Read: Ephesians 1:3-14 It’s impossible to live beyond what we believe about ourselves. Dr. Jay Shetler The words we say to ourselves are extremely powerful. If I believe myself to be broken beyond repair, worthless to society and a waste of time, that is what I will experience in life. We all have descriptive words …
Chosen. What does it mean to be chosen? Chosen for promotion means expectations and standards to meet. Chosen for a production means memorizing and practicing and performing. Chosen by God means relationship! Last night Dave and I sat down to a simple dinner of shrimp gumbo and rice. It was a bowl and a spoon. …
When I was a child, before there were mega stores, internet shopping, Prime delivery and Instacart, there was Fred Meyer – B & B – as we so fondly called it. This store was a precursor, I suppose, to mega stores. One end of the store was anchored by the clothing and shoe department. Next …
Listening to songs for our daughter’s wedding and painting my son-in-law’s (to be) house to my daughter’s playlist, one song kept popping up. “More Like Love” by Ben Rector is a story of moving from the desire to be famous to the desire to be loving. I relate. This song highlights my desires of the …
Read: Philippians 1:9-10 Paul says it very plainly here. As we grow in love (for one another), understanding (of God’s mysterious plan) and knowledge (of God and his ways), we will know what really matters. All of this results in pure and blameless living – a better way to live! And that’s my prayer for …
It matters how we treat others. It is so easy to forget about others when our own toes have been stepped on. And in the process of taking care of our toes, we jump and stomp all over others. Maybe you don’t, but I know I do. There is a short phrase from 1 Corinthians …
In 2006, Dave and I undertook the arduous task of building a house. It was our second go around, but this time it was different. We built our forever home! There are so many choices and decisions to make when building. It easily overwhelmed me. To be sure, many of the decisions can be changed …
I think I know a lot about myself. You know…my weaknesses, strengths, hang ups, prejudices. I’m self-aware. At least I think so. And then something happens and I am surprised that I am not as aware as I thought. The other day I was chatting with my daughter about exercise and she surprised me. I …
Lucy was a fearful dog. We brought her into our family as a tiny puppy who fit in the palm of my hand. She lived with us for many years and we loved her, cared for her, played with her, provided for her needs. But in spite of being loved, protected and cared for, she …