First, let me apologize for the delay in getting back to this! As many of you know, my husband Dale passed away in February, and there's been lots of extra things to do since then. I am blessed with continued joy and expectation as I consider him in his new "dwelling place!" I think of us as true spiritual partners - his feet established in absolute perfection in heaven beholding the face of Jesus Christ and mine still grounded here by gravity and imperfection on the earth

Such vast eternal riches revealed in just a few words! “Lord, teach us to pray.”  Can you imagine being able to look God right in the eye as you would any other person and ask Him any question - any question at all! - you wanted to?  The New Testament account of Jesus' life is so familiar to those of us schooled in the Bible, that we can sometimes fail to think about what it was to be among Jesus' companions while He was living as a human. It appears that although the dis

Standing in the Gap from Our Knees One of the most amazing privileges we have with God is to help make a difference in our world and in the lives of other people through our prayers. Don't you find that intriguing? Why would God who is, after all, God , need our prayers to accomplish His purposes? And, if He doesn't necessarily need them, why does He want them? Have you ever thought about that? If I have, I'll bet you have. It's one of those, well, "God questions." T

Do you ever wonder or think somewhere along these lines: "I'm praying, but I'm not sure I have enough faith. What if my prayers 'aren't working' because I just don't have enough faith?" Then, do you try to muster up a fierce bravado and say key phrases to God to convince Him your level of faith is equal to the level of the petition you are putting before Him? 🙃😉 We know from what we read over and over in the Bible that God wants us to have faith - or ultimate confidence

And so He should! If I had to name “the thing” I most want to do with my life here on earth for God, it would be this: to point anyone within my sphere of influence toward His immense, glorious stature and say, “Just look at Him— isn’t He…?” And then to trail off, because I cannot find a word in the English language adequate enough to finish the sentence. Glorious  comes close—but He is far beyond glorious. When I try to picture what my response to God is like, I often see m

God invites us to pray to Him - talk with Him, commune with Him - with open arms. Over and over again the Bible assures us that He loves us and absolutely loves being intimate with us. However, as in any relationship, our sin can cloud our communication with Him. Scripture speaks plainly about conditions that hinder prayer—not because God is unwilling to listen, but because fellowship with God is relational, not mechanical. The Bible consistently teaches that unconfessed

I know all of us have had times when we’ve prayed for something we know the Lord can do (I mean—He can do anything , right?), and yet the answer we’re looking for doesn’t seem obvious. Right now, as I type this, my husband Dale is in his second week in the hospital in a confounding situation that has clearly become a waiting game. In early December he had what seemed like a normal stomach flu—and it was —but it didn’t resolve normally. The cause has been confirmed as norovir

Prayer is - first - about the most profound level of intimacy with the most profound and profoundly wonderful Person. The level of intimacy we are able to achieve with God is far beyond that of any other relationship, because all human relationships are flawed by sin and subject to natural limitations. I want to continue delving into the many facets of prayer - from praise, to praying for others, praying for health and healing, praying combined with fasting, etc. But today

God’s Heart Toward Those Who Are Searching Before we delve into praying as believers - those of us who have already placed our faith in Jesus Christ - his death and coming back to life - for our salvation, I wanted to talk first about how we related to God before that time. Where was God in our "prayers" before we bowed our heads in acceptance of His saving mercy and grace? What about all those times we simply cried out in desperation, "Help me, God!!!! If you're OUT THERE

If we truly understood the advantage prayer gives us, wouldn’t we pray more—and with greater faith? Cynthia, one of my clients-turned-friends and sisters in Christ popped into the shop Friday morning. She is a regular reader of these posts, and we got to talking about prayer. She has a prayer ministry - primarily intercessory prayer for others with a focus on physical needs and healing. During our conversation, I said, "That's it! I want to do my next writing on the topic

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, He included a curious and deeply intentional request: “Give us this day our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11) Not weekly  bread. Not bread for the upcoming month. Not a guarantee of plenty for the next year. Daily bread. This echoes the great wilderness lesson God taught Israel through manna: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day

At the risk of adding to all of the usual hoopla surrounding the New Year, new beginnings, and New Year's Resolutions, the Bible has a lot to tell about God and the newness of things. The newness that comes from God is unlike anything else when it comes to a fresh start. So, I thought, “What better time to take a dig into God and newness than the turning of the year?” 🪏 SHOVEL TIME! I encourage you - as you have time - to actually open each of these scriptures in your Bib

A Return to Scripture, Reality, and Reverent Unknowing As I put together these blog pieces, you all know I love including lots of images.  It's one of my really fun things about doing this; images not only convey information, but they break up the monotony of print, and they can also be soothing. What I have found really perplexing, however, is some of the many images I see where people try to depict what God looks like.  Take this one, for example: "I wish I was twenty year

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” — James 1:17   Today is the day after Christmas, December 26 , Boxing Day in the UK (woohoo!) and a day I like to enjoy quietly, nestled in with family and my gifts, trying them out, reading them, shutting out the normal events of routine life.  I think that’s fairly typical for lots of us on this day “after Christmas!”  T

Krista filmed me playing this a couple of weeks ago... recording is below... Nearly twenty years ago I found myself at my piano late one night, overwhelmed by the realization that we often speak of Jesus in fragments. We celebrate the baby. We revere the Savior. We proclaim the King. But we rarely hold them all at once. Out of that quiet moment came a piece I have simply called “Christmas Medley.”  It weaves together three melodies that, for me, represent the fullness of Ch

“He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He might have the preeminence.” Colossians 1:18 Overture – From Stage to Symphony Throughout this Advent season, I’ve been thinking about Christmas in terms of a great unfolding drama—many characters stepping onto the stage at just the right moment, each with an important role to play.     I started out with Characters of the Nativity :  Zechariah and Elizabeth Simeon and Anna Mary and Joseph   Th

I was supposed to do this yesterday , and I moved right into Shepherds & Angels instead! That was probably good timing in hindsight, though. I thought I might skip over it, but, NO! - I absolutely do have to come back to this, because what King Herod represents is vitally important when it comes to understanding God and what we are celebrating as believers - not only at Christmas - but every day. So, today’s Dig  centers on Herod the Great , but not merely as a villain

“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.   And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea,  unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;  because he was of the house and lineage of David:  to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being

Contrary to what is commonly portrayed, the Wise Men did not visit Jesus until some time after His birth, when He and His parents were living in a house in Bethlehem. I don't picture Him as being quite that old, but we know He was somewhere between birth and two years old. Anyway! Yesterday we took a good look at the Star of Bethlehem itself; an inanimate "Christmas Player."  Today, I’d like to turn our attention to these three Christmas characters -   the wise men , or Mag

This Advent season I am curiously drawn into fascination with various aspects of the Christmas Story as told in Scripture.   The wonders of our LORD just never end, and – like so much in learning – the more you know the more you know you don’t know!    Earlier in this Advent series I took a deeper look into Zechariah & Elizabeth, Joseph & Mary, Anna & Simeon.  Now I would like to look into some of the other “Christmas Players,” starting today with THE STAR that led the wisem