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God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help… Read More

for Kate with love You keep track of all my sorrows.You have collected all my tears in your bottle.You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8 How fitting that I would unwrap this tiny vessel today. Many years ago, on another continent far from home, I made a sorrowful journey through grief after the loss of a much-anticipated baby girl. My friend Kate, upon returning from the small Mediterranean village of Hammamet, Tunisia,… Read More

Lent began on Wednesday and will continue until Easter Sunday, April 12. Lent is traditionally a time when Christians reflect on their faults, repent, and seek to purify their hearts and desires. It is an opportunity to grow in holiness in preparation for the celebration of Resurrection Day on Easter Sunday. Over the next forty days, I will be sharing personal Lenten reflections from my own journey with Jesus during this sacred season. It is… Read More

ready for battle with stick and sword But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.Psalm 131:2, NIV His flaming cheeks were damp with tears, skin clammy and sweaty from the fight. Those long eyelashes everyone admired were clumped together like little dragon spikes framing big blue eyes clouded with frustration. Sweet chubby fists clenched at the side of his blue… Read More

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.2 Corinthians 4:7 For many years I read this passage with one clear image in mind. Terra-cotta, reflecting the earth’s rich hue, thick, rough-hewn earthen jars just the right size to hold in two hands. Their purpose, to be filled with whatever is needed and poured out in service. I imagined them brimming with… Read More

And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.Romans 5:5 There is a hope that does not put us to shame. Love, at its heart, is about hope. Hope that we might be valued enough by others to be loved by them. Without hope, there could be no love. How interesting that Romans 5:5 embeds this… Read More

Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.Psalm 139:23 We are anxious about everything, it would seem.  Today on the Culture Translator, I was introduced to the latest anxiety trend among Generation Z: “eco-anxiety.” Stemming from the belief that there is currently a climate crisis, eco-anxiety is causing a majority of 18-25 year-olds to worry about what will happen in the future. Before you judge Generation Z, stop and… Read More

We are experiencing trouble on every side, but are not crushed; we are perplexed, but not driven to despair; we are persecuted, but not abandoned; we are knocked down, but not destroyed, always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our body.2 Corinthians 4:7-10 “What can man do to you? Much every way. Like a small thing unsheltered, like a mimosa… Read More

“Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”John 12:21 The Greeks who asked Philip to see Jesus were devout worshippers of the one true God and had come to Jerusalem to worship at the feast. They joined in the meetings in the temple as far as they were allowed, being Gentiles.  Now they wanted more; they wanted to see Jesus. They had made their choice to worship God, but something about the man who healed the… Read More

For you have not yet come to the final stop and inheritance the Lord your God is giving you (Deuteronomy 12:9). “Mommy, I think lately God has been trying to tell me something.” Her big blue eyes stared deeply into mine. The air in the room, so still and quiet a moment before, quivered like a pool disturbed by a noiseless earth tremor.  “He is telling me that He is coming soon. Jesus is coming… Read More