Long ago, a children's sermon delivered by a wise, older cousin unexpectedly became part of the fabric of my spiritual life. "When thoughts come to our mind," he said, "we have to figure out what to do with them. Is it something that goes in the trash? Is it a thought to put in our …
Category: Hearing God
The gift of silence
After an especially stressful day of work at the hospital, I often find myself postponing my return to our home in town and driving out into the country. Will and I have forty acres of land in the beautiful Gyp Hills a few miles outside town. On our land bordered by hills and a tree-lined …
Hoeing thistles
The morning sun grew hotter, and I felt sweat slide down the back of my neck as my hoe sliced into the base of a thistle plant. One after another, the prickly giants sank to their knees in defeat as I chopped and chopped. The mere mention of hoeing thistles was enough to raise wails …
Accusations
Recently someone sent me a letter, urging me to pray about the contents and think about changing my ways. "What in the world does this even mean?" I thought in bewilderment as I read the letter. It was full of Bible verses and vague interpretations. I had no idea what to make of it, other …
Valuing life
I woke up in the wee hours of morning to a little girl in fuzzy gray footed pajamas clutching at my arm. "I'm scared," she said in a small voice. Bleary with sleep, I sighed and briefly contemplated sending her back to her crib. But before I could send her back, my heart took charge …
On Thanksgiving morning
I woke up early on Thanksgiving morning before my alarm went off. Anxiety twisted in the pit of my stomach as I lay in darkness, curled warm under a mound of heavy blankets. This Thanksgiving I would not be gathering at the family table to feast on roast turkey and tell stories and pass the …
Overcoming
A highlight of my week is Wednesday evenings, when about half a dozen of us ladies slip into a church basement and study the Bible together. We are an odd assortment, but we love each other. Sometimes we laugh over zany high school memories and other times we cry over present struggles. I'm the oldest …
Do not harden your heart
2020 is the year the world got sick and the wackos came out of the woodwork. Or so it seems.I have never seen such strong polarization among the world as I know it. People's emotions are on edge, the verbal sparring always threatening to overwhelm anyone wanting to engage in simple conversation. Feelings are hurt, …
Father, in the heavens
A few months ago I stumbled across a snippet of advice that became transformational in an unexpected way. When the deluge of information about COVID-19 first hit, including the instruction for frequent hand-washing, someone on Facebook suggested praying the Lord's Prayer while washing our hands. The idea stuck with me since I work as a …
Seeking the Stream
If you ask me how Covid-19 has affected me personally, I feel a gaping numbness inside. I may be a nurse and one of "those" essential workers, but the time-consuming job of covering up from head to toe like a masked robber and ramming a swab far into the nether regions of a patient's head …
arabah rejoice 