The garden is a place where my mind is at rest. Sometimes when I am troubled the words of a hymn come to mind. A hymn that I sang as a child–the words imprinted in my memory. It is good for the church to sing hymns. It is good for…
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How to Have Hope
The Bible does not shrink from telling us the ugly side of human history. God’s word tells us the truth, and clearly states that God’s desire for us is good. We need to seek God and His ways in every aspect of our lives. “How you have helped him who has no…
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Remembering with Hope
Today we went to the cemetery and tended the family graves. We planted flowers and walked among the stones marking family members. As I read the names I was recalling family history. My husband’s grandparents immigrated from Holland in 1911. In 1918 they lost three of their children when scarlet…
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Sunrise of Hope
Many years ago I worked the night shift in the neonatal intensive care unit at the University of Michigan. We had 12 hour shifts, and I worked from 7 pm to 7 am. Around 5:00 am as daylight crept across the sky, we were weary and needed to get our…
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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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Book Review: Finding Grace in the Face of Dementia
The progressive loss of brain function in Alzhiemer’s disease and dementia is difficult to observe in a loved one. My mother’s loss of memory and physical skills has been gradually progressing. It would be wonderful to have a knowledgeable and experienced Christian doctor give guidance for both…
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Our Common Condition & Hope
Today I am joining Five Minute Friday (#FMF) where bloggers write for five minutes about one word. The prompt for today is common. So here we go. After a tumultuous and divisive election what do we as people have in common? The Bible shows us these truths. God loves us.…
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Pregnant Creation: We Have Much to Anticipate!
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. Romans 8: 19 ESV All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit…
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Hope Shared by Women Around the World at TGCW16
What is better than singing praise to God with 7,200 women? The only thing I can think of, is praising God with all of the redeemed in heaven. It was so good to be at the Gospel Coalition Women’s Conference last week. Women from all 50 states and 38 countries…
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Lily of the Valley and a Song on My Heart
Lily of the valley is blooming in my backyard. I saw the delicate bell shaped flowers when I returned from a visit with my mother. She was placed in a nursing home last week. The transition to the nursing home is a huge change. New environment. New people. Changing shifts…