Indholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2021 i Mornings with Jesus

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.ELEANOR ROOSEVELT I HAVEN’T BEEN a full-time student in decades, yet the fall season still excites me. September always reminds me of back-to-school shopping, new outfits for school, and a fresh start. When I was a teen, I looked forward to the annual fall fashion show Seventeen magazine would put on at a local mall. As the models walked the makeshift runway, I dreamed about buying one of those up-to-date garments. Now that I’m older, the crisp fall season is just as thrilling, but in a different way. As I journey with Jesus, I outfit myself in clothes of a different kind. Colossians 3:10 talks about putting on the “new man,” and Colossians 3:12, 14 (NIV) continues: “…clothe yourselves with compassion,…

THE WIND TORE LEAVES, LIMBS, and power lines. The storm raised rivers and felled giant maples. Winds toppled so many power poles that it will be days before power, phone service, and the internet are restored. Because we live far from the nearest town, we have a generator we can run for short stretches to keep food in the freezer from spoiling. But the generator can’t handle normal electrical usage, so we’ve limited ourselves to only necessary electrical draws. It’s natural to assume that with the power out, we would catch up on reading. There’s a reason pioneers’ and pilgrims’ eyes went bad reading by candle glow. We’ve propped flashlights so their circle beams land on the page we’re reading. But as frugal as we are to save the hard-working…

LORD, I’M TOO BUSY, I whined. I’ll never find the time to do everything. Jesus’s sweet, strong voice resonated in my heart: Jeanette, you’re too busy because you’re doing things I never asked you to do. I knew He was right. With my Irish enthusiasm, I frequently added tasks and volunteered for causes without bothering to pray. Then I found myself in a state of panic or exhaustion, causing stress not only to myself but also to my husband, Kevin. Earlier this year I signed up for a line-dancing class, giddy with anticipation. I love to dance; Kevin doesn’t. Since I won’t dance with another man, dancing solo in this class seemed like the perfect solution. I learned the steps quickly. I met several new friends. But after four weeks,…

MATTHEW 8:28–34 TELLS THE STORY of Jesus healing two demon-possessed men who were so violent that the villagers had to avoid them. Jesus granted the demons’ plea to send them into a herd of pigs, and then the pigs plunged off a cliff into the lake. Someone ran to spread the news, and a crowd came to see Jesus. Luke’s account adds that they saw one of the men dressed and sitting peacefully at Jesus’s feet. A threat to their neighborhood had been removed and two men had been given a new chance at life, and how did the onlookers react? They begged Jesus to leave their area. Maybe these people had a superstitious fear of Jesus’s power. Perhaps they were concerned about further loss of livestock. In any case,…

THE NIGHT OF THE ANNUAL Sunday school program had finally arrived. Parents and grandparents sought prime seats so they could take pictures of their little people for memory’s sake. Gene and I were there too—in the front row, camera in hand. About two dozen kids filed onto the stage. Many scanned the audience, seeking a reassuring smile or nod from their personal cheerleaders. Music signaled the start, and the choir burst into song. Actors and singers performed their parts with gusto. The message of Jesus being the reason for the season came through loud and clear. As the program concluded, a three-year-old girl dressed in a white robe and crowned with gold tinsel took her place on center stage. The director placed a mic in her hands and the toddler…

ON A RECENT VISIT TO my mom’s house, we were talking quietly one evening when the dogs started barking. I looked out the window and felt amazed to see how the security light illuminated so much of the yard. Quite a contrast to my childhood memories. Growing up, we didn’t have a single light outside. With no other houses nearby, the nights were pitch-black except for the moon and the stars scattered across the sky. On evenings when a cow started bawling or our dog howled, my dad always went outside to look around. Meanwhile, my mom sat nervously waiting for him to come back, and I was thankful I wasn’t the one who had to go out in the darkness. As an adult, I still feel intimidated by the…

MY FRIEND WENDY AND I met at a trailhead near my home for a quick hike. When she got out of her car, she said, “Can I put my keys in your car so I don’t have to carry them?” “Sure,” I replied. “That’s a good idea. I’ll put mine in your car.” We locked our cars, and went on our hike. When we got back to our cars, I had a sinking feeling as I realized what we had done. Neither of us could open our car doors because our keys were safely locked inside each other’s vehicles. If Jesus ever rolled His eyes at His followers, I imagined He would have rolled His eyes at our ridiculous situation. Just as I imagine He might have had to refrain…

SEVERAL YEARS AGO, WHEN A loan officer called me “Jennifer,” I smiled and gently corrected her. But when she said Jennifer was the name she had in her head for me and that’s what she was going to call me, I was a little annoyed. On the way home, I reminded my husband what the famous motivational speaker Dale Carnegie had said, “A person’s name is the sweetest and most important sound to them.” During my elementary school years, Mom taught me fun tricks for recalling names, tricks I’ve used for fifty years. As a pastor’s wife and public speaker, I used to feel smug about my ability to remember names. Then something happened. The older I got, the harder it was to make Mom’s tricks work. I found myself…

