The Apple Tree

For his birthday, our son gave my husband a small apple tree about twenty years ago. Because of similar climate, the person who sold it recommended a green apple from Israel. We watched it grow, hoping it wouldn’t be too long before we had delicious apples to eat year round, since it should produce several different times. When apples started growing, our expectations grew – a bit longer and we could pick our own instead of buying them at the store. Continue reading →

Serenity

Mt Moran & Jackson Lake

Mt Moran & Jackson Lake

This sight speaks such calm, peace and serenity to me. I’ve always loved this view of Jackson Lake and Mount Moran with its Frying Pan Glacier. On our many trips to Yellowstone, we always go south to Teton National Park, where these majestic mountains rise 7000 feet above the valley. On this late June day in 2015, the wind had quit blowing, making the reflection perfect. Usually a ripple plays across the lake. Continue reading →

The Gray Thumb

I tell people I have a gray thumb because I can keep plants alive but not make them thrive like people who have a so-called green thumb. Rarely will a plant flower for me after its first bloom period. Some people can make them flower year after year. Why do I mention this? It reminds me of some believers in Jesus Christ. Continue reading →

Walk in His Presence

And Keep the Light Burning in the Darkness

I live close to the Texas Gulf Coast and lately we’ve had lots of days when you can literally feel the outside humidity. It’s even harder to breathe for people with respiratory problems because the air is so heavy. Then we go into our home or a building and instantly notice the difference. Continue reading →

Yet Will I Praise Him

Famine, near starvation. What could be worse? That makes my problems seem not quite so bad. How about yours? Yes, they don’t go away because someone else’s are worse; they don’t even lessen. But it does help me gain perspective. Poor Habakkuh. His situation could not get any worse, but look at what he did! Continue reading →

You Afflicted Me in Faithfulness

Ever experience a situation that’s a real pain in the neck? Certainly you have. Three years ago I felt the same way. ‘Unfair and undeserved,’ I called it; something completely unnecessary for me to endure.

Whether the circumstance is a literal pain, a relationship development, a problem on the job or a financial issue, you want it to disappear! Possibly you’ve prayed about it; maybe numerous times, just like I did. My past prayers did me no good at all, as far as I could see. Nothing had changed. Continue reading →

The Terrible Waiting Time

“Lord, I don’t care which way we go, just move us!” I prayed one day after my husband and I talked about putting our home on the market and moving. After two years passed, I didn’t really care if we moved or not, I simply wanted off that fence. Many pros and cons made us undecided which would be the better course for our family. My husband was unhappy in his job and didn’t find similar work in Austin. We were looking at other options out-of-town and even considering moving back to our hometown where our four parents lived and we had a few rentals. The more we looked the more confused the picture became. Sitting on the fence for so long became unbearable. I simply wanted a decision, at that time not really caring what the consequences were. Continue reading →

No Labels for God

God, I wish I could label You, Put you in a little box,
Know just how You will act,
And what your thoughts are;
Could say, You are this way, And You are that way.

I wish I could grasp You And confine You
And then understand You.
At least, I think I wish all that.
But if it happened, What then? Continue reading →

Faith Requires a Decision

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A victim of your circumstances? Yes, some things about our situation we can’t change. But we can change how we think about and react to that problem. We can have a victim mentality or we can have winner thinking. What do I mean by that?

In Luke 4:24-25 when Jesus spoke to the paralyzed man lying on the mat and told him to get up, the man had to choose to obey. He could have chosen not to believe Jesus and stayed lying there and been bedridden the rest of his life. But he chose the winner’s way. Jesus put mud on a man’s eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam (John 9:6-7). The man made a choice. He could have said, “Here’s water that’s closer, I’ll just wash in it,” but he wouldn’t have been able to see because he didn’t obey Jesus’ word to him. Again, faith required a decision. Continue reading →

Family Blessings

Being able to spend time with all our family some part of the last two months blessed me tremendously. With children and grown grandchildren spread around Texas, Georgia and California, getting to see them for several days only happens occasionally. At Thanksgiving or Christmas we all try to get together somewhere, but then only get about two days by the time we travel. Having a little more time means we are more relaxed and enjoy being together and talking about more than we do when crowded into the rush of Thanksgiving or Christmas Dinner and presents. Continue reading →

Foolishness

Foolishness is a man wrestling against God,
But oh, how hard he tries!
He thinks he can win – if he holds out a little longer;
He doesn’t know God controls even the skies.

