He stayed in his spot. At least as he knew it to be. He looked down the court one way then turned and looked the other from the round circle of lines in the middle where he stood. Big clumps of children who mostly seemed bigger than he was raced up and down the court chasing a soccer ball towards a net. But he just stood still and watched or walked around the circular lines. Parents cheered, “C’mon buddy! You can do it! RUN! RUN! Run after the ball with your team!” But there he stood. Turning toward the four grandparents and his mom and dad. Smiling and waving. His shirt hung down past his knobby little knees. His knee [ Continue Reading… ]

I recently saw a short segment on a Sunday morning news show (as I was waiting to go to church) that really moved me. The true story goes as follows. There was an elderly couple that had gone months without being able to make their car payments on their 1998 Buick Century. The gentlemen had recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, so to say their lives had been turned upside down is an understatement.  As a result, the bank had to enlist the services of a repo-man to go pick up their car. The older couple was aware that this would happen and the lady said she just prayed that God would take care of them.  As you might guess, [ Continue Reading… ]

“The eternal God is your refuge, And underneath are the everlasting arms.”  Deuteronomy 33:27 Many times those who are most right are accused of being, or doing wrong; worse still are cases where individuals, deeply established in truth, are diminished or presumed unstable . . . in other words, out of their mind.  Time is an instrument of exposure and though it’s been said that time is not on our side, it actually is. To say resolve will break before there’s time enough for truth to be uncovered underestimates God’s power at work on the side of those who favor His righteous cause. Believers with strength of resolve (as well as good people, who though they have not met the [ Continue Reading… ]

Recently our daughter and son-in-law left their 7 month old son Ezekiel with my husband and I to babysit while they went out of town for a few days. Of course I could include many pictures but I’ll spare you with the crazy grandparent behavior. An interesting thing happened. When Ezekiel’s parents excitedly returned home to see him I was holding him as they stood just inside our front door. Our daughter said, “Hi Ezekiel” before she took him in her arms and then her eyes filled with tears. She said, “Oh mom! He doesn’t know who I am!” It was true that the baby presented her with a blank stare. But no more had those words come out of [ Continue Reading… ]

There is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. Success comes from strength, control and respectability. A successful person has the energy to create something to keep control over its development, and to make it available in large quantities. Success brings many rewards and often fame. Fruits however, come from weakness and vulnerability. And fruits are unique. A child is the fruit conceived in vulnerability, community is the fruit born through brokenness, and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one another’s wounds. Let’s remind one another that what brings true and healing joy is not successfulness but fruitfulness.

In biblical Israel there were different kinds of offerings. Besides five main offerings – burnt, grain, fellowship, sin, and guilt – Israel was to give specific offerings, including the trespass, peace, fellowship, freewill, wave, heave, thank, consecration, dedication and memorial offerings as well as offerings for the poor.  Similarly, we bring different offerings to the Lord and each kind of offering is significant to our worship and response to Him. Our desire to give to the Lord is not religious duty. It originates instead in the heart, in response to His love. Giving expresses honor for Him in a specific way, not legalistically or religiously, but a genuine spiritual expression of what we believe about how the Lord first gives [ Continue Reading… ]

A dear friend told me a beautiful story that perfectly illustrates a truth I would like to tell you. Here is the truth, and then I will give you the story. TRUTH: Your value is in your position not your performance. Story: When my friend was a little girl, the church she attended was very strict. There were many rules to keep about keeping the rules. If a person was a “member” of the church you had to be an especially good rule keeper. Sometimes if an adult member broke a rule, they had to sit outside on a wooden bench while they waited for the non-rule breaking members to decide on a punishment for them that matched the rule [ Continue Reading… ]

It was a small gathering at the Sunday evening vesper service on Easter with the ages of people ranging from mid-60’s to 91 years old. I had been asked to come and serve them in a small way. It was time to sing. A woman in her 60’s went to the little organ packed into the corner of the small room where the residents sat around tables. She cheerfully told them to take the hymnals and call out some favorites to sing. “He Lives, Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Because He Lives…” were just a few. They sang. Mostly off- key. But it was one of the most beautiful sounds I have heard in a long while. A disabled [ Continue Reading… ]

Compassion marked the ministry of Jesus Christ and as Christians we imitate that compassion. No matter what part of the world you live in, this distinction stands out. It marks and makes you distinctive as a disciple of the One whose compassion opened the way to the Father, for all of mankind and for all time. Humanistic compassion is different. Humanism is human-centered, making human beings, not God, the center of everything. The difference is that the Lord’s compassion centers on the love of the Father for humanity and for all life. Social or religious philosophies cannot rise to the value God places on every human life—a value based on His own divine and compassionate love for creation. God is [ Continue Reading… ]