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My Brother’s (Sister’s) Keeper

What does it mean to be my brother’s or sister’s keeper? The question takes me to Genesis 4. Cain had sinned. God encouraged him to repent. Instead, Cain vented his anger on his innocent brother Abel—and killed him.  God posed the question of Abel’s whereabouts to Cain who shrugged it off with another question, “Am…
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Choose Joy

“Be joyful always.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 NIV Joy. My intersections with this word tend to occur around December when Christmas carols move joy to the forefront. The rest of the year, my melancholy personality fights to find it. However, a recent writing project brought some joyful discoveries: Joy is commanded. “Be joyful always” is a command,…
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Walk with Me

My husband Russell and I plan to hike Half-Dome in Yosemite in the fall. We walk each weekend to prepare for the fourteen-mile hike. God calls us to walk with Him too. Stories spill from the pages of Scripture of those who did—and didn’t—walk with Him.  Here are a few tips for walking together: 1.…
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Playing Favorites, Missing Out

Favorites. We mesh with some people like puzzle pieces snapping into place. Seamless. Easy. Click.  Others jar us, grate our rough edges, and stretch our patience. Uncomfortable. Difficult. Scraaape.  The apostle James gives no quarter, “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism . . . If you really…
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Opposition: Pray—and Post a Guard

Big. Intimidating. Protective. Delivery men step back when they come to my door. I bought Valor because I’m home alone. A lot. At 5’5”, I’m defenseless against the average male. Valor gives me leverage. Jerusalem experienced defenseless too. Babylon destroyed the city. Though many Jews returned to their homeland, Jerusalem’s walls lay in ruins, leaving the…
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Do Something

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Corinthians 13:6-7 NIV The class should have come with a label: Hazardous to Your Health. Your spiritual health.  I needed two hours of World Missions credit for my master’s degree, so I jumped at…
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A Tale of Two Sisters: Part 3 Leah

If anyone’s story gives hope, it’s Leah’s.  Dominated by her father.  Unloved by her husband. Resented by her sister. Leah had been given a tough row to hoe. She continually hit the wall of Jacob’s rejection. Her heart bruised, we see Leah’s spiritual journey through her children. Their names walk us through her struggle: Leah…
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Recharging: Help, My Battery’s Dead

Pacing. Not my strength. I had filled my plate of commitments to overflowing this semester and I am spent. I’m the puppy that plays full tilt then collapses in a heap on the floor.  I need to recharge. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. Spiritually.  I wish I could recharge quickly. I ended the spring semester on Weds.…
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Farewell, My Friend

One of my dearest friends passed away last Tuesday after a battle with cancer. We made an unlikely pair, Becky and me. She was everything I’m not. Extroverted. Set a Martha Stewart dinner table. Laughed easily while glowing with a deep love for others. When I first met Becky Done, she struck me as kind…
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God Still Moves

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…
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