Got It but Didn’t Want It
By the second day, he had figured out work was involved in this school thing. I dropped him off in his room and listened to him scream as I walked away. Although he soon quieted down, he was no more ready to go to school the following day than he had been the second day. He got what he wanted, but didn’t want it when he got it. …
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Taking the Chastisement
She knew what she’d done—and took her punishment willingly…
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Parade of Thanks
I started that annual practice before they were even old enough to write well. …
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Love in the Details
I wondered how they would solve the obvious problem. The man’s walker now blocked the doorway. …
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Boot Camp
Paul’s plan to Timothy for the church encourages him in a time when he is facing much suffering. It is inevitable. There is no way to get around it. Those who desire to be a registered, proven member of Christ’s army, will suffer. To endure suffering, it is necessary for us to embrace it. We must go through suffering if we want to experience growth and God’s anointing. We will not see oil until the olive is squeezed and pressed to produce that which is already inside. The Lord uses suffering with a purpose for His glory, but the key is not giving up. To endure is to suffer patiently; to experience without giving in; to undergo a tough situation.
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Living like a Fog
Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. ~James 4:14b NLT No one said living like a fog was easy. The fog rolled in, but not because outside cold air collided with warm air. Our rented house reeked with age—constructed in the early 1900s. Although not exceptionally spacious, the ceilings boasted of their height, and the owner had decided to put only a tiny amount of insulation in the attic area. Summers proved pleasant. … Continue reading →
Wise and Harmless
May we startle the lost with our harmless, loving testimony and the happiness in our lifelong relationship with Christ. May we be mournful for the lost, pleading for them in love. …
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Pocket Full of Promises
Once inside, Roland told Anna about his salvation experience of 1942. He had turned his life over to the Lord while serving in the Armed Forces, during World War II. For eight years, until he came home, he had written Bible verses while in the barracks. He’d slip a verse or two into the pockets of his uniform daily. When danger loomed, he’d touch his pocket and recharge by remembering the verse. He didn’t know what the outcome of the war would be, but he knew his salvation was secured as was his eternal soul. …
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Can’t Entertain God
What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?” says the Lord. “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fattened cattle. ~Isaiah 1:11 NLT I’ve discovered I can’t entertain God. I suppose the first entertaining I did—other than as a child wanting attention—came at the first church I pastored. Someone concocted the idea we should have a womanless beauty contest, so a few deacons and I dressed as women, paraded before church members, and let … Continue reading →
Freedom to Fail or Succeed
By the time high school arrived, I’d lost all interest in school. The wrong kind of friends, followed by the wrong type of actions, took over. My parents continued to goad me to do my best, just as they had in elementary and middle school. I didn’t listen. Regardless of their efforts to push me forward toward a college education, I continued to slide backward with a don’t-care attitude…
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Sniffing Temptation
We call our little Chihuahua-terrier mix our cordless dust buster. Wherever we happen to sit to eat, she positions herself underneath our feet so she can retrieve any dropped crumbs. She particularly enjoyed standing beneath our daughter’s middle son when my wife kept him. Pig Pen, we call him—and for obvious reasons. The way he eats causes him to leave many crumbs behind. Sometimes, whole chunks of food. But, of course, our little mutt didn’t complain. …
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