Right now, I am going through some major dietary changes with the hope of healing my gut as a result. While I eat very healthy, my body has not been responding as it should. Years of high stress have taken their toll on my system. The changes are very hard to do and mean that I must omit some favourite and staple foods from my diet. As I read the labels of the foods in my kitchen, I frequently get discouraged as I discover another food I cannot eat. The six months needed to heal my gut seem like forever. In the midst of this struggle, someone reminds me to…

One thing most humans seem to crave is someone to listen to us. That does not mean someone just sitting with us with semi-interest. What really matters is having someone to truly hear what we have to say – without judgment or formulating their own answers while we are talking. When I think about how there are times I only half listen to people it makes me shudder. Why is it so challenging to take the time to really hear what is on the heart of another? It is very easy to get wrapped up in our own little worlds. Our needs and wants seem to take over and take…

A woman loses her husband and grieves. She is unemployed and times are hard in her location. What is she to do? Her immediate family is not really able to offer her any assistance. It is a time of difficult choices when she is emotionally distraught. She has two possible directions. One would be to stay where she is and hope that somehow, she can make her way. It is her hometown – surely there is someone who would take her in and help her find some kind of livelihood. Even without immediate family there – it is what she knows and where she was raised. But she doesn’t take…

She is called the Wise Woman of Abel-Beth-Maacah. This unnamed woman lived in Israel at the time of King David. Her home was the historic city of Abel-Beth-Maacah. She goes without a name in Scripture but she proves herself to be a great person of merit. At this point in history, a man called Sheba was leading a rebellion against King David. When he fled from David, Sheba ended up in the city of Abel-Beth-Maacah. The commander of David’s army, Joab, came to the city in search of Sheba. Joab was ready to lead a full out attack on the city just to capture Sheba. The wise woman shows great…

As my family comes out on the other side of some strenuous months it is nice to finally feel like I can breathe. With the many things that have happened I have been in a space that I haven’t been in for a very long time. I realize that I have been seeing myself as a person in trauma. While that was true, it is not now. Yet I find myself slipping into that thinking more than I would like. Sometimes it takes an outsider to give us perspective. I went for a haircut a few days ago and my hairdresser takes a real interest in me and in my…

At this time, I am dealing with my mother’s increasing dementia. We are no longer able to have back and forth conversations. She rarely speaks anymore. As I process all that goes with her illness, I am drawn back into thinking about my mother that was and what she has meant to me. One particular area that strikes me is my mother believing that she really didn’t have much impact in this world. She led a quiet life – focused on her children and grandchildren mostly. She cared for others in her quiet way. My mother raised us with the knowledge of Jesus’ saving grace. Mom made many sacrifices so…