There are times and circumstances that overwhelm with fear. Remember the Bible account of the sudden storm on the Sea of Galilee? A huge storm came up. Waves poured into the boat, threatening to sink it. And Jesus was in the stern, head on a pillow, sleeping! They roused him…
When I read the prompt for Five Minute Friday today, I immediately thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer who wrote the book, The Cost of Discipleship. His life portrayed the cost of his convictions. I have read Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas and more recently My Dearest Dietrich by…
My grandson and I were looking out of the dining room window at the trees. The leaves were changing color. “See the linden tree—the leaves are turning yellow.” My grandson said, “But look at that tree. Its leaves are bronze.” In the distance we could see a tree with orange…
Patience is a virtue, worth cultivating in ourselves and our children. Some years ago I read an article by Pamela Druckerman that extolled the way French parents teach their children to wait. In her article, Why French Parents Are Superior, Druckerman pointed out that children who have learned patience are…
So many things can cause me to worry—illness, divisive politics, concerns about friends and family, goals not met. Do I live in fear or do I hold fast to God with faith? The book of Joshua in the Old Testament lays out great examples of active faith. Today I was…
Attorney General Bill Barr gave a speech to the law school at the University of Notre Dame on October 11, 2019. In that speech he said: “For anyone who has a religious faith, by far the most important part of exercising that faith is the teaching of that religion to…
The Balloon Festival in New Mexico is a great family activity. I was amazed to see so many people, so many family groups, strolling together at the Balloon Festival Park. It was a state fair like scene at 6:00 am. Parents were pushing strollers and pulling wagons as they walked…
It is so nice to receive compliments and to have the good opinion of others. It is something that I desire. But what about criticism? Recently I participated in leadership training. A coach critiqued the discussion that I led. For ten minutes I listened to the coach list things I…
The women in our Bible study group were amazed (and amused) by the account of men being circumcised after they crossed the Jordan River and before taking possession of the promised land. We are studying the book of Joshua. God instructed Joshua to circumcise all the men that had not…
This past week my husband and I visited the Ark Encounter in Kentucky. We were amazed and enlightened as we walked through each deck, observing the design of the ark to meet the needs of Noah’s family and the animals. This ark is built to the specifications in the book…