Hi, friends, I hope this finds you well as we enter a new year. January is a time of reflection as we consider the past and anticipate the year ahead. A couple days ago a writing friend (thank you, Carol!) prompted me to write about “Things That Make You Smile.” It was exactly what IContinue reading “Things That Make You Smile”
Tag Archives: overcoming
Stepping into the Light
This early November, not long after publishing the 21-day devotional “Walking Through Shadows: Finding Hope When Life Seems Dark,” I found myself reflecting on the ways the LORD has guided me through my shadows, and the encouragement I received in the process. And on questions that crossed my mind in the aftermath: How do I liveContinue reading “Stepping into the Light”
A Frantic Chicken
After an intense two weeks of good things, hard things, challenging things, a weird sense of overwhelm descended and I tumbled unexpectedly into exhaustion. As my enthusiasm and energy drained away, the old adage of “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” came to mind. How often do we humans race intoContinue reading “A Frantic Chicken”
A Grain of Sand
Who are you small grain of sand Lost ‘mongst trillions in the sea Washed and tossed and swirled around Gulped, spit out repeatedly And yet you’ve stuck somewhere fast Encapsulated in your world‘Til light shined on opened shell Look! What wonder! You’re a pearl! Had you ever barely dreamed Beyond confines of tiny frameTo becomeContinue reading “A Grain of Sand”
The Refiner’s Fire
Gold born in crude earthen condition Impurities girdling, invading within Confining hardness needs to be broken Release contaminants’ hold Mere specks of glory hidden beneath Wait for refinement to be revealed Heated to melt, burn not awayThe gold, but all that is not Cast in the fire of sanctification Dross bubbling up into confession BarsContinue reading “The Refiner’s Fire”
Under the Hosta
Axel scurried across the lawn, the early evening breeze a tail wind. Snakes and mice and squirrels, oh my! Such a long day of hunting and chasing. In need of a break, he crossed Swat’s well-worn path and ducked under a large hosta leaf. The size of the plant accommodated his full-grown length and girth,Continue reading “Under the Hosta”
For That Veteran
An unusual sense of foreboding hovered over the gloomy low-ceilinged parking garage. I drove cautiously to the second level before finding an empty spot, and was relieved it faced the outside light. An older grey sedan pulled in on my left moments later, and out popped an equally older, short, wiry man whose wrinkled, weatheredContinue reading “For That Veteran”
Overcoming Again
She lay flattened on the floor, the wind knocked out of her from the never ending battle. She awakened each day this way, a lingering shred of hopelessness refusing to let go. Was she a mother sorrowing for her adult children, their choices hurting them? A wife caring for her ailing husband? One enduring herContinue reading “Overcoming Again”
Those Things Between
What are those myriad things that wash against our souls, tidal waves lapping, churning, that retreat only to return again? Crests that are braved leaving us weathered and worn before the relief of calm, sun’s piercing light scattering the grey, blowing the gale away? What when those tides are words and looks, voice inflections, orContinue reading “Those Things Between”
Dew Upon The Arbor 