“My Son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands on your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.” Proverbs 3:1-2 NIV What to do, the pretty blond fifteen-year-old wondered. She certainly didn’t agree with her parents, but had always obeyed them. Until now. I really…
Category: Promises
The Power Of A Woman, Part VI
“Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in the house shall live because she hid the messengers whom we sent.” Joshua 6:17b (ESV) Opening the door to her well-known if not well-despised inn, Rahab spied the foreigners. Terror-filled eyes searched the room for safety. Somehow, something inside her knew these men. This was drastically different…
Puzzling Pieces
“I will come back to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.” Jeremiah 29:10b NIV “Mommy, I need help!” Standing in the doorway, I stared aghast into our preschooler’s bedroom. She had found her new puzzles from Grandma. The five thirty-piece puzzles that hadn’t come with a picture. And,…
He Knows
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet is without sin.” Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) Outcast. Alone. Defeated. Sometimes this world can overwhelm and undermine the most positive of people….
Lessons From Tipper, Part VIII
“I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:14 NIV One Saturday morning I stumbled onto a precious scene: our second grader was curled up on the floor with a book and Tipper. She was reading aloud and Tipper was listening intently. Her eyes even…
Faithfully Facing Uncertainty, Part IV
“He said to his servants, ‘Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.’” Genesis 22:5 NIV When Abraham decided to follow God, he was a relative newcomer to faith. He did not come from a godly heritage. He…
Faithfully Facing Uncertainty, Part III
“There is no one holy like the Lord, there is no one beside you, there is no rock like our God.” I Samuel 2:2 (NIV) She felt deeply ashamed for something that wasn’t her fault. She hadn’t done anything wrong. In fact, she’d done most everything right. But, her righteousness wasn’t witnessed or rewarded. Yet….
Faithfully Facing Uncertainty, Part II
“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ she said, ‘I have seen the One who sees me.’” Genesis 16:13 NIV Pregnant. Abused. Alone. Out of fear, she fled to the desert. She carried a barren soul to a barren landscape. As a servant,…
Setting It Straight, Part II
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV, emphasis mine) Maybe he had just risen for the day. Maybe he was enjoying a little quiet time with the Lord. Maybe he…
Are You Aware, He Cares?
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26 NIV, emphasis mine The little seed shuttered as it was pushed down deep into the earth. It’s dark here….