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Can you spare 15 minutes?
Do you read the newspaper for at least 15 minutes a day? Do you watch at least 15 minutes of television daily? Do you spend at least 15 minutes a day on Facebook? Do you surf the internet for at least 15 minutes a day? Do you check your email for at least 15 minutes a day? If you answered “yes” to any one or more of those questions, let me tell you a story and offer you a challenge? A friend of mine recently diagnosed with serious cancer is fighting for his life. For the past several years he chose to read the bible through each year. In addition,…
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The Power in “I Promise”
They couldn’t wait to say their vows. I watched as the couple standing at the altar giggled and squirmed, eagerly repeating the minister’s words. These weren’t just any words—they were promises that would bind and intertwine their lives together. They were weighty and hopeful, tender and courageous. Most of us cannot comprehend the depth of these words and the grace of such commitments until we live out our marital vows in seasons marked by sickness instead of health or in times that feel worse instead of better. Only then do we realize a promise’s power, not only for our marriage but ultimately in our walk with God. Promises hold our…
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Clear Summer Days
Ah, the first weeks of summer vacation—a blissful time in the life of a mother and her children. Kids have finally finished the school year and moms have hung their chauffeur hats for a while. The Monday morning rush has come to a halt, the emails from school have completely ceased and at the end of the day, mothers across the country can finally stop asking, “Did you finish your homework? Did you study for your test?” The beginning of summer brings such sweet hopes. It gives mothers and children an opportunity to commit their time to each other. Mothers make endless promises of fun and the kids—especially teens—realize they…
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My Shirley Temple Moment
Almost everyone I know has a Shirley Temple moment in his or her life. Whether it happened forcefully or unexpected, many of us have a story to tell that includes a Shirley Temple movie or song. I think that’s why most of us feel a sense of loss in her passing. My Shirley Temple moment lasted for just a little while, but the lesson I learned from it has persevered. I performed On the Good Ship Lollipop in a church talent show to raise money for something—I can’t remember what, but I know it involved a high-school trip. Anyway, right before taking the stage, I got sick and…
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A Heart of Thanksgiving
I love this time of year. I especially love how time turns as we head towards Christmastime. I have especially enjoyed reading the “…thankful for…” tweets and Facebook posts from my friends. Wordless pictures on Instagram simply thanking God for everything filled my days with smiles. God made such creative people! I didn’t do any social media things this year. I decided after last year’s Thanksgiving, to skip it this year. What you need to understand is that I fell into the trap of trying to find the most creative way of communicating my thankfulness for the wrong reason. I saw that I played the part of feeling thankful…
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What are your True Priorities?
Those of us involved in the Christian culture would likely rank God as a high priority; yet, is that really the case or do we fool ourselves? Several weeks ago I observed a scene which started my thinking about it. Our city was quite cold that day, and the falling snow was blowing sideways in the jarring north winds. Although I preferred staying inside, I was forced to run a needed errand in the car. As I passed a nearby office building, I noticed four or five workers out on the sidewalk several hundred feet from the building, huddled together under umbrellas, smoking. I often notice such groups when the…
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35 Years and Counting
https://probe.org/why-marriages-fail/Yesterday, Ray and I celebrated 35 years of marriage. My good friend and fellow Tapestry blogger Gwynne Johnsons wrote on my Facebook, “Congratulations…got you beat by 15 years : ) 🙂 …Good guys are the BEST of God’s gifts…” Amen to that! We’ve been privileged to walk through almost all those years with our dear friends and fellow Probe Ministries staff Kerby and Susanne Anderson (whom you may recognize from the national radio show Point of View), who were married the same day. Last night, as we visited together, I asked the Andersons and Ray what they had learned over our 35 years, and we were all in agreement about…
