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God still moves. Sometimes He’s subtle. Sometimes He makes a statement. In Isaiah 36-37, God made a statement. The Assyrian army stood poised to take Jerusalem. Israel had fallen. Judah, under godly King Hezekiah, was next in line. Sennacherib’s field commander recommended surrender. After all, no one had survived Assyria’s onslaught. No god had withstood…

I had done my homework in researching breeds (I wanted something more protective than our aging Lab.), so I was only mildly concerned when our vet tech said, “From retrievers to a Belgian Mal? Brave girl!” That concern grew when my husband’s co-worker sent him pictures of Mals wreaking havoc in a million different ways.…

Memories. We do our best to capture the moment. Graduations. Weddings. Births. We collect programs, photos, and party favors. Momentos of milestones. Remembering is a good idea. God chose everything from feasts to memorials to help His kids remember. Remember what? His goodness. His faithfulness. His provision. Moses challenges us to remember, “Only be careful, and…

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV) Lavish. Extravagant. Where did we get the idea God is chintzy? Stingy? Withholding? Actually the idea came from the enemy (see Genesis 3), but that’s a different blog post.…

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” (2 Chronicles 20:12 NIV) We visited our son in San Diego recently and met some of the guys on his SEAL team. I was especially excited to meet their dog handler and his dog Max. (The SEALs use Belgian Malinois and we…

Alpha male. Dominator. Top dog. On social media. In the corporate race. At church. Being top in your field is admirable. No one argues with dedication to excellence, self-discipline, and a high level of mastery. Unless. Unless it comes with a heaping dose of arrogance. I brought my new puppy home last week. My sixty-pound…

A slight change in trajectory brings a major change down range. I’ve spent some time in Romans 1 lately and the last half of the chapter is sobering. You might know that section as the homosexuality passage, but that’s not its true focus. Romans 1:18-32 tracks what happens when a shift from true center occurs.…

Conflict. It’s essential in fiction. Sherlock needs Moriarty. Batman needs the Joker. Wesley needs Prince Humperdinck. Without conflict, our hero remains—ordinary. Gandalf still wears gray. Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy remain in England. Harry Potter grows up without that scar. Many question God regarding evil—why He permits it. Why did He create Satan when He…

Weeds I hate them. They’d taken over the backyard to such an extent I was ready to cement it. Patches of weeds sprouted between decorative stone and invasive Bermuda runners held the flowers captive. I abandoned yard work when I started on my master’s degree. Thankfully, my husband thrives on such projects while I’m holed…

Told you so. Words Peter never heard. Jesus had warned him. “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31 NIV) Talk about failure. Peter had blown it. Big time.…