Random thoughts that refuse to be labeled
If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me . . . Jesus knew the cost of self-denial. He knew what it meant to embrace suffering and torture, to endure torment and ridicule. All undeserved. And still, He walked the Via Dolorosa to Calvary’s peak and … [Read more…]
The holidays have long since passed. Thanksgiving and Christmas skipped into the New Year without a glitch. And here I am, still pursuing Advent. While I read and thoroughly enjoyed Susie Larson’s Advent devotional Prepare Him Room and just yesterday returned Ann Voskamp’s The Greatest Gift to the local library, emails of Christ’s coming still sit unopened in my … [Read more…]
The other night, I had a couple of friends over for dinner and conversation. It had been a busy day, and I hurriedly threw together a simple meal of Cajun rice and breadsticks. One of the gals showed up with a quart of strawberries and store-bought cookies. As I rinsed the strawberries, the other friend … [Read more…]
Among the many things I am grateful for, the DELETE button on my keyboard ranks in the top ten. This tiny black and white button has kept my foot from inserting itself in my mouth on numerous occasions. In truth, said appendage leaps there often enough with my verbal speech without getting a boost as … [Read more…]
My husband enjoys telling the story of a time he embarrassed his mother. Not one to be easily flustered, she was used to her son’s theatrics. But even this stalwart woman was not prepared when her seventeen-year-old boy threw himself on the department store floor and thrashed about demanding a toy army helmet. It must … [Read more…]
Homeschooling affords some unique opportunities. While copying off a neighbor is not an option when you are in a class of one, the teacher key is readily handy — as a young pupil discovered one day while her instructor was at the grocery store. When the teacher sat down that evening to check her daughter’s … [Read more…]
Recently, I watched a video clip of a young boy asking his mother who her favorite child was. It was clear he was attempting to cajole her into choosing him. Not to be outdone by her son’s persuasion, she responded with a bit of coaxing herself. The condensed takeaway was that any of her children … [Read more…]
Later Jesus and His disciples were at home having supper with a collection of disreputable guests. Unlikely as it seems, more than a few of them had become followers. Such read the sentences of The Message’s paraphrase of Mark 2:15. Here sits Jesus, surrounded by disreputable characters, seemingly having a good time with the local riffraff. Over … [Read more…]