We all have precious memories of special things or of events that have taken place in our lives. Christmas is a good time to remember past family gatherings and to create new traditions for our children and grandchildren. Many times we hear friends say, “My family always does so and so at Christmas.” Does your…
Tag: family
Meeting Day, Part 2
I waited patiently for the phone to ring again, and it did. This time a voice I had only dreamed of hearing was on the other end. “Hello, Mari, I am Evonne, and I have been searching for our daughter.” Tears of joy and fear filled both mother’s hearts. For eighteen years, Evonne had dreamed…
Shelter in Place
Having been in the pastoral ministry for more than fifty years, we have recently stepped down from the senior pastor ministry, and we are entering into an interim ministry for churches who are needing a pastor. The adjustment has been hard, but even harder is the new order from our state to “shelter in place.”…
Trusting God Amid Disappointed Expectations
I have settled in my heart the issue of God’s sovereignty, by His grace. My husband and I have been through several trials and we know firsthand that God is in absolute control of our lives. Colossians 1:17 says, “He is before all things and by him all things consist.” Psalm 33:11 also tells us,…
The Western Wall & Our Prayer Life
Acts 1:12-14 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey. And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one…
Choosing…The Blessings of Widowhood
Widowhood—rarely did I ever have thoughts of it, and those thoughts were quickly dismissed. God had blessed our lives so richly. Would not my husband, Howard, and I enjoy many years together… grow old together… While enduring a chronic cough that had begun three months earlier, on April 27, 2011, Howard received the report that…
Open Your Eyes
“It would be wrong to turn a blind eye, Lulu,” my heart shouted. “But you’ve got both kids on the motorbike and you are already late to school,” my head answered. “You can’t do much.” “Yes, but God can.” I looked back and saw the old man carrying a woman in the hot blazing sun….
Serving or Slaving: Love Makes the Difference
“Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity…seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,… beareth all things,… endureth all things.” 1 Corinthians 13 “Mommeeee!! I neeeeeeed yoooouu!” For the third time in five minutes, I had been summoned in this way. The first time was for an “accident” in the bathroom. “No…
Missed Opportunities Are Expensive
“Nothing is more expensive than a missed opportunity” (Jackson Brown, Jr.). Have you ever regretted a missed opportunity? I have—too many, as a matter of fact. Probably one of the greatest opportunities we have as believers is to give someone the good news, the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we took…
Refuge in the Names of God
When we moved into the little house at the edge of the Vienna Woods, I had no idea what lay beyond our doorstep. As the kids and I ventured up a path through the trees, I saw the tower. It was tall and rather narrow with concrete walls, edged with stone work, curving upward in…
The Beautiful Spirit 