Last week a close family member had a terrible accident. God spared his life in spite of many serious injuries. The weight of his condition has been heavy on all of us, especially his mom and sisters. Something his mom said caused me to evaluate my own thinking. She told us how the negative talk…
Welcome
Easter afternoon promised to be quiet (ok, I admit it- lonely). We had already celebrated Easter early with one of our sons and his family, and the other adult kid who lives in our area needed to celebrate with a widowed in-law. We had resigned ourselves to a boring Easter afternoon after church. But a…
Waiting
What does Judas, the villain of Holy Week have to teach us? There’s no way we would ever act like him. . . right? Some Bible scholars surmise that Judas betrayed Jesus in part because he was disappointed in Jesus. Perhaps Judas had grown impatient waiting for Jesus to start acting like the messiah he…
Hosanna!
This Sunday we celebrate what is called Palm Sunday commemorating the day Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem with great excitement by the crowds gathered for Passover. The people were under oppressive Roman rule; occupied by Roman military, subject to Roman law, and heavily taxed. They (rightfully) wanted a free country. They wanted the Golden Age…
Foolish
Have you ever felt foolish? Since it was April Fools this week, I got to thinking about foolish things I’ve done. When I was a young mom living in the Pacific Northwest, I was extremely frustrated with slugs eating my garden. I was desperate to find an effective slug control method. Some people recommended putting…
Brain Power
On a podcast this week the speaker shared an experience that all of us can identify with. As a newlywed on her honeymoon, she wanted to appear worldly-wise on their trip to Paris. She ordered a mixed grill which included pancreas. She bravely ate and enjoyed everything but the pancreas which she put off for…