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

That's where I am at this week. I Am TWO! Absolutely anything will cause a complete breakdown, with a professional hired-mourner level of wailing. Usually it is caused by a sudden onslaught of fatigue, but anything will do, really. I don't actually need a reason. On Wednesday, it was fear of falling in the morning at work, and fatigue in the afternoon at the bank lobby. There I was, bent at the waist, hanging on the teller's desk for dear life and crying my heart out...

As I think about the Dagon passage in I Samuel, I notice that Dagon's head and hands were broken off. The ability to reason, and the ability to work. Yesterday at my jobsite, I had two important tasks. Critical tasks. I had to calculate some quantity of materials to order, and I had to finish building a catwalk over the water so my customer could get to his boat lift and play with his boat. These two things absolutely had to get done yesterday, and I was the only one who co

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...

After this preacher departed another was invited to take his place in our pulpit, We saw a man who came with a message, but then stood by quietly and just waited. God was moving, and there was weeping around the auditorium, as was often the case in revivals back through history. Broken people, weeping in God's presence. He preached eventually, and God used him. But I think the biggest work of God in the service was before he even spoke. In the waiting. I suck at waiting, but

Anyone else here (constantly?) thinking about food? No? Well yesterday morning, God showed me food; a half eaten chimichanga, specifically. Goop (sauce) was oozing out, and there were unidentifiable chunks on the plate. As I watched, I saw myself taking the fork to carefully eat every last bite. "God, what does this mean?" My thoughts wandered to my time in the hospital with Covid when I was ravenous from the steroids. I felt like the Marvel character Venom, prowling around

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 know that I am God." God used that bracelet years ago with me, when I was begging Him to do something in a certain area. He didn't answer. Finally, in frustration, I opened Instagram to a post by www.mintandlily.com and I was staring at this same cuff bracelet. God was telling me to Stop Striving, and to Trust Him. And here we are again

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.