According to the calendar, the Spring season arrived a few weeks ago here in the Midwest. Alas, the weather in our location does not acknowledge what the calendar proclaims. The robins made their joyful appearance with song and a flurry of activity on March 1st. We are now about to close out the month of April in a little over a week. Sadly, our little feathered friends have lived a bewildered existence here in this area for almost two months now. They have found themselves trying to nest amid several snowfalls thus far. We have seen rain, wind, and even hail during some of the severe thunderstorms that we have had intermittently for the past several weeks. Our daffodils and tulips have bravely bloomed into bright yellows, reds, purples, and pinks despite the hard cold ground that binds ... View Post
BREATHE
Today...breathe and let it be well with your soul. God is still in control. Breathe. Somebody needs this reminder today. I know I do. There’s a lot of stuff that is a part of our lives right now. A lot! Some stuff is within our control. Some stuff is not. Let’s not waste our focus and energy on the things beyond our “fixing.” Will you join me right now and just breathe? A big deep wonderful life-giving breath. Our Heavenly Father is more than capable and is always in control. Let it be well with your soul. Breathe. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT PS: Do you need a little prayer sent to heaven today? ... View Post
The Crib Is Empty
"Lord, please don't let me miss it. Show me something new and even more beautiful about your Son's birth this year." Right after Thanksgiving, I whispered that simple prayer to my Father regarding the upcoming holiday season. I wanted to be more focused on the fullness of the Christmas season. I wanted to see it in a fresh new light. I wanted to go deeper into the Word and glean things I had missed before even after the countless times I had read the story of my Savior's birth. My Father has answered that prayer over and over again the past few weeks in December. What richness he has shown me. I wrote about some of those things. If you missed the stories, you can go back and read 'A Gift for Jesus' and 'When God Chooses a Donkey.' Last week, on Christmas Eve morning, I once again ... View Post
When God Chooses A Donkey
Ok, let's be honest for a moment here and talk about the difficult "W" word. WAITING! Who besides me has at least one impatient gene in their DNA? Waiting is probably one of the hardest things for most people. I admit I am not a fan of waiting for something to happen. We have become an instant gratification society and have become accustomed to having our needs met and at our disposal with the click of a button. The first few chapters of Luke are filled with so many gems of truth regarding the leading up to and the birth of Christ. Today I want to look at part of Luke 2 to see what nugget we might glean about the waiting process. Luke chapter 2 opens up to tell us that Caeser Augustus had issued a census decree over the entire Roman world of that time mandating that people ... View Post
A GIFT FOR JESUS
I think most of you would agree with this statement: Christmas is a special time and children can be delightfully honest. So what happens when you blend those factors together? You will likely end up with a combination that is both humorous as well as inspiring. Christmas and children just seem to go hand in hand. It is hard to separate the two during this wonderful season. That thought was the catalyst for a Christmas blog post idea I had which I am about to share with you. This year I asked a number of moms, dads, and grandparents, to pose this question to their children ages three years to 12 years of age. "If you could give Baby Jesus one gift this Christmas, what would you give him and why?' Their answers did not disappoint and brought me much joy as I read each one. I ... View Post
Waiting on your harvest
This year proved to be very difficult for the Illinois farmers due to extremes in the weather. The spring brought record rainfalls which resulted in major flooding throughout the Chicago suburbs and most of the midwestern states in general. As a result, the farmers were forced to plant their field corn later than usual. The rains continued through much of the summer. Eventually, the fall season made its appearance and the cornfields begin to show a hopeful harvest as the stalks began to dry out and turn brown. But alas, the weather still had another unforeseen trick in the waiting. Winter made a surprise arrival on October 30th with below normal temperatures and the first snowfall of the season. Remnant frostbitten pumpkins sat in snow-covered fields. What began as a beautiful display of ... View Post
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