In Genesis 32 Jacob names the place where he wrestled with God for answers. Peniel means face of God. Today is one of those struggle days. I’m looking at some notes from Pastor Craig Cabaniss, in Frisco Texas, on Psalm 13, one of the Psalms of Lament. To lament is to experience deep grief and…

I flew somewhere and was under the clouds, as usual, then, suddenly, over the clouds. I thought of Jesus. The clouds below me looked like a fast-moving, giant storm. I took too many photos because it is a different view than our normal. I also wish they would stop putting me in a row where…

Nope – nada. Again, not a theologian. I spend time with children. I’ve seen newborns. We all sin and have a propensity to make ungodly choices. For some reason the phrase, Original Sin, makes me picture a tiny person who already has tiny horns. I have seen a two-ish person push down a one-ish person….

We were switching rooms because the air conditioning failed. Each classroom at Redemption Church had a chalkboard with handwritten prayer requests. The classroom, where the children in our car were napping, had a six feet tall by three feet wide board so I expect a teacher had transcribed some requests. As I quietly sat on…

I’m looking at piles of notes with no time to organize my thoughts. I was under the weather last week and flying out tomorrow. I’m amazed at the truth that something old can feel so new. That would be Ps 139:17-18 which reads, “How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God! How vast…

The account of Daniel in the lions’ den is chapter six in the book of his namesake. It tells of how Daniel is saved from lions by the God of Israel after being thrown into the den by order of the king. What a terrible punishment for not agreeing with a government leader’s edict. Daniel…

When it rains, the drops splash and make the water beneath beautiful. When you drop or skip a rock the still-water visibly responds. Something has happened. If you have traveled in a small boat you know to prepare for the passing of a larger vessel. You see the wake. That is how I want to…

You don’t really know what lurks in the mind of another. That is why serial killers go undiscovered for years. If we could read minds it would prevent many marriages that end in divorce. Being created in God’s image suggests that one cannot read God’s thoughts either. I worry about martyrs. What difference should it…

I’m thinking about salt and light. I ask the Lord to help me be that every day. I hardly salt my food but the doctor said, with such low blood pressure, I should eat pretzels. Interesting. I do like potato chips but they are empty calories. I don’t want to be empty calories but I…

There are so many happy things in life and some hard things too. We like to avoid the hard but I wonder if dying is the worst thing. Let’s go to God’s word with John 12:25-26 and John 3:16-17 and Jesus says, “He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life…