October 22, 2023
I was 17, a freshman in college…and a friend gave me a paper with Zephaniah 3:17 printed on it. I had a crush on him at the time…so that’s probably why I still remember it. But he gave it to me to encourage me when I was going through a tough time — … Read More »
October 8, 2023
It’s been a hard week, my friends. I’m exhausted. I knew it was going to be hard anyway, starting the process of saying goodbye to you all. But then, my kid calls Friday night because the explosions sound like a thunderstorm where she is living in the West Bank…and the week got even harder. But… Read More »
September 24, 2023
Any of you on low salt diets? It’s a tough adjustment….because the wonder of salt is that it brings out other flavors. know too much of it is bad…but on the whole salt is like magic. It just makes everything taste better. Of course…like most good things, we take salt for granted…it’s cheap and you… Read More »
September 10, 2023
The psalm Val read was written by David…the same boy with the stones who trusted God in the face of Goliath. David knew well how terrifying and threatening life could be…how evildoers could assail us and devour our flesh…how war so often rises up against us….but yet he was confident. Because he trusted in God… Read More »
August 27, 2023
You silly little pickles …I love that line. So …Have you ever felt like a silly little pickle? Like what you’re doing doesn’t make a difference in this world…especially when you look at how huge the problems are that need to be overcome. The devastation from the fires here…in Maui…in Greece and so many other… Read More »
August 20, 2023
The title of the story was “10 ways to be perfect.” So…any of you perfect here? Any of you sure you made the right decisions every time? Any of you able to avoid hurting others in your life so far? If so…I’ll tell you right now…you’re in the wrong place. Perfect people …you’re fine on… Read More »
August 6, 2023
I wonder…after a lifetime of slavery…how many dared to hope what Moses said? I don’t know about you…but I don’t like to get my hopes up. It’s too discouraging. I’m one of those people who likes to keep my expectations low, so I don’t get disappointed. I mean, I’m grateful for the dreamers and hopers… Read More »
July 23, 2023
In the story of Leah and Rachel…Leah was overlooked. Unwanted. She was the “less beautiful” sister. And to her father, Laban, she was simply a pawn he could use to get what he wanted out of Jacob. To Jacob, she was a burden, an unwelcome family member forced upon him…something to be tolerated, endured. Leah… Read More »
July 16, 2023
So…I’m guessing I’m not the only one who has a hard time with this story. How does a story about a dad offering to kill his kid end up as a children’s story anyway? If you were rating scary stories aimed at kids, It’d be right up there with Grimm’s fairy tales. And as an… Read More »
June 18, 2023
What is the truth…and what is a lie? It seems the answer should be obvious. Whatever actually happened is what is true…and what didn’t is a lie. Right? Well, I had a professor who taught in Madagascar for much of his career…and he let us know that truth isn’t actually so clear. You see, in… Read More »