Hope-Full Living

When I think of marinating something, it’s usually for grilling and summer barbecues. So how does this relate to joy? Various herbs and spices need time to enhance the meat’s flavor, just as I feel that joy needs time to be appreciated. Marinated steak for a quick “15-Minute Meal” recipe would taste very different than marinating the same steak for 2 hours. Just like a new believer’s joy would be...

As a child, I wanted to do my own thing and make my own plans and choices. However, in the past seventy years, I have realized my ways are often selfish and inwardly focused. God pulled me along and shaped me to follow His path. God’s unfailing promises and the sacrificial love of Jesus, taught in church services, Sunday School lessons, Bible studies, and hymns, became the lamp unto my feet and a...

When did I get old? Was it on a certain day when another pill was added to my arsenal or when I received that first senior discount? Somehow “old” snuck in. God’s promises are from old but are forever young. The 23rd Psalm, written back in David’s time, invites us to picture a lamb being cuddled by Jesus, experiencing peace. Perhaps the lamb was chased by lions or became wedged in rocks; maybe he...

I have seen a picture of an aging woman, whose face has many laugh lines. This woman is gazing into the mirror, and the reflection shows a very young child with laughing eyes looking back at her. She remembers her young self of decades ago. Perhaps we too would rather see our younger selves looking back at us in our own mirror. Our life’s journey shows us another self, a bit older, a bit wiser. Go...

Jesus saved the wedding celebration by turning water into wine! (John 2:1-11) This coming July, God willing, I will be attending a wedding in California. As I get older, I don’t travel great distances anymore, but gathering with my family for another grandson’s wedding encourages me. To witness a young couple declare their love for one another before God, family, and friends is a cause for great j...

To me, he was simply “Mr. Henry.” There every Sunday — second row, aisle seat — attentive throughout, later smiling and laughing as folks gravitated toward him. I couldn’t yet possibly grasp this elder’s enduring imprint on my faith life. He ultimately became a personal affirmation of the Psalmist’s proclamation: Wherever God is, joy abounds. While aging brings about many changes, the essential in...

As a young mother, I never had trouble sleeping. The challenges of working, rearing two little girls, and, later, homeschooling them guaranteed that as soon as I closed my eyes, I’d fall fast asleep. Now that my children are grown, I sometimes find it hard to sleep. Or I awaken in the night and struggle to fall back asleep because my mind is swirling with fearful thoughts or frightening possibilit...

This passage with its “us” and “our” and “we” is definitely meant for several people at least. With whom do you talk about numbering your days? Is it difficult or uncomfortable for you to communicate to your friends, children, or grandchildren that your life is ever becoming shorter? You certainly are aware of it. Does it help you or those to whom you relate your thoughts to “gain a heart of wisdo...

Our focus should be on Jesus. He is our rock in times of trouble. Our defense in times of need. Yet, this verse mentions “for the joy set before him.” What joy? Flogging. Torture. Crucifixion. Death. That’s what lay ahead for Jesus. There’s nothing joyful about the moments leading to Jesus’ death, nor the death itself. What was the joy that was set before Jesus? He was looking forward and anticipa...

“Take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth,” the pulmonary therapist tells her patient. For those who are aged or altitude challenged, that action may be difficult. This exercise reminds us that God has given us breath and provides it daily. From the first cry of a newborn to the final sigh of a dying person, God has given life and breath to His children. We tend to take b...

Truth sometimes hurts, sometimes soothes. You have occasions to rejoice over it. You have times when you cry over it. Truth can anger you (especially when it’s about you!). Sometimes you want to hide it, and sometimes you proudly display it. Truth can reveal sins. But truth also has authority to invite repentance and proclaim the Gospel. All Christians struggle with truth. Many people love Jesus w...

The bitter, cold, darkness of winter can feel gloomy, while the harsh, blazing sun and heat of summer seems unbearable. But in-between, we enjoy the temperate beauty and joy of spring rain and budding flowers. Life is sometimes frustrating, sad, or lonely, while other times bring joyful moments with family, friends, and celebrations. But in-between, our days here are ordinary, quietly reading book...

