Tagged: Audrey Frank

And a leper approached and bowed low before him, saying, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand and touched him saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matthew 8:2-4 The entire theology of honor is encapsulated in these three brief verses. Editors constantly urge writers to reduce their words; show, don’t tell. Be succinct, yet powerful. I rarely succeed. But Matthew did. Today his book is still a bestseller. All we need to know about honor and shame is here in this tiny tale: It is Jesus’ desire to make us clean, and He has all power to do so. Clean is another word for honor. My soul snags on this story, for I have… Read More

For C and her Savior, who sent her a duck. …He gave them words of hope. He said, “Be strong. Be brave. Don’t be afraid. Don’t lose hope. The king of Assyria has a huge army with him. But there’s a greater power with us than there is with him. The only thing he has is human strength. But the Lord our God is with us. He will help us. He’ll fight our battles.” 2 Chronicles 32:6-8, NIRV Be brave! Jesus will go with you. He scrunched up his little face and cried harder, shaking his head. But Jesus doesn’t have skin! I can’t see him! My little one was having separation anxiety, and I was desperate for adult conversation. I coaxed and persuaded, encouraged… Read More

Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. Genesis 12:9 The film Out of Africa is based on the autobiography of Karen Blixen, a tenacious Danish woman who lived at the turn of the twentieth century in Kenya. While her husband commanded troops on the front during the First World War, local British authorities urged Blixen to abandon her coffee farm and flee to safety with all other women and children in the area. When she learned her husband and his unit needed provisions, Blixen decided to deliver them herself, defying all odds and traveling a long distance through desert and danger, leading a caravan of cattle and provisions. Day after grueling day, Karen traveled on by stages. Along the way, she encountered… Read More

For the K family, with love. His second son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my ancestors was my helper.” Exodus 18:3 God is my helper, and yours. He helps us in everything we do. About this time, Abimelech came…to visit Abraham. “God is obviously with you, helping you in everything you do,” Abimelech said. Genesis 21:22 We can count on God to help us in the places of oppression and injustice in our lives. We can be certain He will lead us to liberty. …God will surely come to help you and lead you out of this land of Egypt. Genesis 50:24 When we don’t know what to do, God helps us by opening our eyes to just the right… Read More

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart…  Psalm 15:1-2 I was hiding behind the chair the cat liked to sleep in. My grandmother’s cat was mean, and I dared not get too close. She would rather scratch your eyes out than look at you, my grandmother loved to say. And it was true. So today, I curled my preschool body up into a tidy squat and tried to stay out of her way. But I needed to be close enough to hear because my mom and my grandmother were having a serious conversation. And it was about me. My mother was telling a… Read More

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. Proverbs 27:6 Parenting teens is both inspiring and intimidating. Some say that parents cannot be friends with their teenage children. I would argue that as parents, we have the potential to be the closest friends our teens have. A true friend is willing to wound, although kissing would be so much easier. As a parent, there come times in my responsibility toward my child when I must wound her with the truth. I must have the courage to tell my son what his friends either cannot or will not tell him. I must remind my daughter of the ground beneath her feet, the road ahead of her, the work at… Read More

The Lord bless you and protect you; the Lord make his face (pāneh) to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance (pāneh) upon you and give you peace.  Numbers 6:24-26 The Hebrew word pāneh is the word for face and countenance. Its meaning includes appearance, presence, to be shown honor, to be under direction, to be under blessing, to be under supervision, watched, favored, to be given audience.  One small word with so much meaning for the people of God. The New Oxford American Dictionary (2021) defines countenance this way: (v) to admit as acceptable or possible (n) a person’s face or facial expression (n) support The rich words of Numbers 6 describe the outcome of the atonement for every person who… Read More

Look as far as you can see in every direction—north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. And I will give you so many descendants that, like the dust of the earth, they cannot be counted! Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.  Genesis 13:14-17 Visionaries are impossible thinkers. They see and imagine things outside the bounds of circumstances, resources, and time. Visionaries get a God-glimpse of what’s possible beyond limits. Visionaries have the gift of seeing. Blessing, generation-changing, history-making visions originate with God. Abram was the first visionary. His vision began with God’s invitation. Look. Look… Read More

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.  1 Samuel 1:28. “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.  Luke 2:49-52 Gifts are best when given over to the Lord. Every good gift comes from God (see James… Read More

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:10 Our secretary thought it was a joke. Head down, busy with work, she was annoyed with the interruption when a man entered the office demanding everyone’s attention and announced with a flourish the arrival of a gentleman just outside the door. When no one responded, he repeated his lavish introduction of the crown prince of a nearby country in the Middle East. Suddenly everyone was scrambling to show the honor due to their unexpected guest, a man who would one day be king. My husband spent the rest of the day (in a proper suit… Read More