Getting The Picture
Good morning... God sometimes teaches truth in funky ways. In yesterday's blog message, I sent a captivating picture, a picture received by some subscribers and not by others. Then last night before heading to bed, I put the title "An unseen picture," as a place holder in my computer program and it accidentally sent while I was asleep. Now God wakes me unusually late this morning. It is almost 6:00 am. Why all this [...]
Walk With The Broken
Good morning... A powerful picture was sent to me by a woman whose heart has been shattered more than once, a soulful friend with whom I have shared many a meaningful conversation. In the picture, I am captivated by a stately lion with tender, almost tearful eyes, a lion overlooking the words, "How we walk with the broken speaks louder than how we sit with the great." Over my fifty-three years of life, I [...]
Tell Your Heart To Beat Again
Good morning... When are shattered like we have never been before and the life we knew lies in a thousand pieces on the floor, we are rushed into heart surgery. The Great Physician promises, "I will give them one heart [a new heart], and put a new spirit within them. I will take from them the heart of stone, and will give them a heart of flesh [that is responsive to My touch], that [...]
God Can Grow A Salvation-Garden
Good morning... Sharing the devastating effects of an extramarital affair, heartbroken and hurting she wrote to me for support: "My 16-year-old niece said, 'Who will walk me down the aisle when I get married? I don't want someone who cheated doing it.'" The LORD gave me these words to give to my friend: "Your niece could walk down the aisle with someone fallen and forgiven, if everyone involved gives God permission." In simple humility, [...]
Unwashed And Unwanted
Good morning... I just stumbled upon a fascinating Bible story, expressed vividly in the Message translation. On the day you were born your umbilical cord was not cut, you weren’t bathed and cleaned up, you weren’t rubbed with salt, you weren’t wrapped in a baby blanket. No one cared a fig for you. No one did one thing to care for you tenderly in these ways. You were thrown out into a vacant lot [...]
My Story Is Your Story
Good morning… Letting down our guard and sharing our genuine self is a lot easier said than done. In truth, our guard is an important part of us, serving us well until it doesn't anymore. We are handmade uniquely in our Creator's image (Genesis 1:27) and filled with the living breath of God (Genesis 2:7). Freshly formed from our Father's fingers, we each come into the world "naked and unashamed" (Genesis 2:25). But it [...]
When Hiding Hurts
Letting down our guard and sharing our true self is easier said than done. Our guard is an important part of us, serving us well until it doesn't anymore. We are handmade uniquely in our Creator's image (Genesis 1:27) and filled with the living breath of God (Genesis 2:7). Freshly formed from our Father's fingers, we each come into the world "naked and unashamed" (Genesis 2:25). But it does not take long before God's [...]
What? You Too?
Good morning... "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What? You, too? I thought I was the only one!'" - C.S. Lewis I have witnessed similar exchanges amid Bible study after Bible study these past few weeks. When we let down our guard and share our genuine selves, "What? You, too?" experiences birth new friends. ...God will be the bond between me and you (1 Samuel 20:42b, MSG). ...Sue... [...]
Silver And Gold – New And Old
Good morning... This morning I wake pondering the song "Make new friends but keep the old." So I write to my friend of twenty-something years, a friend with whom I share a two or three hour meal most every month. She keeps in good touch with old friends and family while remaining openhearted to the new friends God brings into her life. I emailed her these thoughts: "I recognize that you 'Make new friends [...]
Nesting In Feathers
Good morning... Do not ask me why, but I wake with my morning mind focused on an idiom. After researching the phrase my heart weds my mind. "Feathering one's nest" means to decorate and furnish one's home in style and comfort, which alludes to birds lining their nests with feathers to make them warm and comfortable. A weird truth dawns on me: the feathers once attached for warmth fall off naturally before becoming reused [...]
Differently Similar
Good morning... On the other end of the phone, her voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard to me. Uptight. High-churchy. A bull-in-a-china-shop talker. I must admit, I turned down the volume on my listening ears, saying to myself, "We are SO DIFFERENT, complete opposites." When it was my turn to share some thoughts, I talked about locking eyes with an the owl from three feet away and in gratitude googling "What do owls [...]
Hear And Heal
Good morning... Still shocked by the loss of her loved one, my friend sent out a "thank you" email to those whose prayers now carry her. God shared through her hurting heart life-giving words, words I now share with you. "His service was amazing. It glorified God, celebrated his young life and faith and was attended by approximately 1500 people. The majority of those there were young people; it was an incredible sight. Now [...]