See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? —Isaiah 43:19a NIV Our God has done a “new thing” this year, and we are grateful. Yesterday … It seems like just yesterday we were starting this ministry, but it’s been almost a year. Because of many dear donors, we were able to afford the costs of becoming a nonprofit, setting up a website, forming a board, and beginning the work—calling women into a closer walk with the Lord Jesus, the One we serve. Today … God is using our wonderful, unified board to guide the ministry. Online Bible studies and weekly videos on Facebook encourage women to dive into God’s Word. Each week, up to 2,400 readers enjoy […] Read more »

There was also a prophet, Anna … She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them … she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem. —Luke 2:36-38 NIV Anna was a woman who never lost hope. Imagine life as a widow after only seven years of marriage. Hard at any time, but in an era when a woman couldn’t just go out and get a job, losing a husband meant poverty and hardship. Only seven years with her husband; only seven […] Read more »

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. —Proverbs 9:10 NIV Turkey (slang): one who is inept; a failure; a dud Dear friends, Let’s take some notes from Proverbs today so we don’t wind up being the “turkey” at Thanksgiving this year. God’s Word is full of advice on how to behave. So … as a holiday approaches and you are asked to be in close proximity with people you love and sometimes people who are a tad bit hard to love … take note. And have a great Thanksgiving! Don’t …   Take offense easily. “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11 NIV). Some people […] Read more »

In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy. Acts 14:16-17 (NIV) Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a tiny poem in a children’s book that I’ve never forgotten. As a little child, I read: “The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.” Now as an adult, I realize a flaw or two in that poem. For starters, I suspect kings are not nearly as happy as we think they ought to be. Always battling that pesky […] Read more »

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts. Acts 2:46 (ESV) His gnarled, arthritic hands struggle to hold the fork. It irritates him that the simple act of lifting fork to mouth, a task he has done well, without thought, for over nine decades is now a difficult one. In the time it takes us to eat an entire plateful, he has only managed four small bites. If we leave the table at this point, he gives up and eats no more. So, we stay. We slow down our own eating. We talk between bites about this and that, about life in all its beauty and idiosyncrasies. And, over the […] Read more »