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…
The Bars of Winter
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” Jeremiah 29:11 NAS. Whatever delays, disappointments, setbacks, or heartaches from your past that are chaffing your soul raw will not hold back the overwhelming blessings, prosperity, favor, and…
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…
Summing up 2024
And preparing for 2025! Poetical Christmas thoughts as I discern the times and transition into a new season. The Needless Loss I hear the whys within the questions And wait. I see the darkness within the night And grieve. I see the tears within the weeping And groan. I hear the cries within the screams…
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…
The Right to be Understood
Still your rage and quiet your anger. Although the right to justice pumps in the veins of all humankind, the question remains when the Lord returns, will He find justice on the earth? For this He bled. Vengeance wholly belongs to a God that cares and measures proportionally and in perfect time. At the end, we will…
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 …
Every Sparkle Shouts
It’s easy to look at the condition of the world and despair or grow cynical about the message of the birth of Jesus: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:14. At Bible Study Fellowship, we have been studying the book of Revelation. We just finished chapters 4…
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…
Go into all the world…
At age 14, Elizabeth Elliot of the missionary-famed book, “Through Gates of Splendor,” spoke at my church. She told the heart-wrenching and brutal story of her husband’s death, along with 4 other missionaries, at the hands of the Acau Indians in South America. She stayed on, along with her young daughter, after their deaths to…
Bonnie Saul Wilks 