It’s Battle Time!

  “The battle is the Lord’s.” (1 Sam. 17:47b NKJV) Do you ever personalize Scripture? I do. It so encourages me. I happened to be reading 1 Samuel 17. The battle between David and Goliath. I was encouraged and thought I’d encourage you. We all have our battles, don’t we? Have you noticed lately how so many people have so many battles? Even if we aren’t in a battle at the moment, hearing the battles of others makes our hearts ache, doesn’t it? In our battles, we fight an enemy. That age-old enemy. I never give him a name. Just …

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New Year’s Thoughts from the Strangest Places

New Year’s thoughts popped into my head, but you’ll never guess where they came from! Here’s what happened… The Empty Cup and Coffee Part I stare down at the coffee cup. As I lean over it, I can smell the aroma of coffee…it’s coming from the coffee pot just inches away. I can even taste it before it touches my tongue. My palate knows that familiar hazelnut flavor. I pour some half and half in the empty cup and fill it with coffee to the brim. I add a little sugar to sweeten it. My thoughts spill over into the …

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What is the Joy of Man’s Desiring?

What is the joy of man’s desiring? While going through emails the other morning, I listened to the Easy Listening music channel (cable), which mainly plays instrumentals. Since it is the Christmas season, it occasionally plays a Christmas song. One song began playing and made me stop. And think. It’s title? Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. I love that title. Wikipedia says it “is the most common English title of the 10th and last movement of the cantata Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV 147, which means Heart and Mouth and Deed and Life, composed by Johann Sebastian …

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A Mouthful of Thanksgiving

 Thanksgiving! Oh, how we love our Thanksgiving feast. To fill our mouths with all yummy things. And fill our bellies full of goodness and delight. But what if circumstances offer us no festive fare to fill our stomachs? What if our difficulties bring us nothing but heartburn? What fills our mouths? Grumbling and complaining? Oh, to have our spiritual belly filled with goodness and delight that it would overflow in praise and thanksgiving! Jesus said, “Whatever is in the heart overflows into speech.” (Luke 6:45b TLB) So, what kind of speech slides off the tip of our tongues? The Bible …

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Are You Dwelling in the Hedges?

  Have you ever come across a bible verse that jumps off the page at you? I don’t mean a verse you’ve read a bazillion times or can quote in an instant. I mean some obscure verse. I came across one. Well, actually, I’ve come across others, but the more I think about this one, repeat it, or dig into it, the more I love it. So, here it is… At the end of the list of begats in 1 Chronicles 4, where Jabez and his prayer reside, is this verse: “These were the potters and those who dwell at …

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A Storm in Little Valley

  Dear moms, whatever storm may come your way, the Lord is with you through it all. May this little story help you on those discouraging days of momma-ing… Little Valley lived among the verdant hills that stood tall and proud. All the trees and flowers on the hills stretched out in service for their created purpose. A true testament to their Creator. Although delicate wildflowers and sweet-smelling honeysuckle adorned Little Valley, the artistry of the hills intimidated her. She compared herself to the regal hills and thought poorly of herself, “What am I amongst these majestic hills of the …

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Back to School!

Each year, when summer comes and school lets out, it makes me reflect on my childhood summers. You know…those summers that seemed to last forever? I think about all the wonderful days I experienced growing up. We all had so much fun. Forced to be outsiders, we actually got exercise by running around playing tag, kick ball, or roller skating. We circled the neighborhood subdivision on our bikes until dark and the bugs hit our teeth, or Mom rang the bell to come home. Our parents never worried about us. Because a high level of trust in one’s neighbor existed, …

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Forgiveness is a Choice of the Heart

“Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” Col. 3:13 TLB Forgive? How do you forgive the one who… * sabotaged your husband’s business. * introduced your child to drugs or alcohol. * stole your identity, leaving you with a financial mess. * abused you sexually as a child or did so to your child. * lured your teenager from the internet into running away. * kidnapped your child and sold him/her for sex trafficking. * drove down the wrong side of the expressway at night in a drunken …

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50+ Things to Do with Bored Kids in Summer

Running out of things to do with the kids yet? I found a bazillion things to do on the internet. Narrowing them down to fit here was difficult. Some of these make great science projects. I won’t jabber on, so I can leave space for all the links and suggestions. So, here we go: * Instructions for things to make. 1) Make your own lava lamps http://slsmithphotography.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/06/lava-lamps-summer-fun.html 2) Make a city using masking tape * Let the kids go wild with a roll of masking tape. They can tape over the carpet, the furniture, wherever you allow, to make roads …

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What is Hospitality?

What is hospitality? It’s not what we know it to be today. The origin of hospitality. To the ancient Greeks and Romans, hospitality was actually one’s sacred duty. They were obliged to obey the Sacred Law of Hospitality, which meant offering bread, water, lodging, and protection to any traveler who came to their door, treating him or her as a guest. The guest was allowed to stay as long as he or she liked. In those days, bread was thinner and crispier than our bread today, which brought about the term “breaking bread.” It signified sharing fellowship at a meal, …

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