Why the ongoing dissent in so many families? Irreconcilable differences, anger, unforgiveness, walls of not-talking. Where are You, LORD, as family members estrange each other? We are all broken people trying to survive. It hurts when some choose others as their “family,” distance themselves, and leave us bewildered. Our hearts are shredded when differences crucifyContinue reading “When Family Wounds Run Deep”
Tag Archives: relationships
When Clods Are Thrown At You
Some days the clarion call in our lives is “Incoming! Take cover!” Battle worn and weary, we wonder: “When will it end? When will peace come again? How do we navigate through?” How do we find our sea legs in an unending storm? Second Samuel 16:5–14 records King David’s experience when his son Absalom conspiredContinue reading “When Clods Are Thrown At You”
Book Launch Week!
Hi, friends! Launch week for my 21-day devotional, “Walking Through Shadows: Finding Hope When Life Seems Dark,” is here! 🎉 Please pray this offering will reach where the LORD wills…I feel like a child with a few loaves and fishes, excited to see what the LORD will do! Ebook and print book prices are discountedContinue reading “Book Launch Week!”
Walking Through Shadows: Finding Hope When Life Seems Dark
Hi, friends, I’m excited to announce my new 21-day devotional, now available on Amazon! Inspired by my journey through different life shadows (challenges), I hope these devotions will help you walk through yours. Where is the light when darkness of the world overshadows you and steals your joy? Do you feel confused, lost, overwhelmed? HaveContinue reading “Walking Through Shadows: Finding Hope When Life Seems Dark”
Singing a Miracle of Praise
Time rewound and there I stood, in a New York City apartment, fellowshipping with others and singing praises to God in Holy Spirit song. The JOY of the LORD washed through the room and cascaded through us. It was 1972. I was in New York for a work-study program at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital, theContinue reading “Singing a Miracle of Praise”
HONESTY
Grabbed onto or slowly facedHonesty is but the start Of healing wounded shattered selvesOf clearly seeing hearts From retreat to near approach With trembling questions wonderedDo I really want to face Those buried hurts down under? Please…I do…I must for sureIf ever to be freeFrom the seep of festered wounds Into the heart of meContinue reading “HONESTY”
Relinquishing Self
Why does this irritating trait Rise within my soul Though crucified Through Christ’s blood Is self-love reigning in my heartHard to let me goThe warp and woof of daily things Interrupted by my thoughts Hasty words only bringCorrection when I ought To patiently forebear Quietly forebearIrritants a crucible Reveals the stubborn dross A fire burningContinue reading “Relinquishing Self”
A Listener’s Lesson
Opening just a little To reveal a precious thing Even to beloveds Might crush a wounded wing If reins are rudely takenConverse torn away By overeager listenersIntent their words to say With surgical precision They wield an upper hand While tumbling o’er each otherIn exuberance so grand Diverting in a tangentThough parallel in kind TheyContinue reading “A Listener’s Lesson”
A Tiny Ember
A sweeping illness blew through me Snuffed near out my candlelight Yet in my fainting heartsick lowA tiny ember glowed in sight Breathe oh Breath of God on me Gently fan anew my lifeBring once more Your steady flameLet my soul again burn bright Tamp not out this lantern’s use Hover healing Breath o’er meContinue reading “A Tiny Ember”
Buckie the Bull and Other Short Stories
If you enjoy animals, have a youthful heart, and struggle at times to make sense of life, check out my new book, Buckie the Bull and Other Short Stories. Written for ages 10 and older ((fifth grade reading level), these sixteen faith-based short stories of a farm family, their friends, and their animals will warmContinue reading “Buckie the Bull and Other Short Stories”
Tap Tap Tap
Tap tap tapDo you hear my callTap tap tapWhen will it fall Tap tap tapAm I breaking through That wall surrounding you Tap tap tapThe world’s voice is strong Tap tap tapWill you hear my songTap tap tapWill love be received Or are you rejecting me Tap tap tapMy love will never cease Tap tapContinue reading “Tap Tap Tap”
A Brooding Heart
Sadness creased the elder’s face Thoughts of children dear to heart No longer sharing time and space Though not living far Turned away from heart of home To explore the worldly realm Left behind a beating heart Chose instead a heart of stone Yet the heart of home still beats Wrings with anguish and withContinue reading “A Brooding Heart”
Opening A Door
Tears streamed down her face. How could a few chapters of a book pierce her to the core, open a door to a locked room she knew not existed? How could this be? And what would she, could she do about it? At this moment in time…nothing. Her life path was chosen, ruts worn deep.Continue reading “Opening A Door”
Meeting Forgiveness
The wound had been healing for years. It was hard to keep track of time, the calendar flipping like frenzied numbers on an old clock radio. All the woman knew was the ongoing cry of her heart…her whole, easily bruised being physically hurt. “You really need a counselor,” she was told. That broadsided her. SheContinue reading “Meeting Forgiveness”
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”
A Beautiful Meeting
There he was…dark haired, mustached, tall and lean…just as in their youth. She’d heard, then saw him looking for tools in the workroom, his mannerisms reminding her of Dad, purposeful and precise. Decades pulled them from each other, stretched like taffy. Previous grand gatherings dwindled with growing families, varying interests, different friends, the pandemic; allContinue reading “A Beautiful Meeting”
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”
The Introduction
“Come on, Rocky! Come on!” she cried. “Hurry up!” “No! No!!” he said shaking his head. “But…p l e a s e…this is important!” “I won’t do it,” he said, reluctantly. Grabbing his arms the young girl literally dragged her second grade classmate, his body and feet flailing, his red hair and freckles nearly glowingContinue reading “The Introduction”
Two Sides of One Coin
It hit me like a head-sized bubble one morning. That thing about opposites attracting, people somehow magnetically binding together so strongly one can hardly pull them apart…unless they get backwards. Then their magnetic forces push them apart, not unlike those magnets we played with as kids. A friend recently posted a Facebook comment about positiveContinue reading “Two Sides of One Coin”
Visits at the Wood Shop
The old man showed up faithfully. Not a set schedule, unless a project was in the works. Woodworking allowed his strong hands to feel the timbre of the wood, to grow in his mastery of creating, honing and shaping, fitting and joining, sanding and smoothing, then finishing all with protective oil or sheen. All thisContinue reading “Visits at the Wood Shop”
Honey for My Heart
Years ago I perused a book, Honey For A Child’s Heart, by Gladys Hunt. Aptly named it was filled with lists of books, categorized by age and grade, to nourish the spirits of children from pre- through upper-school. A resource that, for this inexperienced mom, was a boon, one I could take in hand whileContinue reading “Honey for My Heart”
Dew Upon The Arbor 