Hope and Encouragement
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When You Want to Feel Significant
My students look at me and beam, proud of their work and excited that I notice. Many of these fragile young people are uncertain of themselves and their place in our classroom. They want to know they matter and that I see and hear them. They are delighted when I acknowledge them for who they are. We also want to be acknowledged and understood. The Psalmist feels the same way: “O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.” (Psalm 139:1 NIV) The Psalmist understands these feelings. Like all of us, he is longing to be seen and heard. The desire to matter in our world is a strong…
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Untangling the Web of Worry and Fear
The roads are icy and the snow falls steadily. As I make my long commute to work in these difficult conditions, I am tense and worried. In my mind myriads of different scenarios play out – none of them good. Winter driving brings out my worst fears. I am not sure when the fearful mindset began, but I know it gains momentum with these kinds of stressful times. Often, I long for the carefree days of childhood where anxiousness seemed unreachable. Now, worry frequently is my close companion, even when I know it shouldn’t be. Worrisome thoughts tangle our brains, sending off messages that we need to be overly concerned…
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God Knows What We Need
It’s amazing how much God knows I need something, even when I am not quite sure of it myself. Our loving Heavenly Father often gently reminds me of what I require to nurture my faith. I can’t recount the number of times that I have come across a Scripture passage in an unusual place – like a sticky note tacked inside a notebook, in a hymn or song I listen to, or in a piece of Christian fiction I am reading – only to find it absolutely applicable to what I am facing today. Recently I came across this passage: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity,…
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How the Past Can Help Shape Our Future
Have you ever had a memory haunt you? Some days it seems that out of the blue, something from my past comes back to intrude on my present. Unfortunately, it’s not usually the happy memories that intercede in my day. It’s those past moments, when life was troubled in some way, that come back to interfere with my thought processes for the day. Those memories often can deflate my day and get me dwelling on that which is not helpful for my well-being. Something that encourages me in times like these is a quote from Corrie ten Boom, someone who endured incredible atrocities in her life experiences: “This is what…
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Being a Huldah
Huldah is a prophetess who lived in Jerusalem at the time of King Josiah in Old Testament times. Josiah was one of only a few God-fearing kings in Judah. At this time of history, the high priest had discovered the Book of the Law, written by Moses, which had been lost for many years. King Josiah asks his leaders to go inquire of the Lord for himself and his people. Josiah knows the Lord is angry for His people turning away from Him. The king wants God’s guidance for himself and the people he governs. The king’s advisors seek out Huldah, a prophetess. The message Huldah gives the king’s men…
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When God Feels Far Away
A mother sits with her dying daughter and wonders if God really knows her pain and suffering. A young man loses a job for which he worked so hard. Why did God let that happen? Let’s face it friends – I could give you example after example of times when we wonder where God is at the moment. Sometimes it feels like we are in a canoe, frantically paddling trying to catch up to where we perceive God is at. When life hurts, it is easy to feel that our Heavenly Father has abandoned us. When life throws us curve balls and things don’t turn out the way we think…
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The Benefits of a Generous Spirit
To anyone else this pair of scissors in my sewing room looks much like any other. They are part of the cadre of tools I have to make the sewing process easier. Yet, they are not just any pair of scissors. They represent my mother’s generous spirit and giving heart. My mother never had a great deal of money. For many decades she used the same pair of scissors to sew a variety of garments, quilts, and household items – both for our family and for others. When I was in high school, she finally had extra funds and purchased a new pair for herself. I remember how happy she…
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Following the Map
I always find it interesting to seek out a destination on Google Maps. Typically, this app will give two to three routes, with one being the shortest and most direct and the others often quite out of the way. It makes me wonder why the map program shows so many paths to the same destination. Why not just direct us to the most productive and efficient route? Recently, though, the map’s other possibilities opened up an opportunity. When my husband works away, he typically follows the same route home. This particular day he wasn’t coming directly back to our community, but headed to our son and his family’s place to…
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Being Well Equipped
Recently two of my sons went on a backcountry hunting trip. It involved lots of hiking in treacherous places with elevations that require strength and endurance. One of my sons lives in that area and so had been in the territory before. He was able to train for the trip in the place where the excursion was to occur. My other son trained as well to build his strength, but he lives in a different location and his training area was not as arduous. While both made it through the trip okay, one son managed the trip better than the other. The training he did in the local area could…
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Music in our Hearts
I woke up in a grump this morning. It is the third morning in a row where I have awoken in the early hours and sleep is evasive. For whatever reason, worrying thoughts pervade my mind and keep me from relaxing. At times like these, it is easy to focus on all that is wrong or troublesome. Happy thoughts seem far away. God’s word in Ephesians gives us a new approach in times like these: “Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:19-20 NIV) Some days the music just…