Growing up, I enjoyed celebrating my birthdays. I looked forward to the cake, ice cream, and presents. These milestones toward becoming an adult could not happen soon enough. Then, one day, I woke up eligible for Social Security. Sixty- five years passed so quickly. Suddenly, there were more years behind me than ahead. The thought was sobering. While subduing an anxiety attack, I remembered our Pa...

Which do you prefer — physical strength or wisdom? Physical strength does not last, but the strength that comes from wisdom remains. When we open our hearts to Heaven’s graces, we gain wisdom given to us by God through our experiences. Certainly, with wisdom we grow more than gray hair. We shall “still bear fruit in old age” (Psalm 92:15). Such fruits include peace, contentment, and seeing a great...

Right where I had left it! The formerly shiny shovel was now dusted with rust, the price of non-use. Is your experience such as mine? My chair has Velcro sewn into the fabric — so do my pants. It is not a challenge to sit a “while,” gazing at what needs to be done. Twenty minutes pass; I’m feeling rusty. The Apostle Paul tells us that God is near us. Jesus has no Velcro problems: He was not stuck...

Just this morning, the theme of our pastor’s sermon was promises. As he asked if anyone had ever made a promise they had not kept, I started a mental list because, yes, I have failed others through unkept promises. Many times. The Bible is filled with God’s promises: to be with us always, to never forsake us, to carry our burdens, to not hold our sins against us, but instead to forgive us and prep...

Summer brings vacation travel and my annual trip to AAA for maps and tour books. This year the young woman at the help desk informed me that tour books were no longer printed — “That information is online now” — and some of the maps were out of stock. “Most people use their GPS today.” I reluctantly studied the devices on my phone and dashboard and discovered the GPS showed me the most direct path...

He was lying in a transport bed, being wheeled from his oft-visited hospital room to hospice. The long battle with cancer was ending. He would die in a few hours, too few for those who had loved him. Dying, but undefeated, he said to all around him — family, friends, nursing staff old and new — “I’m going to meet Jesus!” I want to live and die like that — confident in the power and love of the One...

My July birthday reminds me that I have been given another year of God’s grace and blessings. At age 83, my father and brother were already deep into their dementia. Thankfully, I have been spared — at least for now. During this “bonus time,” I pray each day for the Holy Spirit to help me make the most of every opportunity to share Christ’s light, love, and saving grace. I don’t have as many oppor...

Our life is filled with God’s boundless love and blessings. Sometimes He even gives us what I call a bonus gift. I can recall a number of them. One of these is regarding my friend Amy. She and I became best friends at age 16 when her family moved to our small Indiana town and became members of our congregation. But after just a few years, they moved away. Gradually correspondence became sparse, an...

My friend Peggy always wears a necklace when she goes out. It says, “Amazing Grace.” When she’s standing in line at a supermarket or waiting for a table in a restaurant, she smiles and begins to talk with people around her. When someone notices her necklace, she shares its meaning — how God has been gracious in the rough and smooth times of her life. Depending on the response, she has great joy of...

When we moved from our last house, we still had encyclopedias on the bookshelf and a record player in the dining room. As low-tech Becks, we were satisfied. But our culture, family, and friends intervened, and we, of course, embraced technology. What we found were wonders galore; things we didn’t know we were missing: the internet, email, Zoom, GPS, cell phones, connections! I’m thinking that migh...

Sometimes I think I’d like to “adjust” words. They say that the Inuit language has dozens of words for “snow.” It seems to me that it’s the same case for the word “promise” in the Bible. We’ve all made promises to others or had people promise something to us. We may promise to take a grandchild to a movie, and then our car breaks down. A friend promises to take us out to a birthday lunch, but they...

As summer peaks, gardeners and farmers are seeing the seeds they planted earlier grow and mature. Jesus often uses seeds to illustrate His parables. Explaining the parable of the sower, Jesus actually tells His hearers they must get the meaning of this parable, or they won’t understand any of the others (see Mark 4:13). The familiar parable pictures the seed of God’s Word taking root in a believin...

Psychologists tell us that expectations are a happiness- killer. We would like to believe that life is fair, that everyone will like us or agree with us, or that having more stuff will make us feel good. Unfortunately, none of that is true. Bummer! In our spiritual lives, though, expectation is a joy- creator. It never disappoints! God has promised to be with us all the time. And He is faithful. A...