May 10 – Revelation 2:7,11,17,26 & 3:5,12,21

Revelation 2:7,11,17,26 & 3:5,12,21 “To him who overcomes, I will give…” [the right to eat from the tree of life, protection from the second death, hidden manna, white stone with new name, authority over nations, white clothing, name in the book of life, pillar-ship in God’s temple, the right to sit with Jesus on His throne.] Overcomes what? I’m not sure. Sin? Self? Maybe the specifics are different for each. But I think the question is:... Read More

May 9 – Luke 23:46

Luke 23:46 NIV Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father into Your hands I commit My spirit.” When He had said this, He breathed His last. I was thinking about this verse on the way to town yesterday. This was a huge thing, knowing what He was about to go through — death and hell. So He hands His spirit over to His Father. But I was wondering if we could do that every day. “Father, today I give my spirit to You for safe-keeping and nurturing.”... Read More

May 8 – Romans 12:1

Romans 12:1 NIV Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Is this maybe part of the answer to yesterday’s verse — that God wants us to worship in spirit and in truth? That a holy life, lived to please our Father, is worshipping in the spirit? And in truth? That would make all of life sanctified, wouldn’t it? To catch up on... Read More

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother’s Day… …to our softball playing, tea party throwing, chick flick loving, dirt digging, soul delving, grandkid chasing, wise Mom. … and to our mothers-in-law. Thank you for persevering, inspiring, and giving so much. We love and trust the sons you’ve raised – enough to want to share the rest of our lives with them. Is it jumping the gun to say happy first Mother’s Day to Annie?! I hope it’s a wonderfully... Read More

May 7 – John 4:23

John 4:23 Amp A time will come, however, indeed it is already here, when the true (genuine) worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth (reality); for the Father is seeking just such people as these as His worshippers. “The Father is seeking.” Doesn’t that make you want to be one of the ones He finds? But this verse has always puzzled me. It’s like I understood the individual words, but don’t understand them put together. What... Read More

A Spring Snowstorm for Learning Manual Focus

Every once in a while, my husband travels to the miniature version of the heroin capital of the U.S. to cover a weekend for the regular doctor there, God bless him. Some weekends he only needs to go in to the hospital a handful of times, so the kids and I drive up to spend time with him. Last weekend we had already visited him on Saturday. It was a wonderfully warm day, and we were able to take the kids to a tiny nearby park before he got called in. He had rented The King’s... Read More

May 6 – Psalm 14:2

Psalm 14:2 Amp The Lord looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him [of vital necessity]. To see if any of us “understood.” Understood what? That life is all about Him. That He is our goal, the path, and our strength to reach Him. That He is our center, our light, our bread, the door. Think of all the ways Jesus used to tell us, “I’m... Read More

Spring Garden Tour, Tools, and Tips

Happy National Day of Prayer today! Also, Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Our family has many beloved traditions, one of which is Mother’s Day. Every year, Dad would take us to the local greenhouse and let us each pick out whichever four-packs of annuals we fancied. Then, we would all go home and spend the day planting with Mom. It was a wonderful time of togetherness and loving on our mama. Anyway, on to the garden… I have had a busy week, getting tomatoes in,... Read More

May 5 – Psalm 26:2

Psalm 26:2 Amp Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; test my heart and my mind. Does the thought of praying those words bring a little fear? You know, what the next words are? “For Your loving-kindness is before my eyes…” If we keep remembering what a kind, loving father our God is, and that He is on our side, then we can easily go to Him and say, “Father, show me where I have wrong attitudes or wrong knowledge, and let’s get this fixed.” How... Read More

Here We Go Again

This was my older son (and his twin sister) three years ago. He was receiving an albuterol treatment with a home nebulizer. It was one of many, many treatments over the course of two years. He had “reactive airway disease,” his pediatrician said. It’s a precursor to asthma, which apparently cannot be diagnosed reliably until age six. When I was a kid, they didn’t have reactive airway disease. I would have been promoted straight to “childhood asthma.” I’m... Read More