“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 What will be my first words when my husband gets home today? I know he is as tired as I am. What can I do to encourage him, to build him up? I have a fountain […]
I have so much to do today. I bet you do too. And I know we need to be productive and busy doing the “works God has prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). So, I started out my day with a large, ambitious list that included writing this blog. Usually I sit down […]
When Sadie, our Golden Retriever, came to live with us it was because we had tried everything else. Despite our efforts and that of medical science our then ten-year-old son, Daniel, hadn’t been able to gain any weight since he was three. In fact, he was so medically fragile that he couldn’t attend school. Daniel […]
When was the last time you just yelled out loud with sheer, unfettered joy? Sometimes when I am sitting in church it is all I can do to keep quiet. I want to holler, “YAY GOD! You are so AWESOME! And then to my fellow Christians,”Hey guys, we are singing about GOD! You know, the One who is […]
I’m a waterbaby. I grew up on a lake in Flordia and my husband would tell you that I have water in my veins. Like the mermaid in Splash I just can’t go very long without seeing, touching and hearing water. I crave being near or in water almost unreasonably. As the deer pants for streams […]
I have about 30 photos of our oldest son on his first day home from the hospital. That is not unusal for first time parents, but what may be a bit unusual is that all of them are of him asleep, sitting in an infant seat in the middle of our tiny living room. I remember that day […]
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete —Jesus speaking to his disciples in John 15:11 The “this” in the verse is the story of the vine and the branches. Jesus had just told his disciples that he is the true vine and we are the branches. He told them that […]
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”….Philip answered him, “Eight months wages would not buy enough for each one to have a bite!”…. Andrew spoke up….” Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and […]
We are all in pain. Every one of us is carrying a wound or scar because there simply isn’t a way to walk through this world without getting hurt along the way. But I’ve decided that I have a choice, I can spend most of my time looking down at myself and my brokeness or I can practice looking up. […]
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. —1 Peter 1:6-9 When I wake in the morning I splash […]
Okay, I have to admit, I didn’t wake up this morning with a heart full of joy. I’m not sad today, or overly stressed, or especially unhappy but I don’t think I’m joyful, and I think I’m missing out. Be joyful always. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Be joyful always? Always? How are we supposed to do that […]
At Christmastime I went to the program at my special needs son Daniel’s residence. Daniel is 26 now but mentally about a year old. The staff there helped, but the residents who struggle against all manner of disability were the stars of the show which included a scene from Santa’s workshop and then the […]
I hadn’t looked at this in a very long time but a friend found it quoted on a website so I thought I’d share it again here: “Although our own pain is not always caused by our personal sin, sin, in a larger sense is the reason pain and disease entered Eden. Sin entered the […]
When our kids were little, each Christmas I would set up two nativity scenes, one was glass and for display, the other one was plastic. The kids and their friends weren’t allowed to touch the glass one but the plastic one was there just so they could play with it. During play times Mary and […]
This daily prayer is the result of my research as well as the thoughts of friends and family. It is taken from the “Armor of God” passage in Ephesians. Dear Lord, Make me alert to the warfare around me. Help me discern what is good and what is evil. Bless me this morning as I put on your armor […]
Robin Prince Monroe 