“Rise during the night and cry out.  Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord.”  —Lamentations 2:19. Lamentations is a reflection of a deep grief and sadness over the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.  When the Babylonians break through the walls of Jerusalem after more than a 2 years siege against her.  When…

What if there is pain in your life?  When life and relationships don’t turn out as you had envisioned?  What is your response? Every Sunday morning at church, we have a little  time before service begins. So I began to take my kids to our church library in the mornings because it has an extensive…

“In my distress I cried out to the Lord, and He answered me and He set me free.”  —Psalm 118:5. Off-days.  Off-weeks.  Even an off-season in life when life doesn’t turn out as you had hoped. David didn’t have the convenience of having the Bible to study theology and try to understand how God worked.…

Dr. Seuss wrote a funky children’s book about dogs.  At the end of the book, there is a huge dog party on top of a tree, replete with cake and party accessories.  It’s one of our favorite books. This week, one of my children asked if we could have a dog party for one of…

“I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Your Word.”  —Psalm 119:101. This morning I came downstairs and went to get clothes from the dryer.  There were 2 paths to get there.  I started walking to the right only to see a small carry-on suitcase from our cruise last…

Ever since we were young, we were taught not to talk or interact with strangers. Nassau, Bahamas.  Atlantis Resort Hotel.  Every tower has its own pool.  Royal Tower’s Swimming pool with the majestic sun mosaics.  Last week. My kids were swimming and playing a game where they throw a ball that skids across the water.…

Monday morning.  I walked to the driveway to my minivan.  Only to discover the car keys were inside my car. Two weeks ago….on our way to the cruise boat.  I had forgotten I had put the keys inside the glove compartment so I wouldn’t have to bring the keys on our vacation.  Ugh.  No spare…

Ever seen a tree die?  It takes some time.  The outside may seem healthy, but the inside of the tree is losing its life. We had a palm tree in our front yard.  It’s exterior endured a major hurricane last year.  But one year later, I finally hired someone to remove it. Over the weekend,…

Yesterday started out quiet and peaceful.   The beach day was turning out to be a beautiful one.  We were walking back to the bridge that crossed over the sand dunes to go back to the condo.  Suddenly a large snake about 4 feet long slithered across the pathway as we approached the bridge. My…

“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow The Lord will do amazing things among you.” In Joshua 3, Israel’s new leader, Joshua, is preparing his people to cross the Jordan River and conquer Jericho. Joshua understood the most basic foundation of preparation for a spiritual battle.  Prayer and surrendering one’s heart, mind, and expectations entirely to God. Before…