Recently, during a happy break at work, I read about a guy who had to pack up his family and leave his country unexpectedly after the latest hit list was issued. It wasn’t easy, as he had to escape in the middle of the night without time to officially close
Do you need a break from your day-to-day-colored life? You know, when everything is just the same old routine with a big dose of responsibility thrown in? But what do you do about it? Binge on Netflix movies? Eat a whole carton of French vanilla ice cream smothered in hot
We call her Mary … the New Testament Greek version of her name. But the name everyone called her in her day was Miriam … the Hebrew version of her name. It means rebellion I find that remarkable. God chose to bring His son into the world through a woman
Oh the busyness of the Christmas season! I hit this week leading up to Christmas with my running shoes on and sprinting out the door. Like you, I’m super busy. And some of my busyness is messy … clean the house, wrap gifts, cook, do the dishes. Somebody’s got to
“Is your house decorated yet? Is the tree up? Did grandpa hide the pickle? Did she find baby Jesus or is he still lost?” Three granddaughters burst through the front door excited to be at Grandma’s to make a Christmas craft. Yes, the house stood decorated for Christmas … including
Do you ever find yourself feeling a little down over the holidays? Years ago I hit a real low at Christmas when I cheated. Yep, that’s right. I cheated. I had tipped toed into the living room where our Christmas tree with all our gifts stood in glorious array. Mom,
Let’s face it—the hustle and bustle of Christmas can easily distract you from needed prayer. Scary—because prayer connects you to the Holy Spirit who gives life (see John 6:63). No Spirit connection = little life. Your spirit becomes weak and hollow. Once a week prayer at church isn’t enough. You
Words that nurture your spirit…don’t you just love it when you read something in your daily devotional and it soars up out of your spirit to sparkle your day? Kinda reminds me of Isaiah 40:31 where we “mount up with wings like eagles” and see a bigger picture of our
Sometimes you just need to sit and nurture your spirit at Christmas. I know I do. Otherwise, my heart gets hardened with all of the commercialism that goes on during the biggest money-making month of the year. Among such activities as prayer, hugging grandchildren and other people, and reading my
Have you noticed the Christmas shopping commercials this year? Yuck. Especially the ones that replace the powerful words of old Christmas carols with “Buy, buy, buy.” You could easily spend a small fortune on Christmas decorations and miss the real decorations of the Spirit. You know the ones I mean—those