Moving day was overwhelming. When our new neighbor Ginny came to the door with a plate of blueberry muffins and an offer to help, it was like cool breeze on a sweltering summer day. “I’m free this week on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I can help unpack, clean—whatever you need, I’ll be ready to do.” After many years of working and saving, friends of ours were finally enjoying a family vacation. As they pulled up to the tollbooth on the Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel in VA with the hefty $15 fee in hand, they got quite a surprise—from strangers! The toll…
I was visiting my elderly Dad in the nursing home when out of the blue he said, “You should have won that Spanish award in high school.” I looked at him in stunned silence . . . His words felt like someone trying to pick at the scar and re-open a wound from long ago. “You remember that?” I finally said. “Of course,” he replied. “We all knew you were the top Spanish student senior year, yet I never understood why the award went to someone else.” I could only shake my head in disbelief and smile. If only I’d heard…
Last week, during our Midwest travels, my husband and I took a day to enjoy a bike ride along a quiet rail trail in western Michigan. Scenic and flat, it was my kind of trail, and despite the cold weather made for a pleasant outing. We arrived in a small town called New Era, population 800. After lunch at the village diner where we were obviously “out-of-towners”, we wandered next door to check out a health food/coffee shop. While waiting for the owner to make hubby’s afternoon espresso, we noticed a sign on her wall: C.O.F.F.E.E. Christ Offers Forgiveness For…
Several years ago, a figure skating coach I know decided—after 20 years of teaching—he would start training to compete again. That winter, every time I was at the rink, I watched him practice. He pushed himself to train, every single day, for months on end. Finally, the big day came. He travelled halfway across the country to compete against other highly accomplished adult skaters at Nationals. But soon after arriving, he experienced a crushing blow. His back gave out, and he spent the entire event in pain, watching from the stands as a spectator. In hindsight, he realized he had over-trained,…
In every decision, plan, and purpose of life, we choose between two distinct ways to function—with or without God’s help. You see, God always wanted a family—we were created “in His image“. A family shares and communicates. How our Heavenly Father longs to speak with us! While most people in the world function by vision, God’s people are called to operate in a radically different way—by revelation. Let me explain . . . People devise plans: businesses and organizations craft mission and vision statements, mapping out what they’re about and where they are going. Individuals often set goals. In all…
