Category: Uncategorized
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Only Natural
“The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” (Deuteronomy 30:14) These are the words of Moses as he prpares the Hebrew people to enter an entirely new life in the Promised Land. He continues to outline the blessings that await their obedience, and…
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Marriage
Marriage When I was about four or five years old I believed that my mother was the most beautiful woman in the world It was easy to believe, as our father told us four girls and one boy, that this was the case. Whenever Dad heard us stalking about someone being “pretty”, we heard, “Your…
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Not an Enemy
One of the most difficult trials to face I life is the opposition and disapproval of good people, especially those we esteem and even love. “It is not an enemy who taunts me—then I could bear it; it is not an adversary. . . but it is you, my companion, my familiar friend. We used…
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Laundry
Sleeping between freshly washed and ironed sheets is a pleasure, and so on Fridays I wash and iron them and call it “laundry day”, even though it’s usually only the sheets that I wash on that day. Since I was a child, Fridays have always been “laundry day,” and when I asked my mother “Why?”…
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Summer Vegetables
One of the sweetest blessings of summer is answering the doorbell and finding a neighbor at your door begging you to accept produce from his or her over-abundant garden, or even sharing from another friend’s garden. The tomatoes are still warm from the sun and so are the cucumbers and summer squash. Even at the…
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Jesse
Jesse was a six year old foster child who lived with us for a few months while his mother waited for an insurance claim. His brother Jason had died in a car-bicycle accident. His oldest brother, Justin, was placed in another foster home. One night Jesse asked me how it was possible for Jason to…
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Praise
Praise Yesterday morning people stopped and stared when they walked past our house, and some wore a big grin. Why? Because the night before a wind took down half of a very large old ornamental pear tree in our front yard, and they recognized the chore that it will mean. It happened within a week…
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Holy Spirit
Change There are two stories in the Bible that are particularly puzzling. The story of Moses in Numbers 20, and the story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:4 describe actions that seem insignificant compared to their consequences. Not long before entering the Promised Land Moses was told by God to carry his staff and…
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The Vineyard
In the story of the Vineyard in Matthew 20:1-16 the workers who labor the shortest time receive the same pay as the workers who worked all day. The latter protest to the owner of the vineyard, who answers “Are you envious because I am generous?” Jesus compares the vineyard to the Kingdom of God, and…
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Love
Why is love so important? It is the birthplace of faith and hope. “We love because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). When my grand nephew Will was only a few weeks old his mother placed him in my arms and sat down across from me. The baby’s eyes never left his mother’s face,…
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