“Bunny” became one of my granddaughter’s first words and first security-blanket, stuffed-animal-companions, leaving her side momentarily with great heartbreak—only accidentally to fall behind the crib for a few seconds or to succumb to a thorough scrubbing in the washing machine. This brought on tears and angst. Another cuddly rabbit was added to her collection for…
Category: Culture
Stretching Forward into 2023
Our hearts are are so full and grateful as we reflect on 2022 and greatly anticipate 2023. God has been so good to us. We are so grateful for the privilege of serving our Savior at home and abroad. Looking to the future without fear is only possible with the saving grace of God and…
Today I Ate Hair
Subconsciously seeking a distraction, I mindlessly flipped through the photos on my Instagram feed. I had been mulling over the day and especially a curious happening at an outdoor mall. Wayne and I had gone out to do a little Christmas shopping and walked in separate directions, agreeing to meet again later. The day was…
Part 2 The Long Mynd
“I sometimes wonder if all pleasures are not substitutes for joy.” CS Lewis On our second evening in Norbury at The Crown B & B, we heard about a Eucharist service that evening at the St Michael’s and All Angels’ church. Just a short walk from the pub, we grew eager to attend the liturgy…
The Right to Speak
Sometimes you must engage in a dozen or more casual conversations before you earn the right to speak into someone’s life. It is worth it! There is a proper order for leaders as well as lay people to offer a significant hand in bringing healing to the hurting and making disciples. There is so much…
Healing
The river of disappointment and sorrow—the one that catches in your throat and you swallow back, the one that stings your eyes hot with betraying tears—if you release that pain to stream freely, it will push out, out to empty itself into the vast deep of the salty ocean brine that scrubs clean the wound….
1000 Generations!
My maternal grandmother and mother have been the caretakers of an old Bible that belonged to my great grandparents, William and Grace Coston. It’s huge and heavy—almost too big and cumbersome to read from my lap. The tattered leather cover is bound by an old brass clasp, and it’s pages are yellowed and fragile. Both…
DAYSPRING
DAYSPRING, noun: The dawn; the beginning of the day, or first appearance of light. Webster’s 1828 I’m a huge fan of morning! My husband is too. Usually you marry the opposite; but in this case, we are alike—up early and sitting in the dark waiting for the dawn. I might add usually with joy! This is…
The Common and the Holy
I love the almost holy tranquility of this old photo. This morning while preparing my thoughts for a teaching on understanding the purpose and place of Sabbath rest as Gentiles tonight at Queen City Church in Cincinnati, I meditated on the differences between the common and holy things of life. Sabbath is the first thing…
Summer Garden
I can stand for hours in the midst of a summer garden—awash in silence— save a symphony of lilting birdsong, babbling brook, and the rustling of wind through weeping willows, the wild lilac, and dripping wisteria. I can wait there—longer than the darkness and sorrow of night—longer than the brassy banging of a mad world….
Bonnie Saul Wilks 