THE WEEK HAS BEEN INTENSE. I’ve spent thirty-six hours in a hospital waiting room as my youngest daughter, Kim, labored to deliver her first child. The baby came during the same week that she and her husband had planned to move into a different apartment, so Gene and I immediately shifted our focus from welcoming our new granddaughter to unpacking boxes and bringing order to their place before the hospital discharged them. Then came the five-hour drive home through the mountains—in separate cars. Darkness fell as we stopped at a gas station on the outskirts of the city. “Buy something to eat to keep yourself awake,” Gene said. Snack options included chocolate bars, candy, salted peanuts, and potato chips. The latter are my favorite, so choosing was easy. As I…

MY PARENTS BOTH HAD DOCTORATES. I attribute several personal strengths and weaknesses to my deep academic legacy. Two of my personal favorites (not) are analysis paralysis and needing to know why—both perils of my hyperanalytical mind. It’s not so bad when I’m trying to evaluate cell phone carriers but pretty futile and foolish when trying to understand God’s ways. Before and after placing my faith in Jesus, I’ve wasted a lot of time analyzing situations, reviewing “data”—in my head and in conversation with others—weighing pros and cons, reading, journaling and stressing about information as though the fate of humanity rested on my perfect understanding. I’ve speculated endlessly. Why was I saddled with so many childhood challenges? Why was my son Isaac born with Down syndrome? Why didn’t that relationship or…

DO YOU EVER FEEL OVERWHELMED with bad news? In the last few years, I’ve had tough circumstances touch my life. A good friend got breast cancer, my husband had hip-replacement surgery, one of my sons had his heart broken, and several friends shared with me their children’s addiction struggles. My spirit was heavy. Then I read Psalm 27:13. David’s confident words of faith, “I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living,” sparked hope in me. David was fleeing his enemies when he wrote those words. As Jesus faced betrayal, rejection, and crucifixion, His faith in what was about to happen strengthened His resolve, for He is the One “who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and…

WE SING A SONG IN church that combines the old hymn “Amazing Grace” with the chorus “My chains are gone.” From the piano, I look out at the people singing, who are caught up in a moment of gratitude because at some point they heard the good news, stepped from darkness into light, and began to see. We enjoy the freedom Jesus came to proclaim. The question that haunts me sometimes is whether we adequately follow Jesus as liberators. We Christians don’t perceive ourselves as oppressors. But the truth is that we all have the capacity to be liberators or oppressors, and how we perceive ourselves is not always how others see us. When life becomes a checklist of things we do because it’s expected, we’re actually oppressing ourselves. And…

HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED A MOMENT when God’s presence was so tangible, so strong, and so sweet that your heart nearly burst with gratitude and joy? That’s how I imagine the priests felt when the Lord’s glory filled the temple. I experienced a wee taste of it while spending time with Lexi, my one-month-old granddaughter. Lexi’s dad had to be away for a week, so I’d asked my daughter Kim if she wanted me to stay with her during that time. Her yes delighted me. I planned to help by cooking meals and doing housework, and I hoped to enjoy lots of snuggle time with Lexi. Reality exceeded my expectations. Every morning around 6:00 AM, Kim handed the newborn to me and returned to bed until Lexi’s next meal. I basked…

“I’M SORRY I SCHEDULED THIS book signing, Beth. I guess people don’t come to a library to spend money.” After two hours, my coauthor and I had sold only three books. We’d set a goal of selling ten books that night and asked God to help us reach our goal. Was it even worth all the time spent, not to mention the goody basket we’d given away? Beth reassured me she’d had fun during our evening at the library. The librarian had stationed us directly outside the children’s room—the perfect spot. Beth and I relived childhood memories of exciting trips to the library when we’d loaded our little arms with as many books as we could carry. We met a fascinating gentleman who stood at our table for over an…

MY LONGTIME FRIEND BEV, WITH whom I’d recently reconnected, called to let me know her husband, Wiley, had died and asked me to attend his funeral in Houston. I promised I’d be there. Driving two hours to Houston was grueling. Houston drivers were aggressive. If you missed your exit, you were toast. With those things in mind, I programmed my trusty GPS with the church’s address and hit the road early, asking Jesus’s blessing for a safe trip. I was feeling confident as I rolled along at the speed limit—no construction, no wrecks, and almost thirty minutes ahead of schedule. Then I got jammed up. The exit my GPS told me to take was blocked, due to construction. I took the next exit, and tried to get back where I…

AT A LOCAL LIBRARY, I used to run into a sweet young woman who is clearly gifted in ministry. I’ve heard her conversations with others and can attest to how good she is at encouraging people with the Word. As I got to know her better, I saw that her life seemed very unstable. She was estranged from her husband, had young children in foster care, and barely knew where she would lay her head each night. When I suggested she focus on improving her living situation and perhaps get under the covering of her pastors, she balked and said, “We are all ministers.” I blessed her with a gift and wished her well, but today’s Scripture verse shows us that even Jesus had to spend time growing strong and…

