Tagged: Audrey Frank

Unless a corn of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24 The mountain perches on the fine line between winter and spring. The steep forest floor is dotted with tiny green shoots, leaves unfurling like a child peeking out from the covers in early morning to see if it’s time to get up. Scattered in the gray deadened brambles of last year’s life are empty seed shells. The abandoned homes of winged creatures hang from old milkweed stalks, their occupants long since flown away. Cracked and decaying acorns crunch under my feet as I hike the mountain trail, marveling at the ancient oaks giving me shade. Brave and strong, new peony stalks… Read More

  His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. -Civilla Martin, 1904   Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29-31 God will go to amazing lengths to reveal His love to us. I have always wanted to visit Amish country. Once, when we were staying in Pennsylvania, I planned a day out in Lancaster. The fields are stitched together like a quilt with long fence lines, patterned with tall silos and massive barns. Roads have an extra-wide shoulder beveled with tracks from… Read More

All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers. Acts 1:14 The suffering of our children changes us.   The last time we saw Mary, she was standing at the foot of the cross, watching a mother’s worst nightmare. Her beloved Son, the Firstborn who made her a mother, was dying. When Jesus saw the mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27 But Jesus rose again. He conquered death and all the trauma surrounding it. Mary could… Read More

No Scar?   Hast thou no scar? No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand? I hear thee sung as mighty in the land; I hear them hail thy bright ascendant star. Hast thou no scar?   Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the archers, spent, Leaned me against a tree to die, and rent By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned. Hast thou no wound?   No wound? No scar? Yet as the Master shall the servant be, And, pierced are the feet that follow Me. But thine are whole; can he have followed far Who has nor wound nor scar?   -Amy Carmichael From Mountain Breezes: The Collected Poems of Amy Carmichael (Fort Washington, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1999),… Read More

I see you, blossom of mine, in the darkness. …my companions have become darkness.  Psalm 88, I Cry Out Day and Night Before You, verse 18 Our children want to die, and their companions have become darkness. We thought that if we did everything right, if we trained them in the way they should go, if we instructed their hearts in Truth, they would be safe. Such cruel untruth. I am aware at this moment of no less than eight children who have had suicidal ideations or attempted to take their own lives in recent weeks. Their parents are all Christian leaders whom I know and love, people who live the gospel. The mental health crisis among our children is growing in strength and velocity. Like the Psalmist,… Read More

If you missed Part One in this series of Stories of the Redeemed, click here. Last week you heard Cecilia Sakatira’s story of how the Master Weaver gave her a new vision and purpose out of a time of darkness and suffering. She is the founder and director of Creative Hands, a ministry that empowers women on the refugee highway in Greece to find gainful employment and learn about the Messiah. This week, read with me as she shares the story of one woman at Creative Hands whose unraveled life is being woven into something new and wonderful.       For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.… Read More

And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 Gold basically becomes gold in two ways: melting and crushing. Scrap gold, such as bits of old jewelry, must first be tested to assess its quality and determine how much of it is gold and how much is other elements. In this process, the gold is placed in a crucible, where the melting begins. The temperature required to melt scrap gold is 1947 degrees or higher, depending on the alloys it contains. Upon melting, the metals separate from one another, and the gold sinks to the bottom. The other impurities are left behind. The refiner must then take several other steps… Read More

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:1-5 In many parts of the world today, shame and blame still haunt the families of people born with disabilities. Nida and her family are just one example. Their story of shame and blame is excerpted… Read More

You did it again! You went ahead of me. I thought I was a messenger, Sent to tell them about You.   But You had already come; Prepared hearts— Expectant, Hopeful.   He looked at me And said, I feel like I’ve met you before. Like I’ve known you a very long time.   As we read Your Words together, Spoke of mutual pain And the comfort You give, He remembered.   I felt this way in a dream once.   Silently awestruck— Weeping Tears of Joy, Listening as he described   How You came.   Dressed in white (Every story is the same!) You appeared, Laid Your hand upon the shoulder   Of a broken-hearted father.   Comfort Peace Healing Hope.   I woke… Read More

To all the little boys and their families seeking refuge across the world today. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap.  Psalm 113: 7   The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the… Read More