My youngest daughter and her husband were on vacation recently and returned with a kind of hilarious story. One night, in their very luxurious resort suite, my daughter said she had a feeling that something was in the room. She tried to ignore it but sensed that something was staring at her. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark shape move past the window. Ok, now she was getting afraid. Something was in the room for sure. (Just a little insert here: As I was listening to this story, I couldn't help but think something was about to be cast out in the name of Jesus. A pat on the back ..read more

I don't usually pay much attention to New Year, except to notice the calendar starts over and I have to train myself to write "2024" instead of "2023". My husband and I like to celebrate Rosh Hashana with our Jewish brothers and sisters, so for us, the New Year starts in the fall. One minister I once heard asked the Lord that if the calendar we use isn't a biblical calendar, then why does He (God) often give a word for the year in January? The Lord responded; "Because that's when people ask Me for one." He is so cute and witty. So calendar discrepancies aside, the Lord will give us a word for ..read more

This past summer I felt the Lord give me a directive.  He said, “I want you to start praying for me to send Jesus to get you.”  To the best of my ability, I try not to argue or question when the Lord says something (although I do make sure I am hearing Him and check it with the Word), but I thought for a second, “Aren’t I doing that?”  And then I answered myself:  No, I am talking about it, hoping for it, believing, and watching but I hadn’t been praying for the Father to send Jesus. Last year, one of my very good friends said, “Dawn, ever since I have known you (and i ..read more

On the Jewish holiday of Simcha Torah, in the early morning of Shabbat, Hamas initiated an unprovoked attack from Gaza into the surrounding areas of Israel. October 7th was to be a day of joy, a day when Jews celebrate the glorious Torah and the beginning of another year of daily readings from God’s word. This was a day when the Torah would be honored and even paraded in the streets, held high and accompanied with dancing and gladness. Instead, terrorists paraded hostages in the streets and what should have been a day of joy, turned to mourning. One of my friends asked me what they could pract ..read more

After decades of loving the Jewish people and supporting the Nation of Israel, I was blessed to complete my master's degree in Israel Studies last year at the University of Haifa. I had many adventures, met forever friends, and solidified my unconditional and forever love for Israel and the Jewish people. One of the friends I made is a remarkable woman named Ronit Bender. She captivated me with her statuesque beauty, easy-going smile, and very clear love for Jesus and people. We began our friendship at the congregation (church) I attended in Northern Israel. Discovering that we lived close, w ..read more

If you have ever had a close call that without intervention would have ended badly, you may appreciate this story. Years ago when our youngest daughter was about eight-years-old, we were on a family horseback ride in the mountains. She had a very beautiful and "bomb-proof" pony named Silver. He was white like his namesake and absolutely unshakable (hence the term "bomb-proof"). I once had him walk through a flapping tarp tunnel and he actually enjoyed it - he was a wonderful and well-trained pony but like all ponies he could sometimes have an attitude. As we began the last leg of our ride and ..read more

If you asked me a couple of years ago if I would consider myself a brave and fearless person, I would say I absolutely was as a child. No question about it. I was as fearless and courageous as ever a little girl could be. I could tell you story after story of my adventures (usually that involved a dear dog or horse as my sidekick). When I was little, I had a lovely downstairs room and when it was dark I would take my "ghost gun" and creep around the rec room pretending to shoot ghosts. I was not afraid of the dark at all. At four years old, my grandparents took me to the Salem Witch Museum (Ok ..read more

Recently the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn had many calling it the “Christmas Star”; probably because it is a semi-rare conjunction that is occurring around Christmastime. I was speaking with my Mom - who is an amazing woman of God with a childlike heart and very strong faith - and she was telling me how many were equating the conjunction on December 21st with the original birth of Jesus...but she was researching. This began a family dialogue and some research which produced some exciting ideas. If you have ever been to Bethlehem in Israel, you know it is a place that actually feels old. T ..read more

I really love stories and have a profound appreciation for storytellers - people who have the gift of narration. My Mom, Grammy, and Uncle Mark have this gift and the uncanny ability to do all the voices in stories. When I say "voices" I mean they can do the accents as good if not better than anyone on Audible. When I was a little girl, one of my favorite storybooks was about a trickster rabbit and his arch enemies a simple-minded bear and wily fox. My Mom and Grammy could do those long, Southern drawls so well there was almost no difference between their narration and the Disney record of the ..read more

The fall light fell perfectly on the busy Whitefish city avenue as my mother and I stepped briskly across the street, laughing together. Our destination was a coffee shop only a few feet from us and expectation over our soon-to-be-eaten-treat filled our minds. As we reached the front of the shop, the glaring white sign with the picture of the standard blue mask was plastered on the door: “No Entry Without A Proper Facial Covering.” We, much like the rest of the world, had become accustomed to seeing these signs, and merely took it as an option and not a demand. This was not due to any lack of ..read more