Bible at Home

“Shema”, meaning “hear”, is the Hebrew word used by the Jewish faith to designate one of the most famous passages of scripture: “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God , the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:2-5)…

In one episode of theSherlock Holmes series starring Jeremy Brett, the great detective managed to find and rescue the kidnapped young son of a wealthy nobleman. The nobleman had been overbearing and almost rude to Holmes until Holmes had said to him, “Your Lordship, I’m not unaware of your need for privacy in this ,…

Unfettered Blessing One day this week as Jack and I drove home from a shopping trip, we saw in the sky a strong rainbow that seemed to reach the earth, and a fainter second one next to it. We hadn’t had any much needed rain, and it didn’t start to rain, but the bow was…

“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…

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…

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…

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?”…

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…

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…

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…