“‘It makes me wonder whether John’s words were changed to: though our hearts were locked for fear of (insert self struggle here), Jesus came and stood with us and said, “Peace be with you.”’
“Women in the Bible were generally an overlooked group unless they were mothers or wives. We don’t even hear Tabitha’s story very often except in sequential Bible readings. Stories like hers deserve more hearing to inspire both women and men to act as Jesus taught and Tabitha exemplified.”
“This woman – and God acting through her — reminded me to be grateful, and to continue to believe through all circumstances. Also like Job, it prompted me, again, to pray for enemies and bad people, for hurtful family or friends. Eventually my faith and hope – and living each day, one day at a time — were restored.”
“You have marked me as holy and beloved,
and have filled my cup to overflowing.”
“To brand the lambs – and to give them their vaccines and medicine – the ranch hands will pick a lamb up using both arms. The little guy will fight tooth and nail, wiggle and squirm, and there is nothing at all passive about him. All of the sheep in the pen will jump up and over each other to avoid the helping-hands of the ranchers.”
“This is what we learn at Christ’s table, and it carried us through our lives as it will carry you. We learn that life is fleeting, and that the only thing that matters is love. Love wins out over death every single time.”
“During the pandemic, a good friend was diagnosed with cancer. It reminded me of the shawls I’d knitted before, so I made her one. This one was an asymmetrical shawl, a kind I’d never tried before. Still, it suggested wrapping her in love and prayers, plus something a bit quirky, much like her bubbly personality.”
“He had no right to expect anything other than condemnation. He had denied his Savior three times to save his own neck, and he deserved nothing more than to be cast out.
Instead, he got breakfast. Breakfast, and forgiveness. There between the white-hot memory of two fires, and three denials.”
Recognition Resurrection plus ten: is the shock wearing off or setting in? That time when the child was lost three days, three hours, three minutes
“In the days and months ahead this is the image I want to hold close, and one I share with you: God’s people bound together not by anything we have done but by who we are as God’s beloved children. We are loved and basking in the light of the risen Christ, now and forever more. Amen.”