Will this list never end? I thought as I dashed off to the grocery store. Filling my cart with milk, produce, bread, and meat, I zipped up and down those bulging aisles wondering, does my family consider how much thought goes into providing for their nutrition? One daughter is headache prone: water-rich produce and the…
Mine! Or Not…
Have you ever watched otters search for clams? I spent the afternoon at the zoo recently, and watching them made me think how I often perceive others’ gifts. The otters live in a wonderful habitat: a waterfall flows into a shallow stream. Rocks climb from the surface of the riverbed, providing a staircase of sorts…
Feeling Like a Fraud?
Ever feel like a fraud? A few years ago, I switched careers from nursing to teaching medicine to high school students. Before I accepted my teaching position, I had various volunteer teaching experiences. I had even homeschooled my own children. Yet, I didn’t see myself as a teacher. The first week of class proved more…
Blessed By Believing
“What verse has resonated with you recently?” asked my daughter, returning home from college. “Luke 1:45 has been on my mind because it has always haunted me,” I shared. “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45 (NIV) This verse in context is when Mary, pregnant…
Lead Like Jesus
Ever have to prove yourself? As a newlywed, I witnessed my husband, John, work his first engineering job. His job title was product engineer for a connector manufacturer. (Recall Intel inside? He worked with Intel to design components within computers.) That August he started he was twenty-two years young. Colleagues reporting to him and men…
Identify the Enemy
I awoke to instant itching, scratching brought no relief. I examined by arms: long unfamiliar appendages pink with red splotches and angry-looking welts. What I saw certainly looked like poison ivy. But I had not been in poison ivy. I knew poison ivy- all too well. I mentally retraced where I’d been the last few days….
How to Renew Your Mind In Truth
Guest Post By: Kelly Balarie Don’t doubt the power of your mind. This football-sized mass has the power to create and recreate everything in your life. This is why Jesus tells us not to conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. If we renew our…
Lust or Pride?
What can take down a strong man of faith? King David and his son Solomon are two of the most revered men of faith, and rightfully so. David, named a man after God’s own heart, was awe-inspiring in his faith throughout his life. Solomon, the wisest man ever, knew what to ask of God. There…
One Stone At A Time
Sighing, the prophet surveyed the site before him. Never had he imagined the City of David would look like this: Desolated. Devastated. Destroyed. What was even worse was the poverty afflicting the people: Physical poverty. Emotional poverty. Spiritual poverty, How could this happen? Nehemiah knew God. He also knew the city needed rebuilt. This was…
Trusting God to Bridge the Gap
When faced with a new task what is your general approach? Do you take anything and everything offered, or do you rely on what you already know? David’s answer to that question might surprise you. While a young man, David, as instructed by his father, left his sheep and went to visit Saul’s army, checking…