As I was walking back from the mailbox earlier today, I wished with all my heart that I did not have to use a cane. I’m okay at home because if my knees give way and I start to fall, I can grab hold of something but outside there is nothing to support me so I have to use it. I have to use a cane when I walk because I never know when more of the cartilage in my knees might tear.
I think if we would be honest with ourselves, all of us could say that there are times in our lives when we get discouraged because of cruel, sarcastic and critical words that have been said to us. Our strength grows weak, our determination to keep going falters and we are tempted to say things and do things that a Christian should not say or do.
His Faithfuless, My Faithfulness Read More »
Today is the day we celebrate our nation’s freedom yet there are so many people who are still in bondage. They are in bondage to schedules, deadlines, television, sports, alcohol, drugs, sex, profanity, and all the other things that come before Jesus and keep them from serving Him and spending time with Him as He has commanded us to do. He has told us that we should have no other gods before Him. However all too often we allow things that will one day mean nothing come before Him and our service to Him.
Freedom From Bondage Read More »
With acknowledgements to Bernard of Clairvaux.
Modes of Spiritual Growth Read More »
When does a person think about health? For me, this question surfaced when I was sick, when I was far from healthy. For years I thought I was a healthy person. My doctors had declared how healthy and strong I was for my age. Then, very much to my surprise, I discovered that I had cancer. Health flew from my mind and disease and debilitation and death took health’s place. The plain and simple fact that a biopsy had found a significant cancer in my body immediately effected my identity. My sense of self was instantaneously altered . I became, from that hour of discovery, different. I was no longer healthy. Who was I? I was no longer even myself, but a cancer victim, and might soon become a cancer survivor. Whatever the outcome of this dread discovery, I thought I would never be the same.
In Sickness and in Health Read More »
Proverbs 20:22 NRSV
Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
wait for the Lord, and He will help you.
Have you ever been misunderstood? Of course. We all have. We have done something or said something and our intentions just didn’t communicate well. Beyond that, have you ever made a mistake, one that ended up costing or hurting someone else? Again, of course! We all have made those mistakes, the actions or choices we regret and wish that we could have changed.
Revenge is for God, Not Us Read More »
The emergency room was deathly still except for my husband?s anguished weeping.
Tearless, I held our little son Timmy’s chilling body to my breast, trying to warm him, unwilling to let him grow cold. Bruised from futile resuscitation efforts, he was naked except for a rough blanket wrapped around him and secured with a diaper pin.
The mortician peeked in. He was waiting. I wanted to run into the night with Timmy’s body and hide him somewhere where I could keep him safe.
When Heaven Goes Silent Read More »
One of the most moving scenes in musical “The Man from La Mancha” came as Don Quixote dying was roused by his lady Dulcinea to hear the words of the song, The Impossible Dream again.
“Tell me the words,” he asks.
“But they are your words, my Lord,” she responds.
He remembers then and sings the magnificent song that embodied his dream.
For years at funerals and during times of loss and grief, I have shared with those who are in the midst of their mourning these special blessings God gives us to cope with our sorrow and pain. They are Tears, Talk, Touch, Toil, Trust, and Thanksgiving. In my heartbreaks, my own words of comfort return to me as a benediction of grace. It was as if I heard an owl say, They are your own words, Philip. Listen to them.
Grief and Depression: The 6 T’s of Moving Through Grief Read More »
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
~ Mary Elizabeth Frye – 1932
Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep Read More »
Affirmations: Living Day by Day Read More »
