Called to Reconcile

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18 I’ve heard that the two hardest words in the English language are “I’m sorry.” They’re easy enough words to pronounce but they are often hard to speak. But, when spoken sincerely they really do carry a lot of weight. We tend to be what is referred to in some translations of the Bible as a stiff-necked people. We don’t much like…

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Celebrate Today!

Fear not, earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things. Joel 2:21I love this picture because of the cycle of life that it shows. There are the blackened trees that were burned in a forest fire. There is the vibrancy of the fall foliage that will soon be carpeting the ground below. In the midst of this death and near death, there is the life of the evergreen trees.When life seems really hard, as it does in these days, we can…

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Do You See What I See?

The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both. Proverbs 20:12Those of us who wear glasses know that the world looks very different depending on whether or not we have our glasses on. And they have to be OUR glasses. We can’t really see the world well through someone else’s prescription glasses.Several years ago someone I know dropped their glasses into the water while out boating about a week before they were to have eye surgery. Being a practical…

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Stop and Sit a Spell

I have noticed lately that I am very tired. Life is stressful these days. There are an awful lot of important things happening. I find myself wondering what I am missing. What am I not doing enough of? What should I be doing to help those who need help? Do I really understand? I want to understand. I want to help. I want to do enough.

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That Stinking Thinking

"I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers."   Philemon 1:4 While normally a fairly upbeat person, I could probably be accused of suffering from “Stinking Thinking” recently. Stress? Perhaps. Or it could just be the fact that it’s May. May is filled with landmine anniversaries for me and is often an emotional month. This year a book called “The Gratitude Diaries” by Janice Kaplan was included in a monthly box of goodies that I treat myself to. In…

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All Abuzz!

The world feels like it’s filled with scary things right now. (Now, not only is there a virus to be extra concerned about but there’s something called “Murder Hornets” that have been found in the Pacific Northwest!)This morning I spent some time with camera in hand watching the honeybees visit the dandelions around me. (Yes, I need to mow, but I like to think of it as helping the honeybees!)As I watched them go from flower to flower gathering nectar to take back…

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Who Do You Trust

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the…

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Life in the Rearview Mirror

How much time do we spend looking in the rearview mirror of our lives, convinced that the sunny days behind us were the best ever? When the world around us is dark and stormy we look back wistfully at how things ‘used to be’. Remember when church on Sunday morning was just the thing to do? Remember when the stores were closed on Sundays and life was simpler? Remember when we could just leave the house and go wherever we wanted and greet…

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