Engage
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Beauty Is Everywhere, Even in Hidden and Desolate Places
Years ago, my family and I visited the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park of Southern California. Even though we had just missed the peak blooming season in April, we heard some flowers would still be out in early May. The visitor center’s media presentation taught us how to look for wildflowers in the desert. We learned that blossoms, magnified on screen, were not so easy to find in the field. But if we searched patiently and carefully, we would find beauty—even in this place. Armed with information and fresh enthusiasm, we ventured out among the rocks and scrub brush. The topography changed with every hill we traversed. Grassy slopes became forested…
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Summertime!
It’s here, summer! There was a time I could hardly wait for summer to arrive. Daydreaming out my schoolroom window, I imagined all the summer adventures that awaited me. No deadlines, no commitments, no homework, just three months of long-summer-day fun! Naturally, the summer mindset of my childhood carried over to adulthood. And though my life is never commitment free, I still purpose to plan my summers with an added ease to them. Years ago, when my grandchildren were young, I joined their world of play. While they discovered new things, I revisited old childhood memories along with the ones I made with my children: Squirt gun fights, snow cones,…
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Perspective
My days of turning on my computer to the internet and then going to do laundry while I wait lay in the far past. Now I just have to momentarily sit in front of my computer for the internet to get going. However, in the near future, my computer will have access to even faster internet speed through fiber optic. Preparations have begun to get fiber optic to my area. Toward the final stages of preparation, a fiber optic pedestal appeared in my front yard. At first, I wasn’t very pleased with the obstruction to my beautiful view, but when I noticed the pedestal leaned in contrast to the fence…
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Itching Ears—A Dangerous Infection
Have you become bored by, apathetic to, or annoyed by established Christian truth? Do you tend to follow the latest flashy teaching that comes along that feels right? All of that can cause you to have itching ears that refuse to be satisfied by God and what He offers you through faith in Jesus. Itching ears are a dangerous infection!
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I Wish I Had Known
Recently I was tagged in a Facebook post by a woman who was active in the student ministry in one of our former churches. She posted an old picture of her and another friend ( scrunched 80’s hair and all) saying, “This was taken over twenty years ago right after I was baptized. I will never forget how I felt that day and how dramatically my life changed from that point on.” My husband and I have been in ministry over fifty years and have seen many a baptism, wedding and funeral. A few I will never forget, but all were meaningful. Those moments were some of the most…
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Summer Spotlight: 3 Must-Watch Films About Trailblazing Women in History
I love summertime, don't you?! Summer weather inspires me to read new books, catch up on watching films I've missed, and dream of my toes in the sand. I have three must-watch film suggestions that spotlight trailblazing women in history:
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Do Everything Without Grumbling So Your Light Will Shine
Above our kitchen sink my mother taped a card upon which was written a command for her children to see, memorize, and obey. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world. Phil 2:14–15 This was her frustrated and desperate response to my (and my siblings’) constant complaining about the household chore of dishwashing. The fact that we lived in a bamboo-walled and grass-roofed home in a village in Papua New Guinea might have increased the murmuring. Not that we disliked our situation,…
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Are You Focused on Awards or Rewards?
It can be such an encouragement to receive an award with the accompanying feeling of a job well done. Awards are often given in our culture. However, awards are not to be confused with rewards. Awards are received visually in recognition of someone’s achievements while rewards can be received visually but more often intrinsically (sometimes in recognition of someone’s actions). In our sinfulness, we long for outward recognition from people, but rewards from God is what we should long for. Some of those rewards will come after our life on earth. Have you ever wondered about the rewards that are mentioned in the Scriptures? I have. After searching the…
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What Are You Valuing?
Curious about what’s in the photo above? Give it your best guess. Okay, give up? They are cow gallstones! Sorry if you’re eating while reading this. Much more colorful than human gallstones, and a lot more valuable, these little gems can sell from $1,700 to $4,000 an ounce wholesale. China and Japan have long since used cow and ox gallstones to treat various diseases, including high fever, convulsion, stroke, obesity, and hypertension. Though this prized, hardened bile isn’t easy to come by. They’re found in the cow’s salvage when processed, and only about 1 out of every 500 to 1,000 cows have gallstones. It appears the cows fare better than…
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The Resurrection of Jesus—What Does It Mean?
Have you felt overwhelmed by failure, discouragement, and insecurity as you try really hard to live as a Christian? Did someone promise you that your life would be a whole lot better if you just got saved, but you aren’t seeing any difference? You might be like many Christians who have a lack of understanding of two vital truths: (1) Christ’s finished work on the cross to secure your complete acceptance before God, and (2) “Christ in you” as the reality of daily Christian living. Understanding both of those truths will lead you to a life of freedom and joy! Listen to this blog as a similar podcast here. Christ’s…
