Abraham
As January draws to a close, so does our reading of Job and Genesis. I do have to admit that I enjoyed reading both books. I liked traversing back through Genesis and re-reading some of the stories that I remember from Sunday school, particularly the story of Abram. The friend of God. God calls him out and tells him to leave everything- his family, his country, his inheritance and go to the land that God is promising him. God gives him the promise of an incredible blessing- " I will cause you to become the father of a great nation. I
A Little Change in Focus
My twelve year old son reminds me of someone I know. Me. People say we look alike, we definitely act alike, and we even think alike. It's a little creepy. So I knew this past week's visit to the orthodontist was not going to be fun. You see, we also share the same hypersensitive gag reflex...and it was time for his mouth to be fitted for a retainer. Yuk! The last time we tried this, it took multiple trials and the appointment ended with a frustrated dental assistant and patient. But this week we had a different assistant (Poor girl,
Broken, But Not Beyond Repair
When I was in high school, I had taken a Ceramics and Sculpture class. One of our projects was making a clay sculpture. After much deliberation, I finally decided to make a vase. The process my teacher taught us to use was the slab method which was tedious for this teenager: knead the clay, roll it out, measure it, cut each strip, score the strip, moisten the scored area with water, lay one strip on top of the other and finally, smooth out each layer using fingers and tools while sculpting it into what I had envisioned. Towards the end
Praising God in the Storm
We were hovering in the pantry the night of the tornado warning. The alert told us to take shelter so we didn't waste time gathering together in there. As my husband and I prayed, my daughter was hunched over and crying. She was visibly trembling with fear. The thought of a tornado was scary, and she prayed that God would keep us safe. About twenty minutes passed, and while my husband and I talked and prayed, my boys were munching on cookies, not completely aware of the situation. My daughter continued to tremble, then she sat up and started to
Influence
You know when you are watching a movie and the character is about to go out in the woods...at night...when it’s storming...and the bad guy is out there waiting for them...and you want to just yell at them, “STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!”. It seems so obvious that they shouldn’t go but they do. I kinda have that moment every time I read the story of Eve. Everything in me wants to yell, “Talking to a serpent is a bad idea or is that not obvious already?? STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” But there’s something else I think about when I read those first few chapters of Genesis, specifically
Quiet Time
Well, here we are, a new year! Our study has started a new journey and we begin the year waist deep in book of Job. Job is a fantastic book- all of the action is in the first two chapters and Job and his boys re-hash it for the 40 remaining chapters. Guys think that girls over-discuss things? Puh-lease!! When trouble hits Job, his initial response is pretty confident, "Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?" (ch 2:10). His friends join him and initially they just sit in silence, but then they start
Take time to SIT
I consider myself truly blessed to have been raised in a Christian home with great parents. With that being said, during my college years, I remember coming home for a short visit and noticing something different about my dad. I asked my mom about it. She informed me that my dad had begun studying the Bible. He was no stranger to the things of God. In fact, his father was an evangelist, and my dad had also spent a few of his first years in the United States attending a Bible School....but something was still different about him. It was
Wear Your Crown Proudly
When it was recently suggested that I consider a position, my immediate response was "I'm not qualified." I felt inadequate in my abilities to fulfill such a responsibility. I also was afraid that I would fail terribly. The next day I was engaged in conversation with a friend who is discouraged in this new season of her life and she said, "I'm not qualified to do anything." My immediate response had a different tune this time: Me: "Do you know Whose you are?" Friend: "Yes, I am God's." Me: "God is King. What does that make you?" Friend (struggling for a
Remembering to be Grateful
One important lesson my daughter learned this past Christmas was how to be grateful. When she first opened the puzzle we got her, she showed no excitement. In fact, she looked disappointed. My husband and I were thrilled at the opportunity to give her an educational puzzle that taught her the capitals of the 50 states. Not so fascinating for a five year-old. She was hoping for Barbie and a dollhouse. After teaching her about gratefulness, we started putting the puzzle together and she realized how fun it could be. In fact, the puzzle made me a little smarter, too!
Make Time – The Making of Me
I love the hope of a new year. I love the thought that this year is going to be different. I don’t know about you but I think I say that every year...but I really am hoping 2017 is different from 2016. To be honest, 2016 was not an easy year. There were transitions...there were challenges in some relationships and even in ministry. In addition to that, some close family members were hospitalized for an extended period of time after being in a serious car accident. In 2016, I attended 4 funerals, including my grandmother’s. It just goes to show
