HONESTY WITH GODSCRIPTUREYou desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.-Psalm 51:6 (NRSVUE)My husband and I enjoy many places in our community where we can walk. I especially love the wooded trails just minutes from where we live. Regardless of the season, the trees are our allies and secret keepers as we walk and talk together. It reminds me of the garden walk...  Read More

A WORD OF FAITHSCRIPTUREWhen Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."—Luke 7:9I love the story Luke told of the centurion's faith. The centurion was a gentile asking for help from Jesus, who was Jewish. This Roman officer sent Jewish elders to deliver a message to Jesus that the officer'...  Read More

LOOKING FOR SIGNSSCRIPTURESo we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.-Colossian...  Read More

ROOTEDSCRIPTURELet your roots grove down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grove strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.-Colossians 2:7 (NLT)We lived in Portland, Oregon, where rain was mostly a fine mist or light shower and umbrellas were optional. Occasionally, hard rains soaked the ground, and old-growth trees without deep r...  Read More

FINDING HOMESCRIPTUREDo not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.-Romans 12:2I love the GPS "go home" command. It means that, no matter how lost I feel, there is a way home, and GPS will take me there. Don't you wish GPS could help us find God's will t...  Read More

LETTING GOSCRIPTURESo humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.-1 Peter 5:6-7 (NLT)One morning I was listening to a piano solo on my music app. The melody called to me. Usually, I don't pay attention to song titles, but something about the gentle runs and rhythm of this partic...  Read More

A BURNING DESIREWORSHIP FOCUSDesiring God FirstSCRIPTUREAnd I will make an everlasting covenant with them:I will never stop doing good for them.I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me.-Jeremiah 32:40 (NLT)God wants to accomplish a spring cleaning in our hearts as we take this thoughtful journey to the cross. This cleaning involves God's examination of our he...  Read More

WE NEED MORE HELPSCRIPTUREHe has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again.On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us.-2 Corinthians 1:10We live in a hopeless culture. Post-pandemic, we have lost what we believed would never change. We understand "tentative" in a way we never wanted to. We've collected more maybes about a future we can't predict. We'v...  Read More

FATHER KNOWS BESTSCRIPTUREYour Father knows what you need before you ask him.-Matthew 6:8bIn the television program Father Knows Best that aired in the 1950s, the character Jim Anderson seemed to always know the right words to say or the best advice to give. We knew it was just a show with a written script and actors, but sometimes we wished it was true. We wanted Jim Anderson for our own dad.Toda...  Read More

I WANT TO SEESCRIPTURE"What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked him.The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."-Mark 10:51When our daughter began to lose her eyesight, her world changed. She could still see light, but it wasn't enough. Shapes lost their edges, and faces ran together. Words drowned on pages without hope of rescue. What she couldn't see with her eyes, she began to see with he...  Read More

MORE GRACESCRIPTUREBut he gives us more grace.-James 4:6aWe always need more of something: money, closeness in relationships, sleep. I usually need more time. I often put more on my to-do list than I can reasonably finish, and then I pat myself on the back when I accomplish half of my list.I am slowly learning that God's list for me is shorter and more focused. God reminds us that he is the first ...  Read More

ALL MY NEEDSSCRIPTUREAnd my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.-Philippians 4:19Can God really meet all our needs? Paul, the writer of the letter to the Philippian church, is the true poster child for allowing God to define and meet needs. He testified to accessing glorious riches in Christ that met everything he needed. I am glad God doesn't give me ...  Read More