Hope and Encouragement
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Where is Your Light Shining?
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16 NASB) I have read this particular Scripture verse many times. I nod and go – yes, I need to shine a light for Jesus and I do try. But what does that truly entail? What is God really asking of…
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Assurance and Restoration
We pick up an item from the store with excitement to have something new. As we open the package there is anticipation about how the item will fit into our lives and the uses it will have. Then we use the item once or twice. It tears, it shrinks, it breaks. Has this happened to you? I find it happening more and more these days as good quality is hard to come by. When I buy a product, I like to have the assurance that it is going to do what it says it will or have the quality it is supposed to have. It is very frustrating to purchase…
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Focusing on What Isn’t
It’s just so easy to do. Think about it – you get together with a group of friends and it turns into a gripe session. You get up in the morning thinking of all you have to do and you are focused on the whole ‘too much to do too little time’ thoughts. You start to think about what God would have you do with your life and you focus on all the negative aspects of particular choices. You experience grief or loss and all you can think about is what is missing in your life. At one time in my life my career was not where I wanted it.…
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My Time is in Your Hands
In a recent Bible reading I was drawn to these particular verses: “But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God. My times are in Your hands’; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me. Let Your face shine on Your servant; save me in Your unfailing love.” (Psalm 31:14-16 NIV) There is so much to unpack in these words. But first, why is this topic on my mind so much at this time? My niece spoke of time passing fast in her last days. She knew her cancer was progressing; but it amazed her how quickly the changes seemed to come. One…
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Working Through Hurt
As I hold the sweet little baby in my arms I am amazed at her tiny, intricate form. I love examining her little hands and toes and feeling the softness of her fine baby hair. At 19, it is a new experience for me as I haven’t been around babies much in my life. I am most certainly in love with this dear sweet niece. As a toddler, she and I are blessed to spend time together. We have our adventures when I take her out for the day to give her mom a break. The thrill of that little hand in mine brings immeasurable joy. Her smiles and laughter…
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What Should We Be Looking At?
Have you ever felt invisible? It doesn’t feel great. It conjures up emotions of unworthiness and insignificance. Neither of these is desirable or healthy. The culture of the world today values those who are strong and smart, wealthy and influential. Who gets noticed in the media… the rich, the famous, the well dressed, the athletic, and so on. Often, if we don’t meet up to these unrealistic expectations of value, we feel unworthy and less important. We strive to be something we are not, in the hopes of being recognized. Even in the time of King David, appearances sometimes took precedence. Samuel had been given the task to anoint the…
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Rest Secure
As I write this, I am in my last few days of Christmas school break. My husband is working away from home and so my place is quiet. I am free to do what I want, when I want. I need to take advantage of these days. Very shortly I will be back to full days of school, planning, and commuting. In thinking about what I want 2024 to look like, I am trying to consider how I can get more time allocated to non-school things. Teaching is not an easy profession right now with many diverse needs in each classroom and things like curriculum updates and new methodologies to…
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Where is Our Constant?
Recently my husband and I returned to a spot that holds special memories for us. It was lovely to see the same sights and relive some of the pleasant moments we had enjoyed there. The hard thing about revisiting this spot was in seeing a number of changes. The place we had seen in the past was aglow with lights of all sorts. It was like walking through a fairyland. Not so this time. There were some lights and a sparse number of decorations, but that was all. Sadly, things do change. We see change all around us. As we begin a new year, it is often with the thoughts…
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All Things New
As another new year begins, our thoughts frequently fill with ideas of how we can improve ourselves or make our living situation better in the upcoming year. Have you made any new year’s resolutions yet? These resolutions are so easy to make, but also so easy to break. We have lofty ideas of what we can accomplish, but reality floods in and our best intentions get carried away on a rushing stream of busyness and forgetfulness. As we ponder what our year will hold, we often look at our own shortcomings. These flaws, whether large or small, seem glaring to us. Frequently we cannot see our lives as being okay…
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Steadfast and Sure
Today I spent time with my daughter and granddaughter. It was an afternoon with lots of smiles and laughter. Both delight in life and in the joy of being together. It was fun to watch mother and daughter interact. They were quite playful. At one point my granddaughter was in my daughter’s arms and just flung herself backwards. She had no fear as she trusted her mother to hold onto her and keep her safe. Children frequently have the trust factor down better than us adults. They feel safe in their parents’ arms and have no doubt that they will be caught should they fall. In the Psalms we are…
