For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble when calamity strikes. — Proverbs 24:16 (NIV) Without looking at her directly, I tried to assess the damage. My friend’s young daughter had just taken a spill on my kitchen floor. An untied shoelace seemed to have caused the tumble. During…
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” — Mark 9:35 (NIV) I had no reason to be grumpy. Yet from the moment I woke up I found myself grumbling over every little annoyance. The coffee wasn’t ready on…
But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. — 2 Corinthians 1:9b KABOOM! Wondering what caused the crash, I ran to the window. Completely unperturbed by the sound, my husband peacefully scattered corn for the deer who grace our property. Seeing nothing amiss, and nothing to…
Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. — John 10:7 (NIV) A quick Google search for images of gate structures will yield about 599,000,000 results ~ in less than a second! Gates may come in varying sizes and styles, but they all serve the same purpose:…
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”— John 8:12b (NIV) I hope you won’t think less of me…but I started decorating for Christmas at the beginning of November. I know, I know, I usually wait until after Thanksgiving. But over…
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. — John 6:35 (NIV) Mouth watering with anticipation, I flew down the stairs to buy my breakfast baguette. Living above a boulangerie (bakery) in Paris definitely had its perks….
Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live. — Psalm 116:2 (ESV) I struggle with prayer. Of all the spiritual disciplines, I find this the most difficult. I’ve often felt guilty about my prayer life. For all the times I promised to pray for someone,…
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. — John 1:16 (NIV) I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole. An honest mistake, made in front of several people, left me grasping for words. I meant to encourage my new acquaintance, but my poor word…
But godliness with contentment is great gain. — 1 Timothy 6:6 (NIV) In his play, Richard III, Shakespeare coined the phrase, “winter of discontent” to describe temporary times of unhappiness. More than 400 years later, we still see people using his words. I think the phrase resonates with us because we all experience dissatisfaction at…
