I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. ~Romans 12:1 NLT I tried to tell him Jeremiah wasn’t a bullfrog, but he wouldn’t listen. One of Three Dog Night’s more famous songs—that wasn’t supposed to be—was “Joy to the World.” What made it famous was the opening line: “Jeremiah was a bullfrog.” As a child of the … Continue reading →
On impact, I sprained one ankle and felt a bone snap in the other. With my grandson’s help, I hobbled down the remaining stairs to the car. How ironic that this event occurred on Thanksgiving Day. …
Continue reading →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 →
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 →
Not only did my grandmother can and freeze her abundance of vegetables, but she also froze any leftover food she had. …
Continue reading →Rarely do we get away from them. And most times, they’re what causes us more frustration and stress than we care to admit. Yet, we keep on doing those same things, refusing to rearrange our schedules to include time for rest. …
Continue reading →One year before, the app showed my wife and I had joined our daughter and her two boys for a trip to Granddad’s Apples in Hendersonville, NC—a trip we made annually, either with them or someone else. This particular year, things had gotten busy. Had the app not reminded me, we may have forgotten to go. …
Continue reading →Firsts are important. On this day, two of my cousins brought a mahogany china cabinet to our home. The reason it was a first was not that it’s the first one I’ve ever owned but because it was the first piece of furniture my mom ever bought with her own money. She purchased it to hold china she planned to purchase as a part of setting up housekeeping with my dad. …
Continue reading →A friend shared her journey through this land of “I’ll do it later.” It was a problem she could not overcome on her own. It took time, help from the Lord, and perseverance. …
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