Did things go differently than you expected this year? Did life take a turn into a new season for you? Are you in the middle of one, not knowing its outcome? Does that feel unsettling? Me too, on multiple fronts. Many days this year, the Lord has taken me back Read more…
I had a recent day when the world’s weight bore heavy and threatened to pull me under. I work as a teacher. I’ve loved teaching others how to sing and make music with their God-given instrument. In one of my research studies, a child called teaching “helping.” Yes, I’ve always Read more…
Do you ever talk to your soul? The Psalmists did this a lot, reminding themselves of truth in God’s Word, truths about who God is and what He is doing…even when we can’t see it. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within Read more…
My rings are precious possessions, white and yellow gold blended with diamond sparkles, representing the deep love of my dear husband. He is a treasure from God to me and the gold rings continue to endure after so many years of marriage…and lots of messy cleanups! I Peter reminds me Read more…
Are you waiting for things to improve, hoping for things to become easier? Sometimes, it’s years of waiting. Sometimes, things don’t get better or easier, but worse and harder. What do we do then? What if…our waiting lasts a lifetime? Psalm 69 gives us the words to pray in the Read more…
Suffering feels lonely, doesn’t it? So much suffering causes physical isolation, surviving away from others. How I’m praying for those who are widowed, sick, orphaned, and isolated right now. The list is lengthening daily. Even when people are physically near, we can feel emotionally alone, right? If you’re anything like Read more…
She was in anguish. There seemed to be no end in sight. Like the apostle Paul, she begged God for the thorn to go away, for her chronic suffering to disappear. She read books that encouraged her to muster up her brave, to declare she is enough and an overcomer, Read more…
I found myself writing in pencil as I began filling out my 2021 calendar. 2020 taught me, “Don’t use pen!” Why? “You do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?…You ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that’” (Jas. 4:14-15 Read more…
In Christmas 2020, our world clings to hope for rescue in so many places…vaccines, government power, cultural movements of justice, justice in the court system, human-made organizations. Honestly, my heart has been gripped this year by an overwhelming disbelief in possible rescue through any human system. This pervasive gripping hasn’t Read more…
Merry Christmas, dear friends! Some of you have written to tell me you’re singing “O Holy Night” daily, even though it’s a challenging song to sing! You know, the Lord delights to hear us sing even if we don’t like how we sound. In Song of Solomon 2:14 (ESV), He says, Read more…
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