Good News For Us

When it came time for Saul to be anointed king, he was nowhere to be found. Check it out in 1 Samuel 10:21-24. Where was Saul when God called? He was hiding amongst the baggage. This future king, tall in stature, had a long way to go to crouch behind the baggage, but there he was, hiding.

I love the image of the Israelites pulling this man from his hiding place out into the open - dragging him out to stand among the people who then shout, “Long live the king!”

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My two small children love my cinnamon toast I make a special way just for them. They have named it, “Cinnamon Toast What Mama Makes”. As you can imagine, every time they say this it brings a smile to my face. Even if I have not had my cup-a-jo, I will always fill their request when they call out, “We want Cinnamon Toast What Mama Makes!”

I laughed the other day when my husband, in an attempt to give me a little break, was busying himself at the toaster. He announced, “Okay kids, this is Cinnamon Toast What Mama Makes, made by Daddy!” I’m not sure they were convinced.

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Have you ever heard the words, “I love you”, and thought to yourself, How can he love me? He doesn’t even really know me, or She doesn’t truly love me. She only loves being in love.

Have you ever heard the words, “I love you” and thought, She loves me now, but what if I were to lose my job? or, Yes, he loves me now, but what if I become seriously ill? What if I could no longer care for myself? She loves me now, but will she love me when I am old? Would she still love me if I could no longer recognize her face?

Have you ever heard the words, “I love you” and thought, as I often did when my future husband said them to me, He has no idea what he is getting himself into? Click to continue →

It began to rain hard right before my son’s bus was due to arrive at the end of our long driveway. It was warm and dry that morning, and I knew Daniel had not brought a jacket or an umbrella to school.

I grabbed a large golf umbrella and slogged my way to the road. The driver was always reliably there at 4:00 pm, so I knew I had only a few minutes to wait. As the time passed, I felt the rain soaking through my shoes and socks. I have some great rubber boots back at the house, I thought, but the bus will be here by the time I could fetch them. The wind picked up and the rain was now beating down sideways. Despite my efforts to keep the umbrella at the proper angle, my legs were wet and my shorts were now completely soaked. I struggled to take the phone from my pocket  - 4:06 pm. Today would be the first day the bus was late. Click to continue →

“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.”
- Oscar Wilde

The apostle Paul taught that saints are daily forgiven sinners. I am saint and sinner in one person. Yes, I have a past, but thanks be to God, I also have a glorious future in Christ Jesus! 

In the sanctuary of my car, I turn up the volume. Donnie McClurkin sings -

We fall down, but we get up

We fall down, but we get up

We fall down, but we get up

For a saint is just a sinner who fell down

And got up

Over and over he sings -

We fall down, but we get up

We fall down, but we get up

The Spirit speaks to me - Click to continue →

On this day, the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, we remember…

Jesus said,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:1-6

And the winds came, the waters rushed in. The beautiful trees that once shaded now sliced through houses and places of work. Concrete slabs stood as tombstones of longtime family homes. Trucks, cars, boats, RVs and trailers tumbled over each other and were lost. Family heirlooms, photographs, antiques, treasured jewelry, gifts passed down from generation to generation, vanished in a moment. Click to continue →

On April 22,1980, I was violently attacked. My life was saved by a woman who literally laid down her life for mine.

It was a beautiful spring evening. I had just purchased a gift for my mom for Mother’s Day. I was driving to my class at Wichita State University, when I was the first to innocently drive into the beginnings of what would become a historic Wichita racial riot, lasting through the night. I would later learn that it began as a result of an altercation between a white police officer and a black man during an arrest.

As I approached an intersection, black men stormed my car, shouting and throwing bricks and bottles through my windows. My first reaction was to stop and protect my head and face beneath the dashboard. That was a costly mistake, for if I had slammed on the gas pedal instead of the brake, I would have driven up to a large police force walking abreast down the street just a few blocks up. I felt the piercing pain of each brick and bottle cutting through the skin on my back. Click to continue →

 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

…who for the joy set before Him endured the cross…

Really? - joy and endured in the same phrase - joy and cross together? What kind of joy propels my King to put the glory of His heavenly realm in His rear-view mirror? What is this joy that sends Jesus, beaten and bloody, down the Via Dolorosa all the way to Calvary? It was, and still is, the joy of our salvation. He did it all for you and me, and if one of us had been the only one who needed to be saved, Jesus would have done it all the same!

Just as the gift of deepened faith comes wrapped in loss, so too does joy. Loss and joy? - Yes! I saw it here in Louisiana in the days and months following Hurricane Katrina. My husband, Matt, made the first mission trip from our home in Kansas, but when he brought back the photographs of the survivors, I was intrigued. I wanted to go and see them face to face. I wanted to meet these people who had lost everything they owned, yet had this transparent joy beaming from their faces. What was that about? - I had to know!

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 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

What stands out to you in this verse? The first seven words have always grabbed me. I remind myself often, Fix your eyes on Jesus. But now the Holy Spirit points to the next seven words and speaks to me - Pay attention!

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I was clicking through the channels the other night and happened upon an interesting interview. Oprah was speaking with a young nun. I had never seen that before, so I put the remote down and listened.

Oprah asked the nun about her vow of poverty. This was a particularly poignant moment, since Oprah was once poor. Oprah has spent many years of her life digging herself out of poverty to be among the wealthiest people on earth. You could see it on Oprah’s face - the underlying question, Why? Why would anyone choose to be poor?

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