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My husband pastors two small churches that are each around 150 years old. Often, as I sit in the pews I can feel the weight of that age and all the history that the buildings contain. Paul’s statement in Hebrews 12:1 about being surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses” really resonates with me […]
Driving into Iowa from Illinois on Interstate 80, you enter an area designated as Smokestacks and Silos National Heritage. Despite all the commercial buildings along the Interstate, I love to look for the beautiful farms that dot the countryside. On a recent trip I saw a very large barn with a unique silhouette. It had […]
Investing in the lives of people is work – the gritty, dirty, sweaty kind. The kind that requires stretchy pants and a pony tail and comfortable footwear – metaphorically speaking of course. It isn’t confined to tidy schedules, and predictable flow charts, and it doesn’t make for an impressive lifestyle blog or instagram pictures. And […]
I’m not sure when I began doing this, but I often find myself in town with a few minutes between appointments or before needing to pick up the kids from school. Enough time to want to be productive, but not enough time to head home, unbuckle a toddler or two, and then get them back […]
I spent a good part of my quiet times during the year 2020 studying prophecy and heaven. That, coupled with suddenly being thrown into a world pandemic, has taught me a couple of things: #1) I have learned that no enemy, whether it is as microscopic as a virus or as cataclysmic as the threat […]
When I was a girl my mom often taught missionary stories to our whole group of Sunday School children. I always remember her telling about the life of Amy Carmichael who was a missionary to India. As a very young girl she prayed one night that God would make her brown eyes blue like other […]
Life rarely turns out the way we expect it to turn out. How often do we say, “It wasn’t supposed to be this way?” We just finished a Thanksgiving holiday which was nothing like we expected. We aren’t sure what to expect for Christmas. Why are we surprised when things don’t turn out the way […]
The tension in my neck and shoulders has been so constant the past several months that my body seems to have grown accustomed to it. It is as if this tightness, this ache, has always and will always be a part of me now. This tossing and turning at night is my new normal. Do […]
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” 1 Corinthians 11:26 It had been five months since I last participated in the Lord’s Supper. We were visiting my Mom’s church and I was thrilled we were receiving Communion. The opportunity to share in […]
In October I wrote an article looking at the living hope we have in Jesus from 1 Peter 1. As we encounter and engage with people in various seasons in their faith and in their lives, God’s mercy and power enables us to speak words of hope. Even if you don’t get time to read […]
