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Photon torpedoes blast. Sirens blare. The crew of the Starship Enterprise prepares for an attack. As the alien force hammers away, the bridge shakes and shudders. Thank goodness for seatbelts. The first concern? Are the shields are still up and how much damage they have sustained? Vital information. Without them, the Enterprise and her crew…

“Fear is not an emotion. It is an entity.” –Jimmy Evans, pastor of Trinity Fellowship in Amarillo, TX, founder of Marriage Today It was a light bulb moment as I sat at our church’s women’s conference. Jimmy Evans backed up his statement with the following verse, “For God has not given us a spirit of…

“Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the…

“Even the sparrow has found a home; and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.” (Psalm 84:3 NIV) A mama robin has set up shop in our backyard. Her nest balances on a thin rail of our patio…

We’ll attend three weddings this summer. Three. Children of friends and friends of our children. I can’t wait. Jesus attended weddings too, and I found a lesson in one such scene. One in how to define obedience. At the wedding in Cana, Mom Mary nudges Jesus to take action when the wine runs out. You…

Mary and Judas. Very different these two, but you wouldn’t know how different until the crucifixion was at hand. That’s when it all spilled. “Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus…

At what target are you aiming? Being a better person? Controlling your temper? Reading your Bible more? Prayer? All worthy goals, but have you linked them to the most important goal of all? “Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with…

Yard work. Spring has sprung, and so have the weeds. My husband does most of the yard work, but one thing falls to me. The flower beds. I love to garden, but I hate weeds. Hate them. When I finally make it outside for my semi-annual weed pulling, two kinds of weeds stand out. The…

I’ve always considered myself someone unafraid to take risks. Like Peter. Walk on water with Jesus? Bring it. But today a friend caught me in more of a Moses moment. She confronted me with the fact I was putting God in a box, placing limits on the Almighty. And I know better. I’ve seen Him…

Note: In the Law of Moses, there is no sacrifice for defiant sin. None. Lots devoted to unintentional sin. But for defiant sin? No recourse. This Easter I find myself deep in the Pentateuch—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. (Your favorites, I know.) I’m taking Old Testament History 1, Genesis–Judges this semester. The journey from…