“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” ~ James 1:17 God, the Creator of this planet, (and all things outside of Earth): chose to create beauty for us that was “unnecessary” for functionality. Consider the sunset…… Read More Love Letters
“When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “ Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food). The Samaritan woman said to Him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews… Read More Come, See!
As I walked along the coast of South Carolina, I gazed out at the boundless waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Delighting in the sunrise, and still giddy from a close view of jumping dolphins moments before, I thought about how calm the ocean seemed. The dark blue waves could have been churning a lifeless pool of… Read More Beneath the Surface
Have you ever been afraid? Afraid of being hurt, or someone you love suffering? Fear of loss, or death separating you from someone you depend on? Fear of the unknown… Fear can present itself in many forms. In the Bible reading below, we will see a moment in time for Jesus’ disciples that… Read More Why are you afraid? I’m here.
I thank God for all of His creation, and feel fortunate to be able to cultivate a garden with seeds and plants that He Himself designed. One aspect of gardening I love: planting hedges, or “living walls”. I planted wisteria to build a living wall, and planted trees and other fast growing hedges along… Read More Living Walls, Spiritual Hedges
Butterflies… one of my favorite parts of summertime! I have a monarch butterfly garden, and over the years, my daughters and I have observed high numbers of eggs hatched, caterpillars munching, chrysalises transforming, and butterflies emerging as new creatures. Hundreds of beautiful monarch butterflies have visited our garden, and hundreds more have spread their wings… Read More Wings that Bear His Mark
…Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable ~ if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ~ think on these things. ~ Philippians 4:8 For the May edition of “Our Hope,” I was given the choice of meditation categories from the list in Philippians 4:8, and… Read More An Expert in Praise
We know that when God gives gifts to us, it is for His glory, not our own. I am a writer by nature, and some have said that I have a gift with words. However, because speech can also be used as a weapon… I have had a lifetime of practice fine-tuning my words, starting… Read More Speech: a Gift or Weapon?
I listened to an excellent Bible study last summer by Ryan Cummings, who spoke to us about fruitfulness and spiritual seasons. He compared us to living trees, and applied the seasons of spring, summer, fall, and winter to our spiritual life. Just as trees bloom in the spring, we experience spiritual renewal and growth. Summer… Read More Seasons in the Psalms
While discussing a biblical approach to our attitudes with a brother this week, he mentioned an aviation term he heard during a sermon by Dee Bowman. The term is “attitude,” and I was surprised to hear that it relates to the aircraft rather than the pilot. Curious, I later researched aviation terms to find… Read More Attitude Indicator
