Does God speak to you through everyday events as well as Bible verses? I have a tray on my living-room ottoman. Since I curl up on the couch with my coffee each morning for my prayer and quiet time, the tray contains my devotional material and Bible within easy reach. Last Saturday, I had absolutely nothing on my plate. A rare occurrence. I chose not to do any chores. I stayed in my pjs and vegged out on old TV sitcoms, game shows, and home-makeover episodes. That evening, I watched two clean mysteries, my favorite genre to read and write….
Category: Encouragement
This is our archive pageEnjoy Your Holiday…Diligence Deserves a Reward
I think it’s a bit humorous that Labor Day is a vacation day. We celebrate labor by ceasing work. Today is the 125th anniversary of this national holiday paying tribute to the America worker’s contribution to our country. The value of a strong work ethic was highlighted centuries ago in the Book of Proverbs, which contrasts the diligent, hardworking man with the lazy, slothful man. “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (10:4). “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor” (12:24). “The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent…
Trouble—No Problem for God
My friend’s husband slipped during a vacation and injured his back. Instead of getting better, the pain grew worse. After numerous doctors’ visits and tests, he heard the news no one wants to hear. Cancer. Of the bones. And he needed back surgery. The surgery left this formerly active husband and father with a back brace and a cane. His wife struggled with responsibilities he’d previously carried with ease. Sometimes the loss of the life they’d taken for granted and the frustration over lack of youthful strength boiled over. One such day, she fumed to herself and her husband as…
Joy is Transformation
Picture the contrast between a funeral and a wedding. A funeral is somber, reflective, full of sadness, grief, perhaps even remorse. A wedding, especially one between two godly believers, is full of gladness, delight, gless, bliss, rejoicing and packed with hope on the horizon. The wonderful majesty of God is that He has the ability and desire to turn our mourning into a wedding dance! You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of  mourning  and clothed me with  joy…(Psalm 30:11) I like to jump into the original language to dig…
Living Beyond Our Comfort Zone
Life is marked by change. Eighteen months ago, my husband and I purged our earthly belongings and moved aboard a sailboat. This was no midlife crisis. We did it because God said “go.” Transitioning from house to boat was my husband’s dream come true. He grew up in a waterfront home and drove a speedboat when he was six years old. He later built a small sailboat and then owned a 27-foot Catalina. As for me—well, I grew up on the Alberta prairies. The first time I rowed a boat, I did it backwards. I don’t even like cold…
The Woman We All Love to Hate
She’s the woman we all love to hate, and she used to really bug me. The woman Proverbs 31 praises so highly—she’s just too perfect. She meets everyone’s needs with a smile and looks great doing it. And she gets up early, well before sunrise, and gets right to work. Ugh. Through the years I’ve tried to follow her example. I had my couponing-and-three-store-menu-planning phase, my make-crafts-and-sell-them phase, and I’ve even had more than one let’s-get-up-before-the-sun-and-get-this-day-going phase. But eventually I learned I was trying to copy this much-maligned woman’s activities rather than her character. What the Proverbs 31 woman actually…
Content with What We Have
Seated at the table with seven other women attending the women’s retreat where I was speaking, I enjoyed visiting with these young moms. Each one introduced herself and then we started talking about the gift of hospitality. Sarah spoke up and motioned to the woman beside her. “Natalie has the most amazing gift of hospitality. Her husband must have had it in mind when he built their huge house. She just makes everyone feel welcome.” The women nodded their agreement. Then another friend of hers offered, “Natalie’s house is so inviting, you’d never guess it’s 6,500 square feet.” Everyone nodded…
Peace in the Midst of a Storm
Let’s be honest. Life is filled with ups and downs. Oftentimes there are more downs than ups, and it’s important to remember where our hope lies. Our hope is in the Lord—and sometimes the things that seem so important really aren’t. Other times there are pretty big and scary things we have to face. No matter what the issue, my faith and trust in the Lord help me to deal with whatever I’m facing. My go-to verses to remind me of this are Proverbs 3:5-6. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all…
Holding Hands Underground
In 1998 we moved from California to Atlanta, and a new friend asked, “What do you miss about California?” Of course, the main things were family and friends, but then it hit me. “The Redwood Forest. It’s beautiful and Majestic, and I learned life-lessons from those giant trees.” When you drive into the National Park and get out of your car, you enter a new world—an eerily quiet one. Your eyes scan the height of the magnificent trees, some 300 feet tall only allowing a trickle of light to peer through. The fringed tops seem to touch the sky, and…
Portable Edens
In Bible study on the Book of Exodus, our lecturer said the Ark of the Covenant was a “portable Eden.” It was a gold box God told the Hebrews to create so He could once again dwell among His nomadic people on earth and be in covenant with them as they traveled. Once the temple in Jerusalem was built, God then dwelled there, in the midst of the land He’d promised them. It became “Eden.” That talk sent a flutter through my chest. Why? Paul told the Corinthians that their bodies were the temple since the one in Jerusalem had…