Foolishness is a man setting his heart against God;
He decides he will go his own way.
He doesn’t know God’s way is best:
Facing him is utter dismay.

Foolishness is Christian, turning from God,
Trying to walk in the way of sin.
He will never be happy and never be blest;
He will only face sorrow within.

The Captain

I am a soldier
Weary after a long and tiring battle
Battered, bruised, bleeding –
Needing healing for my wounds.

I am a soldier
But I am also a captain
Called to lead my men
To fend off enemy forces.

I am a soldier
But I was sorely wounded –
Neglected my duty to my men
Allowed enemy troops to overtake us.

I am a soldier
Fallen in body but fallen in leadership –
Asking forgiveness of my broken and harassed men,
Asking for another chance to lead to victory.

I am a soldier and also a captain –
Rallying from retreat
Repairing shattered defenses
Taking up our weapons to win this war.

I am a captain –
Leading my fighting men
Pushing back the enemy
Retrieving taken land.

I am my Lord’s captain –
Marching as He commands
Leading my men onward and upward
Proclaiming the Lord’s victory.


					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
The Anointing
			


	


				

					

		
				

			
If I were preaching or teaching

 Or witnessing to the lost,

 I’d say I needed the anointing of the Lord

 So that His words would be said

 In the power of His Spirit and might.


But if I live my daily life,

 At home or work or play,

 I may not think I need God’s anointing.

 For who am I to need His power

 In the mundane things I do?


But who am I, indeed, to need His power,

 Whether at home or work or play?

 How many lives do I touch

 By the sermons and the teachings

 I unknowingly live today?


 Yes, Lord God, anoint me indeed

 With the power of your Holy Spirit,

 For you alone know the ones I reach

 By the strength of my faith,

 By the words of my testimony.


    

  • Anoint, Anointing:  Anointing in the New Testament also refers to the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which brings understanding (1 John 2:20, 27). This anointing is not only for kings, priests, and prophets; it is for everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. The anointing occurs physically with a substance such as oil, myrrh, or balsam. But this is also a spiritual anointing, as the Holy Spirit anoints a person’s heart and mind with the love and truth of God.
    • 



(Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary; copyright 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers; from PC Study Bible.)


 

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
My Destiny
			


	


				

					

		
				

			
Joy unspeakable!

 How can I describe this blessedness?

 So far surpassing all I imagined

 The greatest words cannot do it justice.


“What joy,” you ask,

 “What brings such rapture?”


The sign of my Jesus’ face!

 How can I picture such love

 Such compassion, even for me?

 What word describes His glory?

 The glory of the only begotten Son!


Then I see my Father!

 Abba, Father.

 The tears fall down my face

 Tears of humility, adoration and love.

 I kneel at His feet and worship

 Almighty God!


No eye has seen

  No ear has heard

  No mind has conceived

  What God has prepared

  For those who love Him.

 (1 Corinthians 2:9)


I cannot tell you all this wonder; 

 Truly, you must see it for yourself!

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
What Is Shalom?
			


	


				

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The Jewish people treasure the word “Shalom,” greeting each other with it when they first meet and again on leaving. Shalom implies peace, as we commonly think of it, but very much more than that. Shalom suggests wholeness, completeness, health, security, prosperity, fulfillment, contentment, restoration, unbrokenness, joy,  peace between you and God as well as between you and other people – in other words, we might say it hints at heaven on earth. Continue reading →

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
Abide in Christ
			


	


				

					

		
				

			
 


In many species of birds a mother bird lays one egg per day and they hatch in that order. The mother, and sometimes the father, feed the newborns with digested food. With wood ducks, however, the eggs all hatch on the same day. Since eating their way through the shell is such hard work, they become exhausted and rest in their nest high in a tree until the next morning. Then one by one, they make their way out of the nest, falling – since they’re still unable to fly – into the water below. There they feed themselves wherever the mother shows them while she carefully watches for any danger. God puts this instinct into them as they form in the eggs. I wouldn’t characterize abiding in Christ exactly like this, but in some ways it might be similar. Continue reading →