Latest Posts

The Christmas Cord

for sw happy anniversary Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.  Ecclesiastes 4:12   Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one… Read More

Christmas for Every Tribe

I am a witness to the story I tell today. It is sure and true. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and… Read More

Out of the Stump

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot—yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. Isaiah 11:1 I named him Oliver, and he was the cutest olive tree I’d ever seen. Sitting brave in his hand-hewn pot right in the middle of the village market, he seemed to be expecting me. I bought him immediately and took him home to live on my terrace.  Day after day, I tended him.… Read More

Stand Still in the Water

The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’”  Joshua 3:7-8 Sometimes God commands us to stand still… Read More

What Happens When We Wait on the Lord

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Psalm 37:7 Waiting patiently is hard, especially when we can’t see what’s happening. Farmers know something about this. My daily walk takes me through a valley of farms. Tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, strawberries, grapes, and potatoes all grow in their seasons. One garden will be lush and green, while mere yards away, a plot lies plowed and ready for new seed. Yet another garden just… Read More

Carried Where We Do Not Want to Go

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”  John 21:18 Sometimes we… Read More

Where the Paths Meet

Does not wisdom call out? Does not understanding raise her voice? At the highest point along the way, where the paths meet, she takes her stand…  Proverbs 8:1-4, NIV There is a towering hill in our village, and those willing to make the climb will reach the highest point where three roads meet. Each road spills recklessly over the ridge in a different direction, but on that small summit, they are level for a while,… Read More

Compassion That Never Fails

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. Lamentations 3:22 Compassion is directly connected to power. Our human power has limits. For some, compassion can morph into workaholism and exhaustion. Others, looking at the widespread trauma in the world today, feel powerless to help at all. Then compassion becomes despair. Despair becomes avoidance, even as the needs of the world grow greater. There is a compassion that never… Read More

Immobilized or Mobilized?

  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. Ecclesiastes 9:10   Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord. Colossians 3:23   As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. John 9:4 We can be immobilized or mobilized by today’s headlines of war and trauma in the… Read More

Little Sheep

The Good Shepherd Mosaic from Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy But you, Oh Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. Psalm 3:3 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 Little sheep, can you feel the strength in the Good Shepherd’s hand? He holds your… Read More