For those of you who may not know, in June, 2020, my adult son, Joey, who has special needs, had a retina detachment. What should have been a routine surgical repair resulted in three additional surgeries and the loss of his vision. Many of you faithfully prayed for Joey – something I’m eternally grateful for. The result isn’t what I hoped, what I desperately prayed for. I’m sharing our experience over the last two years, hoping it blesses you. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers and love for our family. To God be the glory.  “God responds to prayer because when we lo ..read more

…”for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” –Jesus, Luke 19:10 For God so loved the world, He gave. Gave Himself, gave love. There is no condemnation in Christ. He who knew no sin, became sin. Became my sin. The sin I can’t undo. The sin I can’t make right. The sin I can’t erase. The sin that wages war with my soul. Kill, steal, destroy. When I confess, He is faithful. Faithful to forgive, faithful to forget. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed transgressions and remembers my sin no more. The Lord is compassionate and gracious. Slow to anger ..read more

“Mirages are things that aren’t really there that you can see very clearly….’How do you see something that isn’t there?’ ‘Sometimes it’s much simpler than seeing things that are’” –Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth Distant paradise. I see it so clearly…a hope, relationship, relocation…the thing that’s going to fulfill my inner longing. Hope and a future defined by me. I stretch and reach, attempting to grasp air. I want this not that. Reality smudges. Satan sends the snake. “Did God actually say….?”  Mangled mirage distorts, contorts God’s truth, His plan. The lie says it’s not enoug ..read more

He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced divination, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritualists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing His anger. 2 Kings 21:6 King Hezekiah is very sick. Isaiah, the prophet approaches, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.” King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord. “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in Your eyes.” He wept bitterly and the Lord heard him, saw his tears and granted him fifte ..read more

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” –Jesus, Matthew 23:37 Gather me close, under Your wings. I’ve stoned those sent to me with messages I refused to receive. Claimed my own understanding. Went my own way. Gather me close. You give weary souls rest. Take away my heavy. Carry me close to Your heart. When I ask, you give abundantly. Pressed down, shaken together, running over. Grace, love, life everlasting. The course of this ..read more

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that…” Martin Luther King Jr. It seemed innocent enough – people I knew, church people had the thing, the item I wanted. I justified. Even Jesus’ garment was of such good quality, solders drew lots to acquire it not knowing in doing so, they fulfilled prophesy. For me, it was a left or right moment cloaked in worldly desire. To purchase an expensive, unnecessary fashion item or align myself with the values of Christ. Inside, I knew it wasn’t the right thing but I purchased it anyway. I wanted it and could think of no logical reason why I ..read more

“It is only when our lives are emptied that we’re surprised by how truly full our lives were.” –Ann Voscamp Darkness surrounds, embraces, enfolds. Silently we slip through sea grape and sand. Moving without words, hunched over, an opening appears. Light and beauty make me gasp. Moon’s full orb lights water’s inky blackness, creates a mirror from wet sand. Waves softly lap shore. Without speaking, we sit absorbing the moment. Without thought, I give thanks and praise. In this moment, all is right with the world. Communion. It is here where I’m learning to live – in the simple, unexpected plac ..read more

Jesus said to the woman, “Because you believed, you are saved from your sins. Go in peace.” –Luke 7:50 It was an invitation of public statement. A Pharisee, respected religious leader, asked Jesus to eat with him so He went. It wasn’t really to honor Jesus. There was an agenda – the Bible doesn’t say but when I read the story, it becomes apparent the Pharisee wasn’t about knowing Jesus. He didn’t want to sit at the Master’s feet. He didn’t believe. Actions speak louder than words. You know a tree by it’s fruit. Then Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? W ..read more

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Matthew 23:37 The Lord’s hand is not shortened. He is not blind or deaf. He can reach me, see me, hear me. He is all things – provider, redeemer, healer. I separate myself. “I want, I think, I feel”. God excluded. I think my own thoughts, make my own decisions and wonder where God is. I pray then hang up the phone and move on with my day. Connection broken. Garden grief. He longs to gather ..read more

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6 Sun sinks low as sky turns purple then gold, slips into dusk. Field day ends and hunters weary head home, silhouetted by fading light. He stands taller than the rest – more than a fieldsman, he is the landowner’s son, an heir. Scent of stew fills the air. Esau’s stomach grumbles hunger – in that moment, it’s everything he wants. His brother, Jacob stirs the meaty masterpiece as Esau demands, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” Unmoved, Jacob answers, “Sell me your birthrigh ..read more