No matter how you slice it, life is full of challenges. Each hardship represents some sort of loss; loss of a person, home, safety, stability, or purpose. This is why these experiences can be so painful.
All in Encouragement
Rescuer of Pit Dwellers
Praise the Lord! He rescues us from the pit! I don’t know about you, but I have been in the pit many times throughout my life. Sometimes it’s sin that throws us into the pit, however, sometimes it is circumstances out of our control that throw us head-long into it.
Let Your Words Be Few
Once my daughter and a friend of hers got into a little disagreement. As I asked the girls what the problem was, each girl began telling her side of the story . . . simultaneously. When they realized that neither was backing down, each girl spoke louder and louder. My son was standing right beside me, and his observation was, "That's too many words!" I laughed and had to agree.
Rest
The trio is back…the mother, the father and their fledgling Cardinals. They regularly visit the platform bird feeder. I like to study their interactions. The fledgling softly chirps while fluffing and vibrating his feathers. Mom and Dad gather seed and pop it into his mouth until the ritual is complete. The youngster looks completely capable of feeding himself. After all, he’s standing among the same birdseed as his parents! Like me, though, he prefers to be fed rather than feed himself.
Who am I?
At first his eyes were wide with fright as he hid behind our little hinny, a cross between a male horse and a female donkey. His odd head and tail confused me when he first showed up in our pasture. His owner retrieved him multiple times, but finally just gave up since this odd-looking animal had claimed our hinny and her pasture as his home.
Perseverance and Praise
Wow! I guess it’s not a weed!
I’d sprayed it, trimmed it with scissors, even mowed it multiple times…yet it persevered. Regardless of how I mistreated it, this intruder sent tendrils upward, outward and onward while it clung to the bank of the pond. Now, in a different season of the year, an abundance of tiny pink blossoms brought delight to that same muddy shoreline.
A Heart for Worship
I could hear Mother’s soft giggle at Aunt Annie’s small country funeral as the soloist sang, “In the Garden.” Mother’s dementia had claimed her speech, so her giggle blessed me. Then, when her alto voice joined in on the chorus, my heart overflowed! As Daddy patted her leg and told her to stop singing, I whispered, “Aunt Annie would love this. Let’s let her sing.” And did she sing—all four choruses! That was the last time I heard my mother speak. It’s now a treasured memory of her praising His name.
Adrift
“Oh no, that baby turtle is way out in the middle,” I cried. “It should swim closer to shore where the water is shallow!” My granddaughter and I watched that hatchling paddle onward toward the deeper water. I feared for the little turtle until I realized, “No turtle ever worries about how deep the water is!” God designs turtles to swim, and this baby swam toward the deep water with confidence.
The Fire Dancer
I watched from the front row as the man lit himself on fire and danced around. Yes, he was a stunt performer doing this at a beachside show.
Yet I wondered what made him do it. Whatever the hotel paid him, I couldn’t imagine that it was enough to justify walking on fire.
God: Our Amazing Creator
I love spending time in nature because I can see God’s creations so much clearer.
Are You Building Your Life on Sand?
As we approached these domes by jet ski, I thought these domes might be part of some ancient ruins. Turns out, their history doesn’t go back as far as I thought.
The Wanderer
Luna was “ours” for about a month.
We found her meowing just outside our door.
This wasn’t the first time we’d seen Luna. Sometimes she would lay around our porch. She had a collar, and we knew she had a family — just down the street.
Music to His Ears
Wow! The children of Israel had made it through the Red Sea on their exodus out of slavery and Egypt. What a spiritual high!
What did they do in response? They trusted in God, they sang, and they praised him.
Problem Solver
A popular affirmation parents use with their children these days goes like this, “Way to be a problem solver. Great job solving that problem yourself.” While one cannot debate the value of problem solving and thinking for oneself, God asked the Israelites to do just the opposite – let him solve their problem.
Our Champion
Have you ever just flat out found yourself down in the dumps? I have.
That is exactly how the children of Israel felt in the early chapters of Exodus. Their unbearable circumstances of slavery led them to despondency.
Obedience Rewarded
“Shiphrah” and “Puah”, I stumble over the pronunciation of their names, but they, on the other hand, did not stumble when it came to obeying God. They stood firm.
Hope of Heaven
After the funeral, we all converged at my uncle’s house. Casseroles lined the counter. Dishes filled the sink. He’d become accustomed to cleaning up the kitchen since my aunt had gotten sick. As he started covering bowls with aluminum foil, he recounted the last few hours of her life.
A True Story
The years tell us much that the days never knew. R.W. Emerson
God Doesn’t Need This—We Do
How often have you seen a pastor stand in the pulpit and praise God that the parking lot fund didn’t make its goal? Instead, the church (through its well-meaning representatives) will too often wheedle, cajole and extend deadlines until the money is in. No wonder outsiders draw the conclusion that God is out for “our” money.
We All Need This
How long has it been since you really thought much about honor or purity or excellence? And how do such words as these translate into actions that can be lived out in our cool, careless culture?