The clean slate and lift of a new year gives an added boost of courage to begin again–especially on lifestyle changes or embedded habits where the bitter taste of failure lingers. The brand new feeling of hope is on offer in 2026 with shining first, second, or third chances for successful life changes and achievements….
Tag: suffering
Language
Lofty thoughts, which become ideals and hopefully–actions like forgiveness, freedom, liberty, holiness, purity, redemption, atonement, justice, retribution, love, kindness, patience, or equality begin as seeds planted in the souls of mankind by the Spirit of God hovering upon the treasure of the universe. As we mature to grapple–chew and swallow these, they break through concrete barriers with rapid force and power like…
The Line is Drawn
On this day last year, we were in Scotland and our broken hearts cracked open to release tears and more tears, until they ran clear in healing streams. Those waters flowed freely and wildly to a holy, thin place between the wings of the cherubim. There we stretched out flat on our bellies and wailed,…
Table of Forgiveness
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” Psalm 23:5. This scripture sprang to living color this morning as I read, and a myriad of memories flashed across my mind. When Wayne and I lived in Israel, we made numerous trips to…
Open Every Door
We had a restful weekend with the kids at the lake house and now back in the city gearing up for a busy week and month. Mellow days make for loveliness amid the hustle of an ordinary week. I started to say a mundane week—but is anything ever really mundane—even trivial tasks repeated? The older…
haiku: inward bruises
inward bruises bleed bluer than red tearful eyes deep, raw suffering
Desert Purple
I used to be a very sad person. Prone to depression most of my teenage and young adult years, I actually tried to kill myself at age 24. This is something I am certainly not proud of, but I can boast in the redeeming power of God in my life that turned my “mourning into dancing,”…
Knowing God’s Goodness
A very dear friend of mine lost her 12-year-old son in a fire a few years ago. It was heartwrenching, and we all mourned and grieved with the family. About three months after her son’s death, we were in Rome, Italy, for a prayer initiative with a group of people. One morning, we circled up…
haiku: blurred light
in this place layers blur light, here honey tastes sour and bitter is sweet
Bonnie Saul Wilks 