The new year has dawned. How’s your heart toward God? How's mine? Pressing close, softening? Or withdrawing, hardening? No matter how difficult our challenges, will we lean in to Jesus with hope and faith, resting in His love, keeping our hearts tender with obedience? Or will we turn away in cynicism or fear, doubting His…
When You’re Crippled by Shame and Meet a King Compelled by Kindness
I had read this surprising story before. But for the first time I realized there was more meaning in it for me — for us — than I could have imagined. It's a true story, of a king compelled by kindness and a pauper crippled by shame. Years before he came into power, the king…
Once an Alien, One May Wonder —Always an Alien?
Have you ever been an alien? I have — a registered, certified alien. There may be reason to doubt, but, no, not the extra-terrestrial kind. As a single American for four years in Mexico, and as a wife, then mother, for 28 years in the Philippines, I was a resident alien. I needed to continually…
O What Peace We Often Forfeit, O What Needless Pain We Bear
It was like swimming in a liquid jewel, I finally decided. When I swam in the pure, gem-toned waters surrounding the U.S. Virgin Islands, it felt like a feast for the senses. The bays that sculpt the coastlines of those islands are glorious places to find yourself swimming -- something I never imagined doing while…
Should I Settle for Cheap Happiness, or Is There Something Better?
Have you taken these easy routes to cheap happiness, as I have? The one-more-cookie comfort for sadness or loneliness? The momentary satisfaction of venting your feelings before praying them through? The brief "fun" of getting away with procrastination or toying with unhealthy thoughts? The mindless enjoyment of scrolling, scrolling, scrolling? Our struggles against ungodly choices…
What Kind of Music Do I Want to Play?
Don’t do this at your home! Coming distractedly down our uncarpeted tile stairs some years ago, I missed a few of the last steps and fell, painfully spraining my ankle. The good thing about the situation was the first thing out of my mouth. “Thank You, Lord!” I sang out. I was surprised and happy…
Just an Ordinary Sail in a Double Outrigger Canoe
It was our 20th anniversary. Ed and I were about to take a romantic sunset sail around the beautiful Philippine island of Boracay, just four miles long and one mile wide. Two guys would sail the large double outrigger canoe, and we would sit back and enjoy the view. Or so we thought. Sailing around…
The Nearness of God 