IN A RECENT CONVERSATION WITH a friend, I told her how much I enjoyed her writing. Her reply startled me. After thanking me, she said she’d never considered herself a writer. My response was automatic, and speedy: “I think you are a writer. You just don’t know it yet.” My words rang true. Sometimes we don’t notice our God-given talents. Or maybe they don’t match our ideas of service to Jesus or how we see ourselves. For decades I worked in the optometric field. I excelled at what I did, but it took years to reach my skill level. It wasn’t a natural talent. When Jesus called me to writing, I realized the ability to put words on paper was a gift He’d equipped me with even as a child.…

MY EIGHTY-SIX-YEAR-OLD MOM DECIDED THE time had come to downsize from the seniors’ condo in which she lived. The facility she considered a good option to move into would provide her with a small apartment that included a sitting room, an ensuite bedroom, and a tiny kitchen. Mom had downsized twelve years prior to move into her current residence. The thought of doing it again seemed overwhelming, so we tackled it together. We sorted clothes, dishes, books, and furniture. When feeling hesitant about a specific item, she’d remember the size of the apartment and its limited space. That helped her decide whether she truly wanted or needed it. Mom gave a few treasured pieces to me and my siblings and her grandchildren. She donated nearly everything else to a faith-based…

GENE STUDIED THE WEATHER FORECAST and tide charts for days prior to an overnight sailing trip. We left the dock and motored ninety minutes on the Fraser River until we reached its mouth. That’s when wind, tide, and current combined, creating waves bigger than we’d bargained for. Our boat rocked and heaved. Waves splashed over the stern into the cockpit where Gene stood at the helm. I sat white-knuckled and wide-eyed. I glanced inside the boat and saw apples and oranges rolling back and forth across the floor. The mini fridge’s door swung open and spilled eggs, milk, and yogurt onto the rug. I crawled inside to retrieve the runaway food and positioned myself beside the fridge to hold its door closed. Nausea hit me within a minute. Suddenly I…

THE MEDICAL PROCEDURE WASN’T SUPPOSED to take long. But because they needed me to be relaxed and calm, the medical team told me they’d give me a little “happy medicine.” It didn’t kick in until after the procedure was over. The happy medicine was a disappointment. Anything we use to “medicate” happiness usually is. Take this three times a day. Rub this ointment on affected joints as needed. Drink more water. Eliminate sugar and nightshade vegetables from your diet. Strip your home of anything and anyone that doesn’t spark joy. And next week, there will be new so-called remedies for what ails us, saddens us, or makes us anxious. Even in Jesus’s time, people tried to find their own versions of happy medicine to numb their pain and introduce artificial…

“IT’S A GIRL!” THE WORDS brought cheers from the crowd waiting outside the hospital birthing room. Ecstatic, my husband, Jeff, and I thanked Jesus for the safe arrival of our granddaughter. Our son Brent and his wife, Erin, had elected not to find out the gender of their child before birth, and they hadn’t shared any potential names for the baby. Three days had passed, and it was time for Erin and the as-yet-unnamed little girl to go home. “Mom and Dad,” Brent said, “if it’s okay with you, we’d like to name her Blake.” Tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t speak, but Jeff answered, “That would be great!” Over thirty years ago, our youngest son, Blake, had died from a sudden illness at age three. With Blake’s death,…

CLEAN CLOTHES COVERED EVERY SURFACE in my daughter Melissa’s house. “Just have a seat anywhere, Mom,” Melissa joked. “I wash and I dry, but somehow I never have time to fold and put away.” Melissa had a husband, a nine-year-old son, and a newborn baby boy. “It’s hard to keep up with housework when you’re nursing every two hours,” Melissa said. It had been years since I’d had babies, but not so long ago that I’d forgotten. “That’s what I’m here for,” I said. So for the next hour, Melissa and I folded. As baby Jameson drowsed in his swing, Melissa poured her heart out to me: worry about how her older son was adjusting to his brother, concern about whether Jameson was getting enough to eat, doubts about her…

LAST NIGHT, WE GOT TOGETHER with our good friends the Couches. My husband, Scott, and I have known Shane and Marty since college. We couldn’t help remembering our early days of friendship. Those were formative days of growth and joy. In college, Shane and I became friends performing in lip-sync battles together. We took our fun seriously. Scott and Shane took a statistics class together off-campus. Their struggle with high math established their friendship. Marty and I got to know each other after she and Shane got married. We had our kids during the same season, and our third babies were born only days apart. While launching their counseling ministry, Shane and Marty attended our church plant. It was a huge encouragement for us to have them there. As our…

