Author Archive

Praise

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

In Eugene Peterson's book of daily devotionals, Praying With the Psalms, more than thirty of the 365 readings are about praise for God. Peterson's comments in the September 17th devotional were like a cold, wet washcloth to the face as I … Read more

Nice

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Twice in one month, I was aware of being called "nice". Both situations arose as unexpected challenges. The other people involved had a reasonable expectation that I could be impatient and disparaging. Instead, I applied Christ's Golden … Read more

Where Two Or Three

Monday, February 18, 2013

A simple gift from a seven-year-old boy prompted this devotional. When I visited his home, Jacob presented me with a braid. He had made it by untwisting blue nylon rope, then reworking the strands. Singed knots fused the fibres at the … Read more

Come

Sunday, February 3, 2013

When Eugene Peterson wrote about Psalm 89 in his book of daily devotions, Praying with the Psalms, he shared: The psalm as a whole is a study in proportions. The jagged intensity of the complaint (vv. 38-51) is set in an expansive … Read more

W.A.I.T.ing

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Some of our questions about why pray and how to pray begin to find answers when we look at the apostle Paul's instructions about prayer found at 1 Timothy 2:1-4 within a conceptual framework of: make statements on behalf of … Read more

Angels At Christmas

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

A couple of years ago during Advent, I became fascinated with the angels in the Christmas story. It's no accident that angels have become a popular Christmas decoration. Here is a summary of what I found in the scriptural reports of angels … Read more

God-Mail

Monday, November 19, 2012

As a frequent user of e-mail and a frequent maker of prayer, I began to liken prayer to e-mail. I saw that my prayers are always "To: God@heaven.org". Sometimes I send "Cc:" — copies of my prayers to my friends by asking them to pray as … Read more

The Secret Place

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Have you considered what "the secret place of the Most High" could be?

Last year a colleague gave me a copy of the little book, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, who was a seventeenth-century French Carmelite … Read more

Good And Compassion

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Have you noticed our human tendency to become more alert to news stories and weather reports about an unfamiliar place after someone close to us visits or moves there? I first noticed greater attention to news like that about ten … Read more

The God Particle

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Perhaps you caught the excited buzz from the world of nuclear physics when researchers announced that they had detected the subatomic particle named the Higgs boson. Its nickname is "The God Particle". More than forty years ago, the Higgs field … Read more

Watering

Friday, August 31, 2012

When the hot, dry days of July arrived, the maple tree that we had planted beyond reach of the garden hose looked dead. Hoping against hope, once a day, I began toting water to soak the soil around the base … Read more

Standby

Monday, August 13, 2012

My young adult son needed a ride to a warehouse in an industrial park. He was going to the storage space used by a volunteer organization which our family supports. There was a scheduled work party in preparation for Summerfolk, … Read more

Prayer School (2)

Sunday, July 8, 2012

The apostle Paul's letters to his protegé, Timothy, speak about various topics. Some encourage Pastor Timothy himself and some are for the shepherd as well as his flock. These verses apply to Timothy and the church: In this … Read more

Prayer School (1)

Saturday, July 7, 2012

For most of my adult life, I did not quite trust in prayer. I wanted to, but did not really get into it. I had been exposed to people who pray. I attended church all my life. I took part … Read more

Intercessory Prayer – Bind And Destroy

Sunday, June 10, 2012

On several occasions over the past twenty-five years, I have made lists of people for whom I wanted the love of God to become real. About ten years ago, I began to walk with God in a ministry of intercessory … Read more

A Great Reward

Saturday, June 9, 2012

At our house, the "Free Cell" solitaire card game on our computer is used while Internet users wait for web pages to load over a very slow dial-up connection. Almost daily, I watch other family members solve a game in … Read more

Be Glad

Saturday, May 26, 2012

An idle glance at the licence plate on the car stopped ahead of me brought an unexpected message and response. The words I saw on the personalized plate: "BE GLAD". We were in traffic waiting to exit a shopping mall … Read more

Honour-Glorify-Thanks

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Several times a day, I reach for a pair of reading glasses. I keep five pairs handy in different places where I am likely to want to thread a needle or read fine print. The lenses in my reading glasses … Read more

Bad News, But…

Saturday, February 25, 2012

If you were to find the photographs of kids and grandkids in my purse, you would also turn up an old postcard. Originally, it came inviting me to attend the ordination service of a student minister friend. The picture side … Read more

Breathing – LORD

Monday, January 16, 2012

I have noticed over the years, as I used this Scripture to bring myself still, that sometimes I would become attentive to my breathing. During one of those times in meditation, I remembered this verse: Four years ago, I began … Read more

Let Every Heart

Sunday, December 11, 2011

When I try to imagine what the shepherds witnessed, the best description I can muster seems totally inadequate: an awe-inspiring light show, an angelic proclamation, and a chorus of the army of heaven praising God and invoking His peace. What … Read more

Everything Pesticide

Thursday, November 17, 2011

The book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, indicates that one way a shepherd tends sheep is to place pesticide on the animals to prevent parasites and insects. Sheep may worry to death or experience disease from such sources. W. … Read more

Our Chairs

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Two ideas found at different times while reading have helped me to understand and use the peace that Christ Jesus left for me as an inheritance. I read the account of a Bible translator who came to a roadblock in … Read more

Fireflies

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Fireflies showed up around here in mid-June. A friend from Texas calls them lightning bugs. The insects possess light-emitting organs. The nocturnal winged adult beetles emit a soft intermittent light from the abdomen to aid in mate selection. The larval … Read more

Resist

Monday, June 13, 2011

In the quiet of the morning, while my husband and I were out walking the dog, we heard a crow call in distress several times. Off in the eastern sky, we could see two birds in flight, one giving chase … Read more

"Now" Faith

Thursday, May 19, 2011

In 1996, I became so ill that eventually I had Red Cross homemaker service and used a wheelchair. Slow death was my future. In desperation, I asked people of the church to pray for me. My husband prayed. Today, at … Read more

Produce Much Fruit

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Almost thirty years ago, I began a journey, seeking to understand and express the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It began with memorizing the list: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. At the time, I felt … Read more

Dealing With Anger

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

After Jesus learned that His cousin John had been beheaded, He showed us a strategy for dealing with anger or disappointment. First, He went to a solitary place. Can we assume that He communed with His Father while in private? … Read more

The Lord Bless You

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Last fall, an unexpected message from one of my PCCWeb Daily e-mail friends contained the following Scripture: As I had been seeking guidance about my daily prayer practice, this Scripture proved to be a strong clue. At the time, each … Read more

Four Steps In Prayer

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Some time ago, I took to heart Paul's exhortation to make prayer my first priority. I used my Bible dictionary of Greek words and learned meanings for requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving. Requests are statements of urgent need. God waits … Read more

Say To This Mountain

Monday, February 28, 2011

Most of us can recall a time when we passed by a school that we attended earlier in life or a house that used to be our home, but is no longer. I have come to think of some of … Read more

I Wouldn't Say That

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Very late one evening, while the rest of my family slept, I tidied away at kitchen chores. In my annoyance with the thankless, necessary tasks, I took the occasion to complain to the Lord. I finished my rant. In the … Read more

Rescued From Darkness

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

The apostle Paul wrote to people who believed in Jesus Christ at Colosse around the year 60 A.D. My experience brings me to agree with what Paul said almost 2000 years ago. Decades ago, I found myself in a spiritually … Read more

 



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