Scripture: Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.,” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43-43) NIV. For several years, I taught children’s church at the Friends Church in Bacliff, Texas. One of my favorite teaching tools was puppetry. I made four large […]
Read More →I recently found myself indignant over something a friend said and responded with angry words of my own. Even as I spoke, my spiritual contentment and peace evaporated. Then I turned to the Lord in my morning quiet time and asked what He would say to me. The gentle answer came as I felt impressed […]
Read More →Scripture: [Joseph reassuring his brothers] “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to his position so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 NIV). Victor Frankl, Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, wrote of some of the situations he endured: “When […]
Read More →Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them (Psalm 32:1-2). Have you ever been given a second chance when you knew you didn’t deserve it? I often relate my own undeserved forgiveness to the true story of Roy Reigels […]
Read More →Scripture: A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold (Proverbs 22:1 NIVUK). My name, Joanne, was given me by my father. He loved Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women and Little Men. The heroine became his ideal of what a girl should be, and he determined […]
Read More →Scripture: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others (Philippians 2:3-4 NIV). The quality I feel God wants me to work on this year is graciousness—kindness, courtesy, and compassion in all my […]
Read More →Scripture: And God said, “. . . I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth (Genesis 9:12-13). How often have we viewed a rainbow and thought fleetingly of God’s artistry? Yet it is so much more! Rather than just a pretty sight […]
Read More →Scripture: Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. (Psalm 32:1 NIV). I ‘ve always loved chocolate, but when I was a small child, we seldom could afford it. Somehow Mama got enough cocoa to bake my brother a birthday cake. It was the best thing I’d ever eaten! I begged for […]
Read More →Before the discovery of penicillin, scarlet fever and its complications claimed many children’s lives. I was eighteen months old when my brother brought it home from school. He recovered, but the disease settled in my throat and ear. A surgeon removed one abscess, but my temperature continued to climb. I would almost certainly die. Mama […]
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