“The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work.” —1 Corinthians 3:8 NLT Last weekend, my daughter was sick. She slept most of Saturday and woke up feeling guilty that nothing fun had been planned for her family. She scrolled through Facebook and came upon pictures of a friend and her family enjoying the beach—and my daughter’s sadness deepened. Just look at that family having the best time ever on the beach! And here she sat at home. Later, she happened to chat with the “beach” friend and told her how she envied her and her wonderful family outing. The friend quickly set her straight. Evidently, the outing had […] Read more »

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” —Deuteronomy 6:6-7 NKJV Sitting in the shade of the patio in the heat of the afternoon, plum in hand, my mind is transported way back into my earliest days. Plums do that for me every time. I grew up in a simple way of life. We lived on a farm out in the country, with cows in the pasture, wildflowers along the dirt roads, a hard-working dad, and an equally hard-working, stay-at-home mama. Though my dad had a […] Read more »

They [our fathers] disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it. —Hebrews 12:10-11 NIV The potted petunia plants set between the pillars on our front porch were sad. Not only had I failed to pinch off the wilting, dead flowers, but I had also forgotten to water them on more than one occasion. (Ahem. