Hope-Full Living

My husband was undergoing rehab at a facility, and that day wearied me. Finally, I was leaving, my purse and one bag over one shoulder and another bag in my hand. I dreaded having to set down everything at the main entrance to call the night nurse to let me out. At the other end of the empty hallway, someone was coming toward me. It was someone I knew from our church! She might as well have been a...

The day my husband, David, lost his job was one of the scariest days of his life. How would he provide for his wife and his two little girls? He was our primary wage-earner. A new job didn’t come quickly. David took on manual labor and temp work. He even dug graves for a friend in the funeral business. Gift cards appeared in our mailbox and groceries on our front steps. We worked hard, prayed, and...

It all started while climbing a ladder to clear debris from my gutter. It felt like when you bend over and quickly stand up. Except I hadn’t bent over. After a battery of tests, my neurologist said, “There’s nothing wrong with you physically. You’re just getting old. No more ladders for you.” This was hard to hear. I started to wonder if God could still use me now that age had become a factor. Tha...

I watched my granddaughter play volleyball, unaware that my husband, coaching a team in a different state, was collapsing from a heart attack. I didn’t know — but God did.  God knew what my husband needed to survive. God had placed four health professionals there, watching their daughters near the court where my husband’s team was playing. By the time I knew my husband needed God’s intervention to...

In 2020, COVID-19 changed the way we do church. Many congregations began to livestream services on the internet. After the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, the advantages of this technology remained: shut-ins could “attend” services, travelers logged in, and unchurched neighbors could see what church was about. Able-bodied members discovered it was more convenient to worship in pajamas at home. But wat...

We are loved by God, not because we chose to be loved and certainly not because we deserve this love. It is simply because He loves us. When I fell in love with my beautiful wife and asked her to marry me, she said, “Yes,” and, in effect, chose me.  God assures us that He loves us because He chose us before we were born, before we had done anything worthy or unworthy of love. Certainly, if we had...

Read Psalm 22 and THEN read Psalm 23, and you will feel the hope that comes from reading on! These psalms appear in this sequence in the original Hebrew manuscript. First, Psalm 22 recounts our salvation that Jesus completed on Calvary’s cross, and then Psalm 23 gives a serene confirmation of God’s promises for the present. Isn’t our God orderly to follow Psalm 22 with Psalm 23? It’s a package dea...

Sticks and stones are usually not thought of as good or valuable. It wasn’t my birthday. It wasn’t Christmas. But my then 5-year-old grandson, Lukas, brought me a gift. It was simple, not of great worth. It was just a quart Mason jar that contained sticks and stones that he had collected. On it, Lukas taped a little drawing of a tree, a shining sun, and a man standing in a garden. Lukas knew his g...

My husband and I spent many hours sitting side by side assembling jigsaw puzzles. Our marriage of nearly 54 years was a huge puzzle that was sometimes fun and sometimes frustrating to work out. Now that I’m a widow, I’m starting on a new life puzzle. Though widowhood is not new under the sun, this is the first time I’ve been a widow. God’s Word reminds me that I’m not alone in assembling my new li...

As children, my brother Dan and I delivered newspapers. Periodically, we could buy Mom a sweet treat at the drug store. Dad and Mom provided love, shelter, and food daily. They believed that God enabled and expected them to do that. Lamentations seems like an ironic title in the Bible because in the book, Jeremiah points out God’s unfailing mercy. Through challenges, despite sinful choices, toward...

How often do we hear that it is better not to dwell on the past? You know, don’t look back — yesterday is gone. Well, that depends on how we look back. Whether we focus on the past, present, or future, let us do so in our Lord’s loving company. As you read the Bible each day, immerse yourself in the Scripture. Meditate and imagine being at that moment in time. Then explore the graces — the “mighty...

As I think back, I admit I am a little confused about whether my childhood cookie jar featured “Little Red Riding Hood” or “Porky Pig.” I do remember that it was usually filled with one of my favorite cookies. With six children in the family, you always wanted to make sure you weren’t the last one to open the top and find the jar empty. Thank God, He provides us with spiritual food in His Word and...

As my husband lay in a hospital bed from an unknown condition, the uncertainty of his future overwhelmed me. Realizing that sometimes the unknown can cripple one’s spirit more than the known, I asked myself, “Where can one find hope during difficult times?” Within minutes, a local pastor entered Tom’s hospital room and offered the words of Psalm 91. The words he read calmed my anxious mind: “I wil...

Life is full of ups and downs that include joyful moments and painful struggles. Yet through everything, one truth remains unshakeable — God is good. His grace and mercy surround us daily, even when we cannot see it or feel it. God’s goodness is not based on our circumstances because it is rooted in His unchanging character. He is always working for our good because He is generous and full of merc...

A psychologist on the “Today” show mentioned that the root of anxiety is not feeling safe. I’m not sure if I agree, but it made me think. Have you ever felt the pins and needles of anxiety? I have quite a history of dealing with it. Like Paul’s thorn in the flesh, anxiety can be a thorn in my flesh that reminds me to run to Jesus and feel the safety of His love  (2 Corinthians 12:7).  Jesus has qu...

My parents read to me and regularly took me to the library. I read in bed, on the sofa, and in our treehouse. What a blessing to fall in love with books. When I became a Christian as a teenager, God kindled a desire in me to read the Bible. Later, I shared my love of reading and God’s Word with our children and now our grandchildren. Countless students in my classes benefited when I shared the won...

Do the words of Deuteronomy 6 apply to grandparents as well as parents? I hope so. I want to share the message from Moses before our five grands leave the nest. In these Old Testament verses, Moses is speaking to a new generation. The time is before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. Many of the now-adults in his audience were infants when God’s people started this lengthy journey out of Egyp...

Do you ever get the feeling that you are all alone? Maybe it seems like no one really cares what is happening in your life. Perhaps you live alone, and it is difficult to leave the house. It has been a long time since anyone has visited you or even called you on the phone. But remember, God has promised you that He will never leave you. When you were baptized, you became God’s child, and He takes...

Remembering: At the end of April 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, I “retired” after 17 years as volunteer leader of “LifeLight,” an in-depth Bible study. I led Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning groups of couples, men, and women at our church. At age 80, would I experience gain or loss after almost 55 years of pastoral ministry? Paul wrestles with that question as he writes to struggling belie...

When I was directing handbells, one of my favorite ringers was Shirley. As she walked into a rehearsal, I would say, “Shirley, goodness and mercy is here.” Not only did God’s goodness and mercy follow Shirley into our rehearsal, but they live in her heart forever. Recently, Shirley and her husband have faced a serious cancer diagnosis. Through it all, they have found God’s goodness shining through...

My daughter assigns her college-level poetry students this icebreaker on the first day of class: Write a free-verse poem, each part beginning with “I am from ….” Recall the street you grew up on — the music, smells, foods. Recall people, activities, expressions. Try it! It’s interesting what appears in the mind’s eye: “I am from a street paved with cinders and tar that softened in summer and captu...

According to one commentator I read, the word “remember” appears 137 times in the Bible. One interesting passage in Deuteronomy is when God exhorts the Israelites to “remember.” They were on the verge of entering the Promised Land — a daunting and scary prospect. God reminds them of how He’s been with them in the past: through plagues, the Red Sea, and hunger in the desert. Remembering the ways th...

When Jesus taught the crowd to pray the Lord’s Prayer, He used plural pronouns: our, us, and we. Why didn’t He teach, “My Father, who art in heaven, give me this day my daily bread, and forgive me my debts”?  Jesus emphasized that our neighbors, too, strive to follow our Father more closely. Most are burdened with needs. Forgiveness is a struggle for many. All are tempted.  I am never alone in ask...

The word “hymn” derives from the Greek word, hymnos, which means a song of praise. The act of singing is a complex physiological and emotional experience that engages our emotions as well as our brains. Twentieth- and 21st-century scientists have uncovered the scientific reasons why singing helps humans feel good. It has been proven to stimulate emotional release and helps the singer develop a sen...

I am often connected to my phone. Through it, I hear from coworkers, family, and friends. Pictures, videos, and texts might come my way, or I can search for faces of loved ones I miss.   Though I value this phone connection, I have a more valuable, eternal connection with Jesus. Faith enables this connection with the Father through the Holy Spirit. Additionally, faith connects me (and you) to ever...