Deeply Rooted in Christ
When it was time for a son of our good friends to start kindergarten, I’m afraid he wasn’t really ready or very 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, 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”
I don’t much like her (I must confess). That virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. She’s the one who does all things well and never does wrong. I’m sure she coined the term busy as a bee, and made coffee breaks and take-out pizza tabu. Considered it sinful to sleep once the sun was up. Never gossiped or was unkind. And certainly never yelled at her kids!
Continue reading “I Do Not Like That Proverbs Woman”
John Wesley said, “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” He was referring to sin. And we see this played out in history repeatedly. But I’d like to look at it from a different angle.
Continue reading “Parents, Be Careful What You Allow”