A messy garden with ferns and shrubbery

My Messy Garden

FEELING THE NEED for a concentrated time of prayer one morning, I stepped onto the patio with Bible in hand. I felt unsettled and discouraged.  Things were not going as I thought they should, and I felt my heart tugging in several directions.  The needs in my life seemed numerous. I longed for direction, but my prayers seemed to hang suspended…

man's back as he gazes at the horizon wondering what he'll face in this new year

What Do I Do With This New Year?

THERE’S SOMETHING SCARY  and surreal about entering a new year when your life is in upheaval—kind of like looking ahead into a vast unknown. You don’t know if you want to step out into it, but you know you have no choice. Time propels you forward. Whether you choose to take that step or not, you will be there. The…

Bright star in a night sky

A Star to Guide Us

SITTING BENEATH THE STARS at a Christmas concert in the park, I listened to the familiar strains of “We Three Kings” soaring sweetly into the air. As I lifted  my eyes to gaze through the interplay of branches above me, my mind drifted with the words of the song.  I thought about those three kings and the star they followed. …

I voted stickers

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

SO HERE WE ARE in the midst of this messy political season– accusations, half-truths and, contradictory statements swirling around us from everywhere.  How do we navigate through the confusion to land on the truth of where God would lead us? In the last few weeks my Bible study has been studying Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation.  In…

Don’t Go Down to Egypt

Don’t Go Down to Egypt

It was one o’clock in the morning as I tossed and turned in bed. Two huge problems loomed before me the next day, and I didn’t know how I would solve either one. Restlessly, my mind churned through a myriad of possibilities, searching for answers. Tired and longing for sleep–which refused to come, I sighed and again looked at the…