All in God's Word
The higher up the mountain trail I hiked that summer morning, the more amazing the rugged beauty became. It is said that aspens quake; and so they do, their leaves in constant motion. Fresh new cones topped the evergreens. The rocky peaks of Mt. Timpanogos rose in the blue, blue sky, a touch of snow tucked in grey crevices. Marmots scampered; birds twittered; a moose lumbered across the meadow.
In my high school days I participated in as many sports as a girl could in the late 50s. Basketball turned out to be my game of choice due to my height. The basketball-cum-track coach figured she could capitalize on my long legs in the high jump, so she added me to the track team. And when she needed a fourth for the girls’ relay at the last minute, I was up for the challenge. Much to my horror I did not make the transfer. I dropped the baton!
Two names. Three times bitter. One heart.
Naomi means sweet. Mara means bitter.
Two generations. One message.
I remember observing my mom sitting in her rocking chair by the living room window. That was her daily spot for reading her Bible and devotional books. We didn’t talk about it, but I sensed a kindred connection with her.
I looked down at my text and laughed, “About to be in my way.” What I meant to say was, “About to be ON my way.” I had intended to let a friend know of my plan, but had inadvertently led myself to ponder my mistake.
In my way – how many times have I done just that – gotten in my own way of doing things God’s way?
At first, the quarantine was not so bad. I had diligently stocked our pantry while often having flashbacks of my childhood. My grandmother’s kitchen was the center of family life, and she knew how to skillfully prepare meals on a limited budget. It’s funny that my newly acquired habit of carefully selecting organic fresh meats and produce flew out the window when I found myself feeling a sense of security with rice, beans, pasta, canned and frozen foods. Old recipes came to my mind, which brought comfort and I’m sure a few pounds!
Ladies, until Christ is formed in you is such a formidable thought to me. That Paul, a man, should wrap it in childbirth is quite intriguing. And yet Jesus Himself introduced the image of spiritual rebirth into Scripture: “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). Certainly, on his initial visit to Galatia Paul labored to rebirth his friends into God’s family. He is now, again, in the pains of making sure these children of his grow up in the faith.
It’s a key word in parenting. I even used it when reviewing a list of do’s and don’ts to teenage drivers—don’t speed, watch out for the other driver and, finally, be home on time!
We used to think we could get more done by multitasking, but the latest research shows this to be false. According to numerous studies, multitasking causes more errors than focusing on a single task.
I know this all too well.
Are these new verses to you? Not likely. Many of us have these verses memorized, and we even classify these as all-time favorites. These words are truth, but it is difficult for us to really live them out.
The other day I was taking off my jewelry, and I must have pulled too hard on my ring. It flew off the end of my finger when I pulled it over my knuckle. I heard it hit the carpet. I immediately got on my hands and knees to look for my ring. I must have looked for 20 minutes before I decided to stop and try again later. After looking later, I still could not find my ring. I knew it was there, and I also knew that I would find it with continued searching.
Are you up for a bit of adventure today ladies? We’re about to enter Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. Feast your eyes on the largest expanse of coastal sand dunes in perhaps all the world, stretching 50 plus miles south to north between 101 and the Pacific. The National Forest Service maintains this area; their brochure and plaques along the way fill in the stats. For instance, the foredunes nearest the beach can be 25-50 feet high, while those further inland—average, 2.5 miles—rise maybe 200 feet, the record being 500 feet.
How then shall we live, you and I, in the amazing grace of the Branch (Jesus) from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1)? That’s the big question. It all began with the tree of life (Genesis 3:9); it will end with the tree of life (Revelation 22:14). In the interim, in this life, how indeed do we function like the trees planted by the streams of water that we now are, in Christ?
Mamertine Prison in Rome, Italy, is where Peter and Paul were imprisoned at various times. It is a quiet and solemn place. Our tour group viewed the prisoners’ spaces below the floor. The relic of a piece of heavy iron chain brought visual images of the reality of their captivity.
The year I committed to methodically read through the Bible brought many joyful and new surprises. Don’t be impressed, though— believe me— I am too old to admit that I had never read the Bible all the way through in one year!
In the days before HGTV revealed the intricacies of home decorating, I naively decided to redo the wallpaper in our bathroom myself. Why hire a professional when I could do it, right? Little did I know how tricky it would be to remove the existing paper or how tired I would become before finishing the project.
Ladies, all the answers to the big questions seem to radiate out from my God belief. Certainly that is true about the moral question: how does one know right from wrong? Standing on God’s truth gives the believer solid footing, compared with the slippery slope of the flat-out untruths and half-truths of secular insight.
The apostle Paul is on a roll. The city of Athens was a junkyard of idols(Acts 17:16, MSG), befitting the myriad of gods they represented. Add to that this detail: “The Athenians had a foolish notion that they were self-produced, and were the aboriginals of all mankind…that the first men sprung up in Attica like radishes.”* Laugh not, ladies. One wonders if our culture has taken a step back in time—oh, not graven images, but idols of fame, fortune, and self; not radishes per se, but persistent theories of evolution.
I was desperate. Except it was really more like, “DESPERATE!!!!” My precious treasures were just toddlers.
Every spring a battle rages between grass and weeds. As a child I watched my dad care for our yard. The grass was still brown and dormant from the winter, but speckled with bright green patches of weeds.