I BRUSH MY RESCUE CAT, Milo, and I’m not sure which of us enjoys it more. Bringing his luxuriant fur to a sleek shine, as his paws knead the air, makes me smile. His trust is complete, and his peace is contagious. We first rescued this black and white tuxedo cat as a kitten, scrawny as the stuffed mice he now plays with. But at the farm where he’d been born, he couldn’t keep his paws off the chickens, which is why he had to go. To see Milo today, you might question the validity of the hen-chasing stories. I’ve yet to see him hunt for anything but food dishes and patches of sunlight to flop in. This furball is the happiest creature I’ve ever met. He purrs even in…

IT SEEMS THE NEWS HEADLINES grow more negative every day. The problems within our society and beyond are so incredibly huge that we can’t even pretend to fix them. Drug overdoses, terrorist attacks, shootings, human trafficking, and persecution of believers cause suffering and death to more than we’ll ever know. And that list doesn’t include those victimized by domestic violence or those struggling with homelessness, mental health issues, or chronic illnesses. The list seems endless. I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer. I’m just saying that mankind isn’t doing so well right now. We shouldn’t be shocked. Jesus guaranteed trouble when He said, “You will have tribulation.” He was right—as always. Every day around the globe, people experience a measure of trouble. It’s not a matter of if we’ll…

I DASHED INTO THE GROCERY store, grabbed a bag of chocolate chips, and hurried home. I would have just enough time to bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies for my twenty-five-year-old daughter Brooke, a teacher in Houston, before my husband Jeff needed to leave for his meeting in Houston. I could visualize Brooke’s face when she got a surprise visit from her dad, enhanced by that tin of her favorite cookies. Thank You, Jesus, for the close, loving relationship Brooke has with her dad. That night after Jeff got home, I asked what Brooke had said about the cookies. I could tell by his crestfallen expression that something was wrong. “I’m so sorry, Pat, but I forgot to give Brooke the cookies. Please forgive me. I knew you’d be…

MY DEAR FRIEND GAYLE PASSED away recently after a tough battle with cancer. Some of the world’s goodness left with her. Authentic, hilarious, and caring, she was one of my favorite people. She mentored me in college and then became an amazing elementary school teacher, beloved by both her students and coworkers. She loved her people like crazy. When I found out I was going to be teaching middle school two years ago, I called her. I was more than a little apprehensive. She encouraged me, saying, “You can do this. We will get you through it.” She sent me a teacher emergency kit containing a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, vitamin C, antacids, and a small vial of air freshener. When I had asked her about the air freshener,…

I HAVE ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT Jesus meant when He said this. And I still don’t know for sure. But I think it has something to do with becoming. In The Velveteen Rabbit, the Rabbit asks the Skin Horse how to be real. He answers, “You become.” He goes on to explain the transformation process by which everything changes: your hair gets loved off, your eyes drop out, and on the whole you look shabbier. When you become, you’re not the same as you were. My own process of becoming has been painful at times. But when God makes something new out of us, many times we don’t fit in our old lives anymore. Whether we’re aging our rough edges away like the Rabbit, or becoming something more beautiful like a…

TO SAVE A LITTLE ON our car insurance, my husband and I signed up for an online driver’s safety course. Some parts were a good review. Other parts were tedious. One message was repeated several times: “As you age, you are more frail and more likely to die in a car accident.” Frail? My husband and I bristled at the description. First of all, we don’t think of ourselves as old. Second, we don’t see ourselves as weak. But whatever our age, our bodies do grow weak eventually. In small and large ways, we are forced to acknowledge our mortality. That’s why I’m grateful for these verses in Ephesians. Because of Jesus, we will one day rise in glory. Not only that, but He lives in us right now. In…

THE NEWS COULDN’T HAVE BEEN worse: our flight from Nashville to Houston had been canceled due to weather. In fact, all flights had been scrapped until the following morning. My heart sank. I wanted to go home. Four days before, I’d flown with my husband, Jeff, to Nashville for a fun-filled retreat for board members and their spouses. Four days was over my limit for time away from home. I had two grand-babies due in the near future, and I missed my cat. Larry, Beverly, and Linda had traveled with us, so we were all stuck. Larry had a doctor’s appointment the next day. Jeff had a college class to teach. When someone mentioned renting a car and driving home, I said, “Let’s do it!” We rented a Suburban around…

YEARS AGO, MY HUSBAND HAD a job assignment in northern Minnesota. When I flew out to see him, we decided to visit a nearby wolf sanctuary. Richard had a phone call on the way, so he pulled off the tree-lined highway and stepped out of the car to get a better signal. I got out to stretch my legs and strolled toward a separate stand of trees up a slight incline. Just ahead I spotted a small clearing, lit by slanting rays of sunlight. It drew me like a magnet, and soon I found myself standing in an open space surrounded by tall trees. I stood, looking up as though mesmerized, vaguely aware of the muffled sounds of cars passing down the highway—yet at the same time enveloped in the…

