Feet like a deer
I once saw a bighorn sheep in the wild. It was amazing! The bighorn sheep was galloping on rocky cliffs. There were so many cracks and crevices, so many rocks and boulders. But that bighorn sheep? He didn’t mind at all. He jogged with his head held high, not one bit afraid as his hooves […]
Some people don’t want our prayers
Some people find prayers valuable, while others would actually pay to avoid them. Two sociologists studied residents who survived a hurricane, asking them to describe their hardships. Then they made an offer of a prayer and tied the offer to money. What did they discover? Christians valued prayer from a stranger, but others said they […]
Heirlooms
Last spring, an old neighbor of my grandmother’s passed away, and it turned out she had a bench that used to be on my grandmother’s farm. My grandma has been gone for a long time, so when I got the chance to take that bench home, I was grateful. But when I saw it—the wood […]
When Jesus’s cross disappears
One Ash Wednesday morning, I was preparing ashes to apply to hands or foreheads in a special worship service to begin the Christian season of Lent. I struggled with the particular recipe as I mixed ashes and olive oil. As I tested it, the ash mix wouldn’t shape a clear, defined black cross. It smudged, […]
Staffing shortage
You may have heard that our society is plagued by staffing shortages. There aren’t enough nurses, pastors, pilots, or tradespeople to go around. People who need or want a variety of services are delayed or denied in receiving them because there are not enough providers. I’ve seen people wait to be seated in restaurants, not […]
Stop trying and start training
Has anyone ever asked you why you aren’t doing better at something? Maybe your doctor asks why you aren’t making better health decisions. Or your financial planner asks why you aren’t spending more wisely. Or your friend asks why you aren’t more patient with a certain person. Or your pastor asks why you aren’t better […]
You have to forgive
Are you familiar with the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer in which the Lord Jesus urged us to ask God for forgiveness as well as the strength to forgive those who sin against us? If so, do you know what Jesus said right after that prayer? “For if you forgive other people when they sin against […]
Yielding to authority
When I looked up every Bible passage that mentioned the word submit/submission, I found out that our Father has ordered his world in a specific way, asking five groups of people to yield to the authority placed above them. First, residents submit to their government: “It is necessary to submit to the authorities” (Romans 13:5). […]