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Watercolor Christmas

“You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 When my granddaughter unpacks our nativity set every year, she meticulously unwraps each piece and carefully places them in their “correct” place in and around the olive wood stable. Identifying every piece as she opens these treasures, she always seems to be looking for the one that is the most special of…

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A Harvest of Words

Words. The ones we wanted to speak, but couldn’t. Or shouldn’t speak. Voices in our head telling us what we want to say, what we wish we could say– but knowing that if we do, we will be filled with regret, know that, once spoken, our words will sow seeds. Seeds of hurt and sorrow and pain that once planted, will start to grow roots and eventually, bear fruit. Some of the are even based…

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"Jesus Is Lord"

“Take the Name of Jesus with you,Child of sorrow and of woe,It will joy and comfort give you;Take it then, where’er you go.Refrain:Precious Name, oh, how sweet!Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n;Precious Name, oh, how sweet!Hope of earth and joy of Heav’n.” Lydia O. Baxter, 1870 While some may take the phrase lightly when someone says “Jesus is Lord”, those of us who are born again Christians…

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If I'm Not Dead, You're Not Done

… and this life is not my own. This day is a gift. I’m guessing that many times you have heard, thought, and quite possibly have said those very words. While most of the time we do believe that it is true in theory, we sometimes struggle with the reality. In the daily grind it might just seem like a platitude because, well, it just doesn’t quite feel like a good day sometimes, does it? There…

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Tossing the Scale

The battle of the mind is a fierce one that is not easily won. What I tell myself when no one is looking can–and will shape the person that I am becoming. You may look at my profile picture and see something very different than I intended. It has been awhile since I updated it, and so as not to deceive, I plan to get that taken care of very soon! You may also think that at my age, there is no…

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Where Do I Go From Here?

Have you ever been at a crossroad in your life and you see an obvious choice that’s right in front of you? You can choose to go one direction or another, knowing that at the end of the day you must choose, and whatever the choice, the destination of one will be very different than the other path. There are those big decisions in life, but often it is a small curve—or even a bump in the road that…

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Through The Lens of Scripture

Despite the fact that cataract surgery is one of the safest and most commonly performed surgeries, I had more trepidation than I thought I would. It’s safe to say that vision problems have been a part of my life for a very long time. I started wearing glasses when I was seven and began wearing contacts at age twelve. Being a tomboy, adjusting to glasses was not easy for me, so when my parents…

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Tell Your Story: The Man I Never Knew

I walked out of my office and into the church parking lot recently just as an older couple was pulling in to visit our church bookstore. As the husband rolled down the window, I recognized him as the son of an old pastor, long since departed to glory. That old pastor had been the pastor of my grandparents in their older years and, before his death, had told me some about my grandparents’ lives…

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When You've Lost Perspective

I lost something the other day. Disappointed in myself, I knew instantly that there would be no way I could ever get it back. The most frustrating part–I knew where it would most likely be, yet there was no way I could retrace my steps to retrieve it. I was in an airport terminal halfway around the world, on my way to board a connecting flight. I was pretty sure they weren’t going to hold up a…

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Perspective

“The world isn’t falling apart–it’s falling into place.” –Ann Graham Lotz When 2024 rolled in, I was facing the second anniversary of my father’s death and the very real possibility that my mother wouldn’t be with us for much longer. I am, by nature, what I would describe as a realistic optimist. I really do want to see the best in others, look for the good in a situation, and plan my day in…

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When Someone Is Missing at Christmas

I first posted this blog back in 2017, but felt that it was one that deserved to be repeated. The years pass and things change around the Christmas tree, don’t they? Traditions new and old, young children that have grown up, and faces that are missing. I pray that someone out there is encouraged today. If you like it, share it with someone you know that is lonely or struggling. You never know…

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The Hope of Christmas for the Hurting

As Christmas is rapidly approaching, I can’t ignore that it seems as if I know more people that are hurting than are not.I have so many thoughts related to this swirling around my head and I just came to a point where I asked God outright “why is there so much pain?” and it’s almost as if I heard him whisper back to me, ���that’s why Jesus had to come.” You see, Jesus didn’t come just to see what…

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Unstained

It was a horrifying sight–my one year old Toy Aussiedoodle came in with what looked like blood all over his white paws. Shocked, I grabbed him up only to discover that the red stain on his white paws was actually just food coloring that had transferred off of a new treat that I had given him. Whew! Love, Satchel Though fully relieved that he hadn’t damaged his paws in some serious way, you…

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Hey, Jude

Before she was even two years old, our granddaughter would entertain us with the words to this song: “Hey Jude, don’t make it bad.Take a sad song and make it better.” You’re welcome! 😉 While it is absolutely adorable coming from a two-year-old’s mouth, it is truly a sad song because the writer was a father who was sending a message to his son after leaving him and his mother for another…

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What Does God Want For Me?

What Does God Want For Me?

A valid question that deserves a response. A question that most everyone has asked at some point in life. You might even Google it and you would see a thousand different opinions. You could post the question to the world of social media and in doing so, might start a controversial conversation reaching every corner in the world. Is this really just an opinion? Something that is relative and…

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A Curious Case of Humdudgeons

A Curious Case of Humdudgeons

Though it may sound like something that comes from an old English novel, or perhaps the language of the Hobbits, the word humdudgeon is rarely found in literature and appears even more removed from recent vocabulary. Are you at all curious? When I first heard the word on a podcast entitled “Humdudgeons Among Us” with Elisabeth Elliot, my interest piqued at learning a new word. Anyone else out…

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Choosing the Right Path

Choosing the Right Path

Every path leads somewhere. The choices I make today will affect tomorrow. While we may know that in theory, sometimes we live it as though it’s not a reality. Two years ago my husband and I planned to take a group to Israel, but CoVid put that trip on hold. We knew that circumstances could dictate when we would be able to go, but we were determined to go nonetheless. We have been to Israel…