crumbs from His table fellowship podcast

The sun declines in western sky. Withdrawn Are clarity of light and hue; brought on, Long shadows, foggy veils, the sacred hush Of darkling valley, far from pastures lush. The golden hour rays play hide and seek, Illuminate her face with glorious peek Of unveiled radiance. Then it flies away; The light of smiling eyes fades, vesperal gray. Sundowning steals her stories; details dim, Degrade, and r...

“First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since he wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and...

It’s my honor to have contributed a poem to The Way Back to Ourselves Literary Journal’s Spring 2025 Collection. The first two stanzas are below. To read the entire piece, please visit thewayback2ourselves.com/journal/songofthebranch . The voiceover here includes the complete poem. My apologies for any landscape-crew noises in the background. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear f...

Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. Psalm 27:7-10 NIV Loneliness— Since Adam and Eve ate fro...

One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sa...

                 Of David. “The Lord is my light and my salvation—  whom shall I fear?  The Lord is the stronghold of my life—  of whom shall I be afraid?  When the wicked advance against me  to devour me,  it is my enemies and my foes  who will stumble and fall.  Though an army besiege me,  my heart will not fear;  though war break out against me,  even then I will be confident. Psalm 27:1-3 NIV...

Have you ever been afraid of the dark? As a child, were you afraid of monsters under the bed or ghouls in the closet? Or perhaps you are not afraid of the absence of light but of the dark night of the soul, the three-o’clock bleakness of spirit? You may know the author Lucy Maud Montgomery from her character Anne Shirley. In another series, her character Emily Starr experienced these “white nights...

All-knowing Shepherd, Guide, and Counselor, Who knows my frame intimately, Having woven me together in my mother’s womb: You know what ails me; You listen without haste or harshness to my litany of complaint; You feel all my sorrows with me, afflicted in my afflictions. In this season of distress and difficulty, Direct me to the providers You have prepared to give me aid; Give me Your peace in the...

Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The Thai rheumatologist looked at my husband. “Culture shock,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with her but culture shock. Just push her through the first year or two and she’ll be fine.” At my husband’s side, I was too stunned for words. Could that really explain all the strange thing...

Decluttering— Resolutions and regimens— A word for the year, Goal for the year— Plans to grow smarter, stronger, Leaner, faster, more Organized, simplified, efficient— If the “new year, new you” chatter Clatters like cicadas in your ears— If all the motivational Twixstabook posts weigh Heavy on your chest Because all you can do is Do the next thing, Like grabbing a trapeze bar And watching where t...

God of Hope, God of all comfort, God of healing: This day marks a sorrowful anniversary— So many years since the life-changing illness, Since the cancer diagnosis, Since the accident, Since the medical label that transformed every aspect of my days. It is a death without a grave, Grief without a funeral. You alone truly understand the depth of my heartache And the distinct sorrow of those who love...

Eternal God, Thank you for the blessings Your hand has provided us this year. We bring you the challenges You have carried us through, The wounds and disappointments we need You to heal, The ones that may never heal this side of Heaven, The lessons You’ve taught us, The lessons we’ve still failed to learn, The accomplishments You have worked for us. All of them we offer You as material for sacrifi...

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21, NIV1984). How can it be thatAll the weight of all the promisesAnd government will restOn the wee shouldersOf this bairnIn a borrowed crib? This wrinkled, ruddy infant--Can He be the seed of the woman,the serpent-slayer;the seed of Abraham,the nations' blessing;the...

O Sovereign King, You who see the unseen and forgotten people, Who sent Your royal angelic herald To the unclean, uncouth shepherds, The offscourings of society, Distant from the rites of public worship, But not from Your gaze: Proclaim Your good news of great joy To the invisible souls on the margins of church and culture now; Invade our darkness with Your light, Our fear with Your joy, Our alien...

"The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace among the people" (Luke 1:25, HCSB). Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and receive the ebook Sehnsucht Season, which includes many other essays and poems as well as this one. An angel's good news beggars the priest's belief And stops his mouth....

O God our healer, Who sweetened Mara's bitter waters with wood: Sweeten the bitterness and loneliness of illness with the cross of Christ; Console the ill with the fellowship of His sufferings and the Holy Spirit's comfort; Show forth the sufficiency of Your grace and fullness of Your power; Remind Your people to love, encourage, and pray for them; Heal the grief of missing out, especially on days...

Before me rests a package, a gift. The tag clearly reads my name, But what a gift: Wrapped in sandpaper, Encrusted with glittering bits of broken glass, Bound carefully with a bow of thorns and brambles. Who wants to open such a gift? Yet the tag reads just as clearly, “From your heavenly Father.” He is good; He does good. Will I trust Him enough to accept the abrasions, the lacerations, The wound...

The suffering saints cried out, "How long, O Lord? How long until You come to reign and judge? Your covenant with Abraham, is itForgotten? Grace depleted? Favor spent?"Then cried a Babe, God's answer in the flesh:The Prince of Peace who came to reign and save;The promises, so many, realizedAt last as Yahweh whispers, "I am here." Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for f...

Most merciful Father, who draws near to the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds: Who but You can heal a broken heart? Comfort Your bruised and battered children; Minister to their wounds  with the intimate companionship of Emmanuel, God with us, so that they might discover treasures in the darkness of their heartache which they could not have seen in the sunshine of happier days. Light of ligh...

My Psalm 136 (No matter our circumstances, we always have reasons to thank the Lord.) “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His loyal love endures. Give thanks to the God of gods, for His loyal love endures. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, for His loyal love endures, to the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself, for His loyal love endures,”[1]   To the one who prepar...

By the waters of Babylon,there we sat down and wept,when we remembered Zion (Ps. 137:1, ESV). How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1, ESV) Sorrow does not take holidays. Trials do not consult our convenience in scheduling or work around highlighted calendar squares. Festivals, birthdays, and anniversaries are not immune to suffering. In...

Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Grief’s clocks warp, melt, Bend, Dali-esque, Stretching, shrinking, Fast slow, Hurry crawl, Rush drag, Uncertain and disorienting, Blurring, greying calendar lines. Is it already— Is it only— The ungrieved world around Creeps in its steady pace From day to day. I am flotsam, adrift, So...

“For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 NET “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah...

This is the crumbs from His table fellowship. Lord willing, we will build a real haven of community in this online space for any who wish. The expanded options will be tailored especially to those isolated by chronic and prolonged illness, age, and/or caregiving. Lord willing, we will eventually have a Brave Hearts (slow reads) Book Club, Table in the Wilderness Zoom mini-retreats and fellowship t...

““Therefore say: ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Although I have removed them far away among the nations and have dispersed them among the countries, I have been a little sanctuary for them among the lands where they have gone.’” ‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭11‬:‭16‬ ‭NET‬‬ Beloved of God, if this Lord’s Day finds you worshipping alone or with only your household, take heart from that word of the Lord. I pr...