministries. Barb counts herself especially blessed to have enjoyed more than two decades of ministry in […]
The Hardest Questions to Ask
I love great, big hugs and hellos, happy celebrations with hearty laughter. But I dread goodbyes. When it comes to family and saying goodbye, I’m a crier. Today was one of those “I’m going to cry and say goodbye” days. My son Austin had arrived at the end of June to help us look after […]
Flying Fish, Party Straws, and 4 Essentials to Focus On
After what I saw, it seemed best to stay quiet. I was two days out of a massive back surgery, and the morphine pump was primed to kill pain that made natural childbirth feel like a minor tummy ache. My incredibly loving husband had taken two weeks off work to set up camp right by […]
When God Says “No”—Pray This
When nobody is around and when we’re able to be absolutely honest with ourselves before God, we entertain certain dreams and hopes. We want very much by the end of our days to have ____________________ (fill in the blank). However, it may well be that we will die with that desire unfulfilled. Should that occur, […]
My Top Ten Books for Traveling
I had life planned. The kids and I made a crafty family crest; a personal mission statement hung in my room; purpose and direction dictated our steps. And then . . . And then the best possible thing happened, which felt like the worst possible thing that could happen. Life . . . f E […]
Wellness: Step One
Paperwork. Need I say more? I could have used a forklift to help me heave the stack of patient forms from the physician’s counter. My medical file exploded this year—and this was just one of many stacks I had already sifted through and signed. Caregivers—people who help other people (which means all of us at […]
What Happens When You’re All Alone Can Change Your Life
The groundskeeper and his young wife had just moved to Dallas; he was a new student, entering on academic probation that year. The school grounds he tended were manicured to perfection. Bright flowers and freshly cut grass looked like gift-wrapped packages welcoming incoming students. It was a blistering-hot August. Sweat burned his eyes. While wiping […]