Sometimes, children are a symbol of God's grace and mercy... David and Bathsheba's first child together, conceived in adultery, died-- in spite of much fasting, praying and repentance. But then God did an incredibly beautiful thing as a gift for this couple. 2 Samuel 12:24-25 (MSG) tells us: "...they conceived a son. When he was born they named him Solomon. God had a special love for him, and sent word by Nathan the prophet that God wanted him named Jedidiah (God's Beloved.)"

Then God showed me a different bowl. This was soup. Hands were tearing open a foil packet and emptying the contents into the bowl, but all I could see was green leafy slimy stuff floating on top. It looked like seaweed, or more likely spinach. I love raw spinach salad. But cooked spinach? Disgusting! God, what does this mean? Then a Bible verse came to mind: "Though I give you the bread of adversity and water of affliction..." What?!? I googled it, and found it is in Isaiah

"These bodies all owe their amazing state of preservation to the chemical properties of the peat, which has leatherized the skin but left it otherwise intact, so that we can see every physical detail-- even smile lines around the eyes-- just as we could have in life. All the bodies were sacrificed, and all the faces are at peace. In other words, all went willingly, one might almost say happily, to their sacrificial deaths-- like Isaac, trusting to the last the goodness of th

As I woke up this morning, I listened to the rain, checked the radar, and groaned to myself. I had so very much to do today and I could already tell that it's not going to happen. As I contemplated the cascading financial repercussions, God reminded me of a vision he gave me two nights ago. He had showed me a bunch of cooking pots, vases, and mason jars. It was a random collection of containers, as though someone had raided a flea market... They were all full.

For Peter, his future was set. The important future-- his eternal one. Oh, the present future? That was just details. He was fulfilling his mission to tell everyone he met about Jesus, and tomorrow he would tell the king and his advisors too. Right before they killed him. Cool. Later that night, an angel came, opened the prison doors, and walked Peter out to his freedom... And yet, I think the bigger story is that Peter was sleeping soundly under guard on the eve of his exe

Recovery from Round 2 of Chemo has been an adventure. I was expecting to be sick as a dog (I wasn't) and to have to walk around in the...

"God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth..." Psalm...

I've been ruminating lately on blindness, darkness, and casseroles. Say What? Bear with me! The bible is full of examples of blindness,...

I am here at the hospital doing Round Two of four rounds of chemotherapy for Mantle Cell Lymphoma, and it is going well. I expect to be...

Tonight I am feeling a bit fragile. My last dose of strong steroids was Saturday, and I started crashing hard about lunchtime today....

A close friend sent me this picture of a map and compass, and it calls up so many memories. I have always loved maps, and I enjoy...

I got the call today. Mantle-Cell Lymphoma confirmed. I will have a chemotherapy port installed in my chest Tuesday morning, and will...

May I tell you what God did for me this week? On Monday, the oncologist required a second bone marrow biopsy. I did my first one under...

Who knows what a Stylite is? Anybody? (I'll bet John Wollwerth knows.) The Stylites took the asceticism to its logical conclusion,...

This morning God showed me some things for my own life right now, which may be true for some of you as well, so I thought I would share a...

So much is on my heart this week, and my mind is playing squirrel, jumping in different directions, but I wanted to get at least some of...

Anyone else here (constantly?) thinking about food? No? Well yesterday morning, God showed me Food. A half eaten chimichanga,...

Today has been interesting. I use a Cloud service called OneDrive. Today it showed me a bracelet that quoted Psalm 46:10-- "Be still, and...

When I was in second grade, I decided to run away from home. I packed my little backpack, and was sitting at the end of the driveway with my Labrador Retriever Bonnie. I was mentally going through my checklist of stuff to bring, when I made the horrifying realization that I'm had forgotten to pack dog food. Moreover, that big dog could eat! The whole backpack wasn't big enough to carry enough food for her. There was no way I could leave her behind, and I couldn't possibly br

When I was in the hospital and fighting for air, they taught me proning. If you lie flat on your stomach and bring your arms up, something about this position stretches your lungs out, and gives you maximum oxygen absorption. When I am in respiratory distress, if I stretch myself out this way, I start feeling better in minutes.