Surrender. It’s a word that sounds defeated. Discouraged. Beaten. Surrender: verb (used without object) “to give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield.” [dictionary.com] While the word may seem to carry a negative connotation, in the Christian life is a cumulative word that describes what happens when a person, 1.) recognizes…
“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 “…today a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord, was born for you in the city of David. …
More than beautiful presents wrapped in paper and bows, the gift of Christmas begins with a baby in a manger, swaddled in cloth and sleeping in a manger bed. The gift of Christmas came. Heralded by angels, He entered the world He created, in a stall built for animals; all of creation crying, “Hail the…
It only took one second. One. My toddler was fussing to get out of the cart, and because I was close to being finished with our little shopping trip, I caved in to the pressure of a 3 year old and let her get out. Holding one little hand in mine while pushing the cart…
I wake up early and hear the sounds of the night orchestrating a beautiful transition to morning. The night owls and the crickets quiet as the songbirds take over in a rhythmic chant that almost sounds as if they are saying, “wake up! wake up!”. On a cool, crisp fall morning the dried leaves fall…
Young girls carefully slip the perfectly white gloves onto their little hands, working to fit each finger inside the correct hole. Almost instantly, it seems, they are whisked away to a land of make-believe. Transported to another time and place, they begin to speak in a polite accent, go through the motions of being “proper”,…
I woke up to a new reality. A sobering thought. A haunting question: What if? What if the passion I have is misguided? What if my thoughts–my desires are not from Him? Does this passion that I have honor the One I have declared to be my Lord? The One True God. The Maker of…
I long to be the one who makes you smile. From deep within me is a person who wants to be that somebody who makes every person feel like a somebody. I really do want to be an encourager, but far too often I leave a conversation thinking about what I wish I had said. …
I love to read. When I open the cover of a new book, I am filled with a sense of awe–like I am setting out on a new adventure. Turning the page of a book is like opening the door to something yet undiscovered. And then life happens. At some point you have stop, put…
We all have them. Those little things that drive us crazy. They flip our switch and spark a fire. The question is, if we want a happy marriage, how do we respond to those little idiosyncrasies that get under our skin? “If you let them, idiosyncrasies can take the joy out of marriage. Those peculiarities…
When I was young I hated peas. You can ask my Mom and she will tell you that she still remembers me shuffling peas around my plate for what seemed like an hour, trying to make it look like I had actually eaten some of the green balls of goo. While it never bothered me if…
It’s not complicated, really. These three things that seem to have so little in common bring back a flood of memories. Memories can take us back to places we sometimes need to revisit. Maybe it was a time that you learned a lesson the hard way, or maybe it was just an epiphany moment that…
It’s not that I don’t love a beautiful table. I do. Really I do. I have white dishes just so I can create a table setting for any season just by adding colorful napkins and a centerpiece. (I’m practical that way.) It is a joy for me to put together the pieces, adding a touch…
There is always that one thing. You know–that one more thing you needed to do. One more thing you wanted to say. Until you can’t. When it’s too late to turn back, or the moment is lost in oblivion, you have to face the reality that life must go on, and that only God can…
