This morning while picking up the house and getting ready for the day, it occurred to me with stunning, non-negotiable truth that this November I am turning 75! I did not wince at this serendipitous reminder. Pastor Olen Griffing, a very wise man, mentor, and friend told me once that it is only in your…
Category: Faith
Firsts
My grandson, Emmett, wiggled and wiggled as I tried to put on his pajamas. His silly mood made us both giggle and fall on the bed with laughter. Then suddenly, Emmett grew quiet and still for a moment, and his eyes gleamed and grew as big as planets. “Marmee, we saw Christmas lights tonight!” “Yes, we…
Incandescent Grief
For me, Christmas light shines brighter each year; and it is so important to every aspect of my life as I move on from this annualized celebration and illumination into the cold and sometimes dark realities of a new year, 2025. I am simply pausing for light—to soak in it, see it in reality and…
Kneeling
I’ve spent a lifetime bandaging my feet, partly from ill-fitting shoes, traveling too many miles in a day, losing my way, making a wrong turn, or carrying too many burdens. Also, there are the roads I’ve traveled long just to gaze upon ancient stones, a rusted filigree, or become dizzy with the scent of an …
Transformation
Transformation Is there any gold in the world more valuable than this— other than the golden moment when the red, red rose bled into the desert wasteland, transforming it into a green green garden? Bonnie Saul Wilks Even the wilderness and desert will be glad in those days. The wasteland will rejoice and blossom with spring…
The Zeal of the Lord
Here we are a number of years ago in Odessa, Ukraine, the birth place of the Messianic Jewish Bible Institute. “For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this,” (Isaiah 37:32). The above scripture was part of my…
The Frayed Hem
Earth’s latitude and longitude run as high as humankind’s intelligence and as long and wide as our strength and life span. Here we live caged. We run the circled courses of these by the second—up and down and around—our machinations are profound. We are curing cancer and changing sexes, flying beyond the moon and putting steak sauce…
Scottish Revival 1923
You can’t visit Scotland and not drink from the deep spiritual wells there, dug by stalwart Scottish Christians proclaiming salvation with changed lives. Right where I am standing here in Portsoy on the Banffshire coast, in front of the Shore Inn, a revival broke out in 1923. Here is an excerpt from, “Floods upon Dry…
Ineffable
Remember when we watched—mesmerized by majestic deer on the distant highlands, feeding at noon? And our friends exclaimed, “How intriguing for this time of day!” The ground shook; and the sun, moon, and stars broke to pause and peer for a lifetime of five seconds. It was the cry of the seagulls and arcs of…
Weeping Skies
While in Scotland, I wept the sound of rain in unison with the heavens’ downpour upon an ancient land. The first drops sparkled as they mingled with soil and salt and sand. Their song is eternal—a melody of old, known to fishermen and warriors, whose deepest joy is bound to Him. The world grows black,…
Bonnie Saul Wilks 