It is day eight for #Write28Days. I am joining the Five Minute Friday Community and will write with Kate’s prompt for today: BUILD. One of the Songs of Ascents in the book of Psalms mentions building a house. The Hebrew word for house in the text is bayith. The definition,…
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Wanting to Control: Learning to Release
It feels good when we think we are in control. As a mother I pursued the health of my children vigorously. I had been trained as a nurse at the University of Michigan. I believed in the medical profession and my ability to protect the health of my children. The…
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Pierced and Embraced: Book Review
Sometimes I listen to the radio when I am in the car. At other times I prefer silence. One day I was listening to WMBI and heard an interview with Kelli Worrall. The topic of discussion was her book, Pierced and Embraced. The discussion piqued my interest and I jotted…
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Imperfect Families
The Bible has stories about families. Our pastor reminded us that some of the stories show the dysfunction in families (Genesis 27 and 28). In the account of Esau and Jacob, the lies that were told when Jacob received the blessing of his father Isaac demonstrated the divide between family…
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Mary and Elizabeth: An Example for Us
It seems right to start my series for the #Write28Days with two women from the Bible. The first two chapters of Luke tells us about Mary and Elizabeth. They are wonderful examples for us in three ways. Both women knew the old testament scriptures and the prophecies. Even though it…
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Write for 28 Days: I am accepting the challenge
Anita Ojeda is sponsoring a #Write28Days challenge for bloggers. For each day in February (except Sundays) I plan to write a post for my blog, focusing on women and families. Women face many challenges, have many different roles. In this series I will look at family issues. This will include…
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An Ancient Call to Holy Living
In this new year our women’s precept group has begun to study the book of Deuteronomy. As the book begins Moses is reviewing the history of Israel’s release from slavery in Egypt and their years in the wilderness. Then he goes on to give them specific instructions. In chapter six…
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Illness, Resilience and Spirituality
Two years ago I began corresponding with Marguerite Bouvard. She was looking for contributors for an anthology on illness and faith. I offered to write a chapter about my family’s experience caring for our son during his treatment for leukemia. We continued to e-mail back and forth. I wrote my…
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When Pain Leads to Prayer
After Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden God said, I will greatly increase your pain in childbearing; withpain you will give birth to children. Genesis 3:16 Was this a punishment or a way of reminding Eve to seek God’s help? In my own life, periods of suffering have motivated me…
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Jesus and the Family
This advent season we have attended beautiful concerts. Our grandchildren participated in a Christmas program at their church. The fours & fives sang Away in a Manger. Older children read scripture and sang additional Christmas carols. Advent is a time to share the celebration of Christ’s birth with others. I…