patched up
A couple of years ago an oral surgeon yanked out my wisdom teeth. The bottom two chompers were positioned directly on nerves, and the post- surgery pain was intense. A few weeks later, an infection brought the soreness back. After that, the doctor operated again to remove scar tissue from my jawbone. At that point, I was wondering, “How long,…
trails
During a trip to Israel, I stood in a field just outside of Bethlehem. Some movement to my left revealed a shepherd leading some sheep down a well- worn trail. The winding path was easy to see due to its constant use. As I think about that trail, a thought comes to mind. What trails am I consistently taking in…
heard
Eight years ago, I came to a point of crisis in my prayer life. We had lost two teenagers who were very involved in our youth ministry, watched our pastor face serious health issues, and traveled a difficult road in our marriage because of all the ministry stress we were facing. Joining my husband in praying with a family during…
the evil of inertia
The Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, supplies a stark reminder of how evil humans can be. I was stunned by the hall of shoes that had once been worn by doomed Jews; the story of the methodical elimination of innocents in Krakow’s Jewish Ghetto; and the grisly death of prisoners in Hitler’s concentration camps.
But most chilling was my recognition…
forgiven and forgiving
In Matthew 6:12, Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” Jesus immediately explained why we must forgive those who have wronged us (vv.14-15). And He later illustrated it with a parable (Matthew 18:23-35).
How much did the first servant owe the master? Ten thousand talents (v.24 NIV). One talent…
February 23, 2010
The Vancouver Olympic Games have featured premier athletes competing for the coveted gold, silver, and bronze medals. What's your take on competition—is it a good thing? Should Christians compete? Why?
running on empty
My boss and I were driving back from a neighboring town late one night when our car rolled to a stop. “We’re out of gas,” she said. There was a gas station about a quarter of a mile away, so we shrugged into our coats, shoved the doors open, and started walking.
If you’ve ever been low on fuel, you…
remember our manna
We’ve been gone from South Carolina only for a year, but our boys have already begun to forget. A couple of weeks ago, we took a trip to our old town. We drove through our neighborhood and saw the steep hill where they rode their bikes, screaming all the way down. We saw the spot where we always stopped on…
disappointed
Few joys surpass that of a soldier and a family reunited after an extended deployment. And few things exceed the disappointment of such a hope deferred. Imagine the scathing disappointment of a battalion that received orders to another spot in the war zone for an additional 3 months—less than 48 hours before they were to return home!
The story of…
positioned
It’s a very important job.” Serious and maternal, my 9-year-old sought to convince her younger brother to help her with a small chore. Trying to carry eight individual rolls of toilet paper from the kitchen to the bathroom, she wanted Micah to walk behind her to make sure none of them fell. Usually kindhearted and generous, he had some difficulty…
perfect path
My wife and I had prayed. We had sought God. We had sought godly counsel. Now we presented our plans to a group of people who would help us realize a vision for ministry or shut it down. They chose the latter.
We’ve all felt the pain of having plans dashed and dreams deferred. The confusion and disillusionment that follows…
holding it together
From autumn of 2008 through April 2009, the country of South Africa was run by temporary or acting officials. When President Thabo Mbeki quit, after being accused of interfering in a court case, an acting president was elected along with an acting deputy. So the president and deputy were temporary, as well as the national police commissioner, national prosecutor, port…
we have this day
Debbie Middlemann was telling me about her mother, Edith, the 94-year-old widow of Francis Schaeffer. Francis wrote powerfully and often about the dangers of euthanasia and the gift of life, and now his wife and daughter were putting his beliefs into practice.
Debbie said that hospices in her country slowly euthanize their patients, giving them ever-increasing amounts of morphine as…
as we forgive
As We Forgive, the award-winning documentary by Laura Waters Hinson, portrays the pain and hope of two Rwandan women as they face the men who brutally murdered their families during the 1994 genocide. Catherine Claire Larson, author of the film- inspired book bearing the same title, believes that these women possess a message that we all need to hear.
“If Rwandans…
