In recent readings of the book of Nehemiah, it has struck me that God is not present in that text. Oh, he’s mentioned, and he’s even the primary motivation of all involved, and Nehemiah (and others) mention how they sensed that God was involved in arranging circumstances for them, and in a sense, he is…
This is one of my favorite stories. I read it again today, and this time I noticed something different; a piece of the puzzle I had forgotten, if I’d ever even noticed it at all. Israel was at war with Aram. Modern-day Syria. There were frequent raids of border towns. Imagine that. Where I am…
There are certainly different seasons to life. I read that in Ecclesiastes recently. A time for everything. In fact, there was something in this most recent read-through of Ecclesiastes that prompted me thus: Time to start writing again. Certainly the busyness of life keeps me from writing (I don’t mean only that I am engaged…
I have been reminded of and pondering the fruit of the spirit again recently. The Fruits of the Spirit are an easy Sunday School object lesson. We are all familiar with, and most of us love to eat, fruit. Fruit is colorful, comes in various interesting shapes, and is delicious; and also provides sustenance. Who…
If you think about it, we’re all quite fragile. Some of us mask the fragility with bravado. We even put on a brave face for ourselves, attempting to convince not only the world but our own hearts that we are strong, capable, able, and unafraid. But the truth is that pseudo-confidence could be shattered by…
About mid-way through March of this year, I decided I would like to try reading one of those daily Bibles. I had been dabbling in reading some of the Old Testament, which I had not done for a while, and I figured what better way than to read through it in manageable, daily selections? I…
I identify with Martha. That might seem odd, in that I am a man, but I think I do. I’m not talking about any sort of gender identity crisis, mind you. Rather, as I was taking care of many details around my home today (which I find myself doing quite often) I was reminded of…
This is the week for remembering, it would seem. Just days ago I marked the eleventh year since the start of this blog, and today, August 29th, we passed another special day in our family’s history. In the year 2002, our music had become the primary focus of our days and weeks, and even years….
Strength. Power. Might. Words that have impact, weight, gravitas. Vivid pictures of great force and ability prominently display on the screen of our minds. Big, overwhelming, unstoppable, unbreakable. Powerful. We love strength. We need it. The events of our lives remind us so often that we lack control, ability… power and strength. And so we…
I’m really good at a lot of things. I think I always have been. My sister-in-law once called me “golden boy”, or something like that (even before I was her sister-in-law), because everything I touched “turned to gold”. And yet, I’m really not awesome. I wish I was. I would have lots of uses for…