She read aloud another favorite quote: "And then it felt as though these thoughts came across to me in a prayer: 'Walk on with empty hands, because I have so much more to give you in the future, and you can't receive it if your hands are full. Don't be afraid that in letting go you are losing anything [...]
Good morning... I happen upon Psalm 145:17 in the Message translation. Everything God does is right—the trademark on all his works is love. My mind wanders and wonders: "What is the definition of trademark?" Researching I learn, a trademark is a distinctive characteristic by which a person or thing comes to be known. A stamp or seal. A trait [...]
Good morning... She read aloud her favorite quote from this week's chapter, "...as people journeying in faith, we have committed ourselves, deep in our hearts, to trust that whatever the future holds, it will always unfold in ways that ultimately, though perhaps not immediately or visibly, lead to more and more fullness of life, for each and for all." [...]
Good morning... As I was texting back and forth with a close friend recently diagnosed with cancer, the words from an old hymn came bubbling up, "Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey." We were both drawn to the simplicity of focus. Be happy in Jesus. Trust. [...]
Good morning... Continuing yesterday's conversation, God drew me to an article entitled 40 things to give up for Lent and beyond, a list published in 2015 by Phil Ressler. Might we pick one inner quality to reflect upon during each of the forty days in Lent? There are forty days between Ash Wednesday and the Saturday before Easter, minus [...]
Good morning... During our Listening Group yesterday, we placed our base on this truth: God is love (1 John 4:8b). God is patient. God is kind. God does not envy. He does not boast, is not proud. God does not dishonor others, is not self-seeking. He is not easily angered and keeps no record of wrongs. God does not [...]
Good morning... "I guess I view Lent as a season of shaking," I said as I stepped to the microphone to end our Women's Lenten Communion Service. I explained that one of my favorite Christmas traditions is cutting down a fresh Virginia pine from a nearby tree farm. We go together as a family, circling around and around to [...]
Good morning... "Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in," says Hebrews 12:2 in the Message translation. "Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, [...]
Good morning... When I was a kid, we played in our neighborhood from after school until the dinner bell rang. One of my favorite childhood games was Red Rover. When we played Red Rover, we would pick two teams from our collection of buddies, we would stretch out in two lines, hand-in-hand, facing one another from about twenty feet [...]
Good morning... "For the joy set before him (Jesus) endured the cross," explains Hebrews 12:2b (NIV). This is a good thing to remember as we walk into Lent. We all have different crosses to bear. The cross of grieving a loved one who has left this earth. The cross of a scary diagnosis and its various treatment options. The [...]
