"This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:12 It’s Monday. Four days until Christmas. Last frantic days for feverish shopping. Or not…. While wrapping our Christmas gifts last week, a faint childhood memory crossed my mind. White tissue paper. Wrapped around cans... Continue Reading →
“‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel,’ which is translated, ‘God with us.’” (Matthew 1:23) Something utterly amazing will happen today. Among the gajillions of Christmas packages flying in and out of planes and trucks, an unprecedented collection of boxes will roll out across the nation—bringing the long-awaited... Continue Reading →
"Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Matthew 24:44 It was a spectacular image. A crowning achievement for my annals of photography. A fist-pumping moment. But I didn’t get it. Paris, 1982. (Yep, another story related to my blog last week.) On yet another... Continue Reading →
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 On November 25, 1982, at 11:50 p.m., I got hit by a car. On the rainy streets of Paris. It had already been a long Thanksgiving Day. In France for a couple of... Continue Reading →
“Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2 Last Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., we hadn’t heard of COVID. It’s been a long, wearying year since then. For some families, it’s been devastating. Loss of loved ones. Loss of finances, freedom, friendships. Our hospital is close to maxing out on COVID patient... Continue Reading →
“He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name.” Psalm 147:4 My grandfather used to say that skies are bluer in October and November than at any other time of year. There’s less humidity and fewer floating particles to separate us from the vastness of space. The same holds true for nighttime views.... Continue Reading →
“I will sing a new song to You, O God…that our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as pillars, sculptured in palace style.” Psalm 144: 9a,12 Peculiar things are happening at our house. Footsteps creak along the upstairs floorboards at all hours of the night. Food is disappearing from the refrigerator and... Continue Reading →
“And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.” Daniel 2:21 On my husband’s desk is a charming antique clock from the early 1800s—a “beehive” pendulum clock that hasn’t run properly for decades, especially since we don’t... Continue Reading →
"Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” Acts 14:17 In our Middle Earth landscape in East Tennessee, summer greens have given way to autumn gold. Maples have turned bright red and orange, gingkoes and tulip poplars are... Continue Reading →
“Listen to counsel and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.” Proverbs 19:20 If you’re on this great journey called parenting, you know the milestones along the way. If all goes according to your plans, you and your kids survive together through first steps, potty-training, first day of school, teenhood, driving, going off to college... Continue Reading →
