Deeply Rooted in Christ
Years ago, after our first two years in Italy, we went stateside for our first one-month furlough. Which, because we also had unpaid debts to settle, stretched into a year and a half. Mario got a job with a tree-trimming service, and things didn’t quite go according to plan… because of his life-threatening encounter with a chainsaw.
Continue reading “Peace That Passes All Understanding”
We’re getting older. No big news in that, is there? It’s happening to all of us. But I’ve noticed one interesting thing as I age. And that is that I feel more and more confident as time goes by.
Continue reading “In Thin Places”
When it was time for a son of some good friends to start kindergarten, I’m afraid he wasn’t really ready or too excited. Even though his parents had tried to do a good job, and we’d all worked at getting little Luke excited over his new adventure, to me he seemed somewhat indifferent over the big event.
Continue reading “I Have to Do It Again? (A Lesson in Diligence)”
They said we were crazy and we probably were. But we’ve got a tale to tell. It was May 1989 when we embarked on this mission venture. “It’ll never work, don’t do it!” they said, when we stepped out with no support or money. “Use common sense!”
Continue reading “How to Fully Surrender {Oswald Chambers}”
Olives and olive trees were important in Bible times and Scripture, providing food, ointment, illumination, and in the making of soap.
Our 30 years of serving here in Italy, have given me ample opportunity to observe the trees, talk to farmers, and study them in Scripture. And I have come to see more and more that the olive is an amazing tree.
Continue reading “Cultivate a Faith Deeply Rooted, like the Olive Tree”
We who are God’s children should be the most joyful of all people! Psalm 100 tells us to “serve the Lord with gladness.” And we are also told to rejoice always, giving thanks in all in things.
Continue reading “How to Rejoice Always”
The road often seems long and hard, doesn’t it? And not understanding why, we start to grumble and complain. (Come on, please tell me I’m not the only one!) We forget that life in Christ is a journey in which God calls us to keep going further up and further in with him.
Continue reading “Face the Long Hard Road With Joy and Integrity!”
It starts earlier and earlier every year, the hype and commercialism. Christmas stuff and Halloween gore side-by-side in stores. Ads, articles, commercials, and movies all conspiring, seemingly, to make us think we’re missing out on the perfect Christmas.
Continue reading “Bringing Christ Back into Christmas”
As this year draws toward its finish, I’d like to ask you a question. How has it treated you? It was a tough year worldwide with all the natural disasters, crime, and violence. And perhaps you, like many, faced personal difficulty like unemployment, the loss of a love one, or severe health issues.
Continue reading “Keep Running the Race: A Lesson from the Land Crab”