What I saw didn’t always match reality. I saw the Facebook post. The daughter of a friend I had known for more than thirty years informed her Facebook friends that her mom had contracted Covid
Read moreTag: encouragement
Finding Wisdom in Seasons of Change
Can unchanging truths about wisdom lead to seasons of real change? Adventures. Tragedies. Romance. Mystery. All the metaphors and poetic verse pique my brain and prod me to study beyond the written page. I want
Read morePutting on the New
After twenty-seven years, he took off his prison garb and walked out a free man. Nelson Mandela, a lawyer who joined the African National Council (ANC) in 1944, became the national president of the organization
Read moreNo Greater Love
Can love change the world? I’m reminded of splendor and thunder; how the trickle-down effects of selflessness, patience, kindness, and faithfulness instead of selfishness, impatience, and unfaithfulness can change lives for the better. There’s no
Read moreThe Stripping
The bushes, once loaded, had been stripped. For the first time in a long time, I had a large garden plot that produced well. When the spring crops finished, I planted purple hull peas. I
Read moreA Hard-Learned Lesson
“Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you” (Proverbs 2:11 NIV). Head down, shoulders shaking, and tears flowing, this was not the Uncle Leonard we knew. Years of poor choices still showed in the
Read moreI Want a Do-Over!
“I want a do-over.” How many times did you say that as a child? Or hear a friend toss that out on the playground? Too often, when a game or a situation isn’t turning out
Read moreEmbracing the Thought of Starting Over Again
Starting over and embracing new beginnings… When I think of winter’s wonders, my thoughts wander like snowflakes drifting with the wind. The sudden rush of goodbyes and quiet after Christmas vacations with our loved ones
Read moreIt’s Time
The new year is a suitable time to think about new beginnings, but it certainly isn’t the only time. Into creation, God has built cycles, seasons, and even mandates that prompt us to pick ourselves
Read moreThe Need of Sabbath
I told them the story and watched confusion cross their faces. One thing I love about teaching middle schoolers entails telling them stories about how things were when I was their age. When I was
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