Last week I wrote about journeying with The Good Shepherd and how all that we really need is what we already carry around with us...Jesus. I asked the question, "Am I really free to dare to pursue adventures with Christ…dangers and all?" And of course the answer is yes. I...we...are really free to dare to pursue Christ...and […]
Her eyes delighted in the blue egg and her little hands cupped it gingerly. I told her we should leave it where it was and she reluctantly complied. For two weeks she wondered why the mommy didn't come after it and how it fell out of its nest. Every day she ran around to the […]
Not too far from my house there is a patch of woods that runs along a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. It's in a place that is quite special to me. To get there you have to enter a cemetery. I grew up not far from this cemetery, so going there is like revisiting my […]
Do you have a dream? I hope you do. God has made you and molded you in your life circumstances for certain gifts, longings, desires and passions. Often times, these stir in our hearts and minds for years and months before we take real steps toward living them out. I've had a longing to write […]
"Those ice cakes may have traveled all the way from South Dakota," my dad said as he clicked away on his camera. The Missouri River runs through my town carrying ice cakes with it toward the gulf. My dad, the kids and I explored it. We watched the cakes quickly race by while the stagnant water […]
My last post on The Jesus Ripple Effect seemed to resonate with many of my readers. In it I pondered the radical life of simply following the Lord through turning away from sin and loving others. So I'm revisiting a post from over a year ago while I prepare to blog over the Christmas season. This […]
The leaves are looking more brown than red now days and most are on the ground. We had our first frost this week with a low of twenty-six . I do believe I feel the earth tilting farther away from the sun. But the glorious sunrise and some good news warms my heart this chilly November […]
"...but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14 "And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and […]
I love this picture. The dying stalks lifting up frail heads to seemingly worship. The sun casting its transforming rays through and beautifying them. Without the sun and with a different perspective, this picture would have turned out so much different. It was actually taken at a cemetery. The nearby tombstones were not caught but the light […]
"Lord the Light or Your Love is shining, In the midst of the darkness shining, Jesus light of the world shine upon us, Set us free by the truth You now bring us, Shine on me. Shine on me...." She danced without inhibitions. Eyes closed and arms out wide, she floated around the room where, […]
Advent Joy isn’t shallow or sentimental—it is rooted in the appearing of Christ. When Scripture speaks of Christ being manifested, it means that God has made Himself clearly seen, known, and encountered in order to save. “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation…” — Titus 2:11, ESV The Child in the manger is the […]
Where do you long for Christ’s Peace to enter your story this week? Or have you given up hope for that? Perhaps it would be good for you and me to remember Jesus' words about the kind of peace He gives. "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the […]