I’M CONSTANTLY A CHILD AT heart and easily amazed. Whether it’s a friend’s generosity, roses exploding in bloom, or the smile in my husband’s eyes, I get caught up in the grandness of life. The same happened with the disciples as they watched Jesus’s miracles and ministry. Not so with Jesus. Since He can do anything and created everything, he isn’t so easily amazed. According to the Bible, it only happened a few times. Jesus was amazed once by the centurion’s faith in a sight-unseen healing (Matthew 8:5–10, Luke 7:1–10) and once by his family and townsfolk’s lack of faith (Mark 6:6). I desire to amaze Jesus with my devotion, not the lack of it. This week, I’ve been put to the test. A medical diagnosis frightened me, shaking my…

PEOPLE OFTEN SAY HOW WONDERFUL it is to be self-employed because you’re your own boss. Personally, I find being a self-employed writer difficult because—I’m my own boss. Besides all the hours I spend on writing, marketing, business correspondence, education, and record-keeping, I also put in a lot of time wondering what I should be doing. My mind flits between projects and ideas, unsure of which one to pursue. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by the staggering number of available opportunities and resources. I often wish God would put Post-It notes on my computer each day, outlining how I should arrange my schedule. Maybe that’s why I love passages in the Bible when a person receives specific instructions. As the early apostles worked to spread the good news about Jesus, God directed Philip…

LAST YEAR DURING AN EYE exam, the doctor shined a searing bright light into my dilated pupils, which caused sharp pain. This time she used the same light, but I didn’t feel anything. You’d think that was a good thing, yet it was actually a clue of bad news. The cataracts that were developing had worsened. They don’t need surgery yet, but my vision is getting cloudier. My eyes didn’t react to the brilliant light the way they should. I also struggle with something I call “spiritual cataracts.” God’s glory shines in our world every day. His power is revealed in nature. His grace is unveiled in Scripture. His love is manifest through the church universal. Yet my sinful nature sometimes clouds my ability to see Him at work. My…

I HAD LUNCH THIS WEEK with a young woman who is battling anxiety issues that appeared and intensified when she disappeared from church. I imagined myself as an ambassador tasked by Jesus to love the young woman and listen as He would have—as He still does. It seems every decision she’s making these days takes her farther and farther from what Jesus would want for her. It’s heartbreaking, but His love won’t walk away from her. Neither will mine. During the meal, she said something that startled me but also drove me to my internal knees in prayer. She said, “I wish I were like you.” Though she didn’t say it, I think what she meant was that she wished she could have what I have—a soul at peace, a…

DO YOU EVER FIND YOUR eyes glazing over as you read familiar stories in the Bible? Recently I was reading through some of Jesus’s parables, and my brain tuned out. I’ve heard or read the stories a hundred times. Then I reached verse 52 and blinked. I felt as if Jesus was reminding me that whether an insight is new to me or is old and familiar, it has value. Both new and old bring spiritual treasure into my life. When I was younger, I chafed at the formal liturgy of our congregation. Repeating the same Scripture-based lyrics each week seemed tedious. Yet set to melody, that repetition of Scripture settled deep into my memory and my heart and often hums through my mind even today. Later, I attended churches…

THOUGH I’VE LIVED MOST OF my life in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, I’m a fan of southern expressions. To describe the string of high temps lately—the heat dramatically out of character for this area—I might say the day is hot enough to sell ice cubes to a polar bear. Of a savvy salesman, I’d say, “He’s so good at it, he could sell wool socks to a lifeguard.” I’ve been thinking about catchphrases like that lately because of the pervasive air of sadness and gloom that’s as close to us as the evening news or a social media thread. I’m glad I’m not joy’s marketing strategist. How do you market joy to a joyless, peaceless culture? What enticements could anyone offer a world that’s noted for its perpetually sour mood,…

MY HUSBAND AND I RECENTLY had our fortieth wedding anniversary. We joked that we married when we were ten, since we don’t feel old enough to have celebrated such an anniversary. Indeed, we did get married fairly young. Through the years, harmony was occasionally challenging to find. On personality tests, we score very opposite. Ted is quiet and I’m a chatterbox. He’s patient and easygoing. I’m extroverted and more tightly wound. Each of our qualities holds strengths and weaknesses, and we’ve learned how our traits can affect each other. We’ve worked to adapt, to view situations through the other’s perspective, and to show love in the way the other appreciates it. If we had spent forty years focusing solely on harmony with each other, we would have hit more sour…

LAST FRIDAY—OUR DAY OFF—MY HUSBAND, Kevin, and I sat in our living room. We look forward all week to these quiet times of chatting over coffee. When Kev mentioned a musician he liked, I asked him to tell me more. Kevin loves to share little-known facts about his favorite topics. As he compared and contrasted the artist’s work with others, detailing the man’s background, I listened—fascinated. I don’t mind that half of what I learned will be forgotten by Sunday. It’s the joy of my changed heart that matters. Three decades ago, after hearing a lengthy explanation from Kevin about something that bored me, I sighed and said, “I’m going to pray that Jesus sends you friends who like to listen.” “Why don’t you pray for more patience?” Kev asked.…

I RECENTLY TURNED TO JESUS’S prayer recorded in the Gospel of John. After the Last Supper, and before He was arrested, Jesus prayed a heartfelt and powerful prayer—for His ordained work, for His disciples, and for all of us who would one day know Him. Today, as I read the introduction to the prayer, I was struck by John’s point that Jesus “lifted up his eyes to heaven.” Another tragedy had recently hit the news. People who were interviewed murmured things such as, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims.” But those words can sound hollow. Our thoughts do little to change painful situations for those who are suffering. As followers of Jesus, we can follow His example. He turned His gaze toward His Father in heaven. He had…

AS MY BIRTHDAY APPROACHES, I look forward to dinner out with my husband—and the gifts. I do enjoy gifts. But I don’t relish them as much as I did as a selfish little kid. When I was planning my seventh birthday party, my penchant for presents led to trouble. Because my friend Jenny couldn’t afford to bring a gift to my party, I uninvited her. She ran down our driveway toward her house, sobbing. Mom asked me—in that way parents have—why Jenny went home crying. I was too young to have honed my lying methods. I opened my eyes as large as I could and squeaked, “I have no idea.” Mom wasn’t fooled. When I confessed my greedy act, she told me I could either march down to Jenny’s and…

MY BOYS LOVE TO SCARE me. The other night, I was walking into my room when Addison, my thirteen-year-old, jumped out from behind the door and yelled, “Boo!” I screamed and lurched to the side, my hands immediately closing into fists. Addie jumped back, knowing my response would be to strike at whatever had just scared me. He couldn’t stop laughing. I was irritated and said, “What in the world?” Addie laughed and said, “Mom, you look so funny when you are scared.” I wasn’t laughing. My heart was racing. I was scared, ready to fight. I tend to collect fears: fear of spiders, fear of heights, fear of giant children jumping out from behind doors. But fear wasn’t a part of Jesus’s original plan. There is no reason for…

GOD ANSWERED A SIXTEEN-YEAR-LONG PRAYER when our daughter announced that her family would be moving to our hometown. Ever since our oldest granddaughter, Jenessa, was born, Kevin and I had longed to have them near us, rather than a day’s drive away. When her siblings Daniel and Grace came along, our desire intensified. But neither we nor they were able to relocate. Until now. I was elated. “My family is moving six miles away!” A few weeks later, worry attacked. When the kids were little, they adored us. We filled our visits with ice-cream dates, trips to the “widawary” (Jen’s word for library), and outings in the park. When they’d visited us, we baked cookies, read books, and watched Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Now that they were teenagers and we’d see…

I BELIEVE THAT INSIDE ME and every believer is the powerful Holy Spirit who strengthens, comforts, and counsels us in every life situation. No app can do that! Like any of the provisions Jesus has put in place for us, we’ll benefit from the Holy Spirit’s guidance as we acknowledge Him. I know firsthand how the Comforter ministers to pain in ways no person can. When my beloved mom, Gloria, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, I vowed to fight the good fight of faith and see her healed. She was the one who taught me about faith, and this was my chance to agree with her in prayer. One day she called me to her bedside and said excitedly, “Pamela, Jesus is waiting for me! I won’t be with you…

EACH TIME I JOIN A new Bible study, I hear similar comments as the ladies introduce themselves. The women express how much they enjoy the fellowship and how much they learn from the workbook and videos. Eventually someone will say that when she tries to read the Bible on her own, she doesn’t understand it, and others agree. And that always makes me sad. Don’t get me wrong—I love gathering with others to study the Word. I need the fellowship and encouragement, and the discussions can be stimulating. But in my opinion, there’s nothing more exciting than reading the Scriptures on my own and having the Holy Spirit open my eyes to see something new. Sometimes I gain a deeper understanding of a passage, or I glean a specific way…

TODAY’S VERSE IS A FAMILIAR biblical truth we cling to when we lack strength or face a tough challenge. What intrigues me about this verse is that it was originally spoken to people who’d been drained of all kinds of strength—physical, mental, emotional, relational. Refugees from captivity in Babylon worked feverishly, day and night, against innumerable odds, to restore the protective wall around Jerusalem, their literal and symbolic home. Without the wall, the city would remain vulnerable to future attack. Without the wall, the city could not reclaim its former glory or position of respect. The wall was the city’s first defense and its symbol of safety. The task was gargantuan. Some labeled it impossible. I’m not building a stone wall around a city, but some of the tasks I…

DID YOU KNOW THAT WE are pleasing to the Lord just the way we are? In the passage above, God the Father declared to the world that He loved His Son. It was a message about Jesus, but also for Jesus. Sometimes we need that, and Jesus was no exception. He had just been baptized and had not yet embarked on His life’s work of preaching, teaching, and healing. He was still a ministry newbie. Yet, the Father wanted Jesus to know He was already pleased, before Jesus taught one sermon or performed one miracle. The Father was just pleased with His Son. I struggled with this because I’m more like the biblical character Martha than Mary. I love to do, to research, to get things ready, to pull off…

THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU can only fully appreciate and understand when you don’t have them anymore. We usually think of the good things we’ve lost that we took for granted. But I’ve been thinking about the bad things Jesus has enabled me to shed. I recently dropped my older son off at a friend’s house, and the friend’s mom and I started to chat. My younger son got in the mix and begged me to stay. Fifteen minutes turned into two hours, leisurely chatting at the poolside on a beautifully balmy Florida evening. Laundry and deadlines were delayed to another day. On a weightier note, I was awaiting a final step in a long legal process and haven’t heard from my lawyer in a few days. I hadn’t felt…

TODAY’S KEY VERSE HAS OFTEN baffled me. How could the disciples both worship Jesus and doubt Him at the same time? I decided to research its meaning, and what I found surprised me. In the original Greek language, the word used for “doubted” is distazo. It implies hesitation or uncertainty about how to respond. It’s not to be confused with unbelief. In this context, eleven disciples met with Jesus shortly before His ascension. They worshiped Him as the risen Savior, but they doubted—they were unsure of how to respond to Him. Should they bow on their faces? Should they throw their arms around His neck and give Him giant hugs? Should they engage in dialogue or remain silent in His presence? Understanding the meaning of this verse has helped me.…

HOPE: HAVE ONLY POSITIVE EXPECTATIONS. Something inside me bucks up against this maxim. After all, not every story has a happy ending. Or does it? I can easily think of several lasting benefits that have come from some of the hardest things in my life. More than making lemonade out of lemons, certain “afflictions” have produced results I now enjoy every day. My childhood was very broken—mentally ill and alcoholic parents, painful isolation from our family in Italy, both fleeting wealth and poverty, and the tragic death of a brother, among other things. But brought to Him, Jesus has used every smidgen of it to deepen my dependence on Him, increasing my faith, patience, and joy manifold. Verses such as James 1:2–8 repeats this theme of “count it all joy”…

THIS PRECIOUS GLIMPSE OF JESUS’S heartfelt cry is an important example for me. He longs for people to know Him and accept His salvation, and He hurts for those He loves who are blind to His grace. His tears give me permission to let my own tears flow. I have family members and friends who are not walking with Him, and sometimes it hurts even to pray for them. There is so much potential for a life in service to Jesus—so much joy in living in relationship with Him. He longs for us to be in fellowship with Him, and I long for that for each of my family and friends. There are times I stop praying for a while because I’m discouraged, and because when I pray from my…

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE VERSE FROM THE Message translation really captures how easily we can do things outside of God’s timing. It can be the right thing—directed by God—but done at the wrong time. A ministry friend dabbled in the stock market for a while and was successful in doubling the value of his portfolio. He wasn’t a broker and didn’t have a degree in finance. He simply asked the Holy Spirit which stocks to buy and when. There were times he wanted to buy, but the Lord said “sell” or “wait.” As he followed God’s leading and resisted his own natural instincts, his stocks prospered. But as he grew in his own understanding of market trends and analytics, he got away from relying on the Spirit’s timing and began buying and…

MY FRIEND RITA WAS CONCERNED about her upcoming mammogram. With a family history of breast cancer and having endured multiple biopsies, Rita wondered when her number would be up. This time it was. Infiltrating lobular carcinoma, she texted me. Stan and the kids are wrecks, but I’m okay. I was with Stan and the kids! I panicked about the dire diagnosis for my dearest childhood friend. But through every step of the long process, Rita remained optimistic. The cancer was determined to be Stage 1 and surgery revealed it was not in her lymph nodes. Good news! The pathology report revealed some cancer had spread to the margins, but it was easily removed. Piece of cake. No chemo would be necessary. Hooray! Only four weeks of radiation, five times a…

I HAVE NO SELF-CONTROL WHEN it comes to Nutella. The hazelnut-chocolate spread is so delicious that I can’t take just one bite. When I have too much, I feel awful. Isn’t that always the result of no self-control? Thankfully, with the indwelling Holy Spirit, Paul says that we can possess the fruit of the Spirit—all those qualities that are essential in the life of Christians, including self-control. As I read this Scripture, I was struck with how these virtues are enmeshed. Paul uses the singular word fruit, not the plural word fruits. Together, these character traits are like an orange: composed of different sections, sweet and delicious on their own but fused under one thick skin. Jesus is the perfect example to us of bearing all the fruit. For example,…

AS I WALKED INTO THE crowded restaurant, I spotted the friends I was meeting, who were already seated at a table. The path was blocked by a large party that was surrounding the hostess stand. In order to slip through, I lightly tapped the shoulder of a woman in an orange dress, excusing myself as I did. Imagine my shock when the woman shrieked, “Don’t touch me! How dare you touch me!” Everyone in line and in most of the restaurant stopped what they were doing and stared. Mortified, I apologized profusely to the glaring woman and slunk over to the table to join my friends. Embarrassed and shaken, I noted where the woman and her party were sitting. I briefly considered going over there and confronting the woman in…

I WAS BLESSED TO HAVE great parents who taught me the important principle of not quitting. Mom and Dad talked about it, I’m sure; but I remember their example most. I never saw either of them quit a job. They never quit taking care of my brother and me. They never quit on each other. They’re just not quitters—and neither am I. It’s a value I hope I’ve also instilled in my children. In my adult life, though, I’ve learned that sometimes quitting has its place. And I believe Jesus taught that concept when He sent out the twelve. When He gave them instructions about where to stay, it’s with the assumption there would be a time to leave. They weren’t obligated to stay anywhere forever. And if they encountered…

AS A WRITER, I’VE HAD the honor of interviewing people after they survived incredible events, such as an avalanche, being lost in a snowstorm for a week, or experiencing a heart attack while saving others from drowning, to name a few. I love talking with people at such moments in their lives because they are—understandably—sincerely grateful to be alive. I’ve also noticed that survivors delight in sharing their stories with others, not to build themselves up but to spread hope. This reminds me of the demon-possessed, naked man who lived in a graveyard whom Jesus healed. Jesus had compassion on the man and wanted to free him from the demons, who didn’t want to leave. Jesus looked around and saw a herd of pigs. He commanded the hundreds of demons…

LAST SUNDAY, A COUPLE VISITED our church and led the music. This gave me the day off from leading it myself, so I sat in the pew along with the others and listened. There was a lady sitting beside me with her husband and three kids. One of the kids, her eight-year-old son, sat between us with a scar shaped like a lightning bolt on the back of his head. A recent biopsy confirmed a grade three astrocytoma. Clear surgical glue matted his dark, spiky hair. He looked at a Spiderman book as his mother trailed her fingertips back and forth across his narrow shoulders. At some point the worship leaders sang a song that repeated the words: “You are good.” A common complaint I hear about contemporary praise music…

I WAS HIKING WITH A friend who had recently survived a battle with breast cancer. She had chosen to have a mastectomy. About the same time, doctors discovered abnormal cells in her uterus, so she also needed a hysterectomy. The recovery from both surgeries was brutal. “I’m so thankful all that is behind you,” I said. She paused and with a heaviness in her voice she said, “Me too. Last year was rough and I was hoping this year would be better but . . . ” She choked back tears and told me about her adult son’s health issues that involved multiple trips to urgent care and eventually a diagnosis of a lifelong autoimmune disease. She continued to talk about how hard life is sometimes. She’d had hard things…

WHEN I ASKED MY FRIEND Beth to collaborate with me on a book, my motives were 90 percent selfish. After publishing four books in five years, I was drained. Yet, I believed God was asking me to write about how women need to see themselves as beautiful—not based on society’s definition of “pretty” or messages from their broken pasts but through Jesus’s eyes of love. What I did not realize was how God planned to change both Beth and me in the process. Although I’m outgoing and chatty, I often wrestle with self-doubt and condemnation. Beth, a born introvert, struggles with shyness and fear. As we wrote stories from our own lives, sharing how Jesus helped us overcome our insecurities, we began to see a greater purpose in the project.…

I APPRECIATE THE IRONY OF applying the term “empty-nest syndrome” to cat owners. But after the unexpected loss of our two aged felines within a month of each other, my husband and I couldn’t deny the void in our hearts. When a series of coincidences landed us at the local humane society, we decided to investigate the cats available for adoption. A ten-year-old tabby named Julie caught our attention, but we hesitated. How could we take on a new pet while still mourning the others? Surely someone else would choose her. A week passed with Julie crowding my thoughts daily. After returning to the pet sanctuary, we requested details about her past. We learned Julie’s world had been turned upside-down when one of her human parents died and the other…

OUR DAUGHTER MELISSA, HER HUSBAND, Daniel, and their eight-year-old son, Winston, unexpectedly visited my husband, Jeff, and me one night, and Winston handed me a wrapped package. Puzzled, I unwrapped the gift to find a photo of Winston jumping in the air. “Look at his shirt, Mom,” Melissa said. On the shirt were the words, Promoted to Big Brother! We were going to have another grandchild! Less than a month later, our son Brent and his wife, Erin, announced that they, too, were expecting a baby. Overwhelmed with joy, Jeff and I thanked Jesus for the gift of these new lives. As the reality of the situation set in, my joy was tempered by self-doubt. Was I up to the challenge ahead of me? Winston was our youngest grandchild; it…