Tagged: thrple

4

Prayer / Teaching

A Silly Sheep’s Whispered Prayer

A wet swimsuit tossed on top of the wall-mounted gas heater in the bathroom set things in motion. The white wallpaper with dainty pink rosebuds and tiny green leaves wicked up the moisture creating a dull, damp, and noticeable swooping arch of gray. With more urgent tasks to accomplish in our old but new to us home, removing the wallpaper was not a priority. Now it took center stage. Most renovation projects seem easy until they morph into something we never imagined. Removing the ancient, well-secured wallpaper became a laborious task. Instead of peeling off generous swaths of paper, my raw fingers...

2

Comfort and Hope / Encouragement / Prayer

“Go. Break In!”

This is the final portion of a four-part series. You can read the first post here. The second part of the story is here, and clicking this takes you to the third segment. Sheri’s irresistible invitation to break into the garden had us hightailing it to Sunset Drive. She told us how to gain access. How could we resist experiencing this miracle in the making? After easing the bulky chain with the giant MASTER padlock over the metal fencing, we ventured in.  Yes, God, You are Master over all—every detail, all timing, each gift, this moment, I thought.  Photo: Angie...

COME WHAT MAY 10

Encouragement / Teaching

COME WHAT MAY

I only had a few have to’s scheduled this past week.  Monday morning, I ventured to the store first thing. I was lacking a few ingredients for a couple of savory soups. A dear friend needed some nourishing goodness—physically and emotionally. We agreed on an afternoon delivery, so I was eager to get things simmering.  Across the parking lot, I noticed him. Seated by the entrance, his knees tucked to his chest and leaning against the brick column. A cardboard sign, lettered in black marker and too small to read, was propped up to his right.  Hmmm . . ....

THY WILL, NOT MINE 2

Encouragement / Poetry

THY WILL, NOT MINE

Save Me From Myself Reign me in—don’t let me spinA skillful tale apart from HimWake me up to Satan’s schemesDon’t let me die within my dreamsOr fancied ways of coping withThe constant trials, tilts, and shiftsDo keep me in RealityWith Your eyes, Lord, help me see,Discern and learn, live Your truthO Lord, I long to see the proofOf what You say, who You areFleshed out whether causing scars,Joy or peace, pain or sorrow,Every moment, every hourClinging to the glorious VineYour life flowing into mineYour thoughts coursing in my veinsHoly, reverent, freeing trainsDiverting, guiding, setting freeFrom self-imposed captivityStaying present watching YouMoving...

Don’t forget to remember 0

Encouragement

DON’T FORGET TO REMEMBER

We made it! The boisterous merriment and frenetic busyness of the holidays have vanished. A new year arrived, mercifully ushering in quiet days and a slower pace. My Christmas tree and all the decorations are still up. Once fresh evergreen cuttings nestled throughout the house, drop their needles with the slightest brush. But the beauty of it all restrains me from dismantling everything. In my mind, celebrations are to be embraced and enjoyed. Extracting every ounce of goodness, relishing each blessing, then wiping our still dripping chins with the final remains of the feast—content we have done what we set...

DO WHAT YOU CAN WHEN YOU CAN 8

Encouragement / Teaching

WHAT YOU CAN, WHEN YOU CAN

I woke up yesterday morning ready to embrace the day. After traveling to Houston to visit relatives for New Year’s, I was eager to cook, clean, and jump into day one of my annual Daniel Fast. Mid-morning, mild nausea and an overall icky feeling arrived. I persevered, concocting the two soups already underway until excruciating back pain snatched my breath. Seized by gripping pain and unable to walk, I bent over the kitchen sink. Agonizing over the debilitating pain and frozen in place, I considered the bubbling soup simmering on the stove across the room. The ‘next step’ for the...

All This And Heaven Too 1

Encouragement / Teaching

ALL THIS, AND HEAVEN TOO

She was in a bind. Her appointment began before her husband returned from work, and she needed someone to care for her two littles. The one-hour gap in parental coverage seemed impossible until a friend of mine offered to watch her children. If the mom could bring the kids to Sherry’s home, she would care for them until their father arrived.  Late in the afternoon, the grateful mom delivered her 3-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son to Sherry’s place. Sherry—imagine sunshiny happiness with a playful spirit—greeted the children. Although the young mom and Sherry were close friends, the children did not...

1

Christmas

CHRISTMAS

THE STORY — LISTEN HERE MATT REDMON SINGS ABOUT THE “GREATEST GIFT” Click here to listen

ADVENT LOVE 0

Advent / Encouragement

ADVENT LOVE

AD’VENT, noun [Latin adventus, from advenio, of ad and venio, to come. See Find.] A coming; appropriately the coming of our Savior, and in the calendar, it includes four sabbaths before Christmas, beginning of St. Andrew’s Day, or on the sabbath next before or after it. Webster’s Dictionary 1828 LOVE MOVES Thou lovest like an infinite God when Thou lovest; Thou movest heaven and earth to save Thy loved ones. Thou becomest man, a babe, the vilest of men, covered with reproaches, dying with infamy and under the pangs of the cross; all this is not too much for an infinite...

Advent joy 0

Advent / Comfort and Hope

ADVENT JOY

What joy! To think—before the foundations of the world—this moment. This time in history when we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of the already and the not yet. Christ has already come. In Him we live and move and have our being, but He is coming back. The not yet has us waiting—confident and hopeful of Christ’s return. We join the ranks of those who waited long before we arrived on the scene. Those who knew of what was foretold, believed, lived by faith, but died without seeing it’s fulfillment. Waiting in faith Hebrews 11 recounts the stories of...