If you are like me, you long to be forgiven quickly and completely, with relationships back to “normal” immediately. I don’t like the “I’m bruised and I need a little time to heal” phase. Perhaps forgiveness is difficult for you. I know it is for me. It’s hard to know what exactly it means to …
I have never been to any of my high school class reunions. I moved away right after graduation and never lived in that area again. Relationships weren’t maintained, new interests formed, distance developed. Honestly, it feels like a huge hurdle. I remember my high school years through a certain lens, as do we all. Since …
21Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: Lamentations 3:21 Jeremiah, a prophet to the southern kingdom of Israel before they were taken captive by Babylon, warned the people of Israel what would happen if they didn’t surrender to Babylon. The king, Zedekiah, didn’t listen and the people of Jerusalem suffered needlessly. Lamentations …
32Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. Luke 17:32-33 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife. What happened? Lot was Abraham’s nephew who traveled with him to the land of Canaan. (See Genesis 13) At one point, …
Today is a day set aside to remember and honor those who have served our country in the armed forces. Throughout my lifetime, it served as a day to remember loved ones who died. Taking flowers to the cemetery often happens on this day. It is good to remember. As I thought of that, I …
Pause. Sometimes life pauses. The work on the cabin is paused. Paused for a wedding, for the weekend, for the holiday, for personal interests. It sits and waits — patiently. Sometimes pauses are welcomed with grateful hearts. Other times pauses are forced and unwelcome intruders. There is one perspective I always gain in a pause. …
Dismantle. In any restoration project that is the first step. It is unsettling. The first thing done on the cabin was to take it apart. Not completely, of course, but half the roof came off. New dormer walls went up. The floor of the loft came out and everything in the cabin removed. For a …
We started talking about renovating the cabin a long time ago. We threw ideas around, wondered what we should do, were we just happy with it the way it was. A journey to emotional and spiritual healing is much the same. There might be cracks or hang ups noticeable, but often I am used to …
I see so many parallels between my spiritual life and what I experience in the natural realm. Last week the work on the cabin officially began. (Pictures to follow soon!) I’ve shared before the underground work that happened – electric, sewer, water – all necessary. None of it exciting. None of it visible. That is …
What is the key to vibrant, healthy, fruitful living? Is it too far off to be attained? Listen to the psalmist . . . 1Blessed is the one . . . whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. Psalm 1:1-2 “The law of the Lord” …