“Is there someone who can wrap these flowers?” I asked the grocery-store clerk as I paid for my bouquet of bright pink carnations nestled in baby’s breath. “I’ll call someone to floral,” he said. As I waited, I lifted the flowers to my nose and smelled their spicy-sweet fragrance. Soon a young man, who told…
Evangelism
8 Minutes to Die
By now everyone in the civilized world knows what happened last week when the copilot of a German airline locked the pilot out of the cockpit and put the plane on a suicide dive into a mountain in the French Alps. The media and the authorities are seeking the “why” behind the story. Why would…
Grateful Assurance of Eternity with Jesus
“Always be prepared to give an answer . . . for the hope that you have” (I Peter 3:15 NIV). As I walked into the medical waiting area, I noticed an older woman standing off to the side gripping her walker. She seemed unsure of herself, so I approached her and asked, “Can I help…
12 Ideas for Observing the National Day of Prayer
I have participated in a variety of NDP events over the years. One prayer gathering in 1996 remains a particularly vivid memory. A few couples joined us in our Seattle home to pray for our nation, leaders, and families. As we finished praying, we felt God’s power in an unexpected way–through an earthquake. We were…
Why Should I Go to Church?
I heard a good quote the other day . . . “God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you.’” – Billy Graham This season is a good time to start a new chapter in your life. Make church part…
Love Is Patient and Kind–Even in Ice Storms
This has been one of the coldest winters in years. Storms have caught many by surprise but none like what happened in the southern states the last week in January. Though the weather handed out some of the worst conditions in history, the hearts of the people showed what true love is really about. That love was…
The Greatest Journey
“I did not realize there was more. The beautifully wrapped shoe box was enough. I never imagined the box was filled with things.” As a child in an Eastern European orphanage, this now articulate young woman had once received a shoe box wrapped in Christmas paper. Just the paper was enough for her. My eyes…
Share the Gospel: Use Words
“Share the Gospel daily. If necessary, use words.” Before my husband and I began our journey to serve as international missionaries, I clung to this phrase. I would justify to myself that I had indeed been obedient to the great commission because I had lived my life in such a way that others could see…
No More Beating around the Bush
“Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” [Matthew 7:20] I sit across from three young women, new to me and to the discipleship class. Not your usual class in the warmth of home or church building…this was the county jail. The love of God reaches out as each in turn tell their story…oh yes,…
Backyard Blessings
For one week last summer, our church did something radically different than anything we had ever done before. Rather than send our youth on a mission trip to another state or country, we joined together as a church body for an intensive week of serving locally in our own community. To kick off our…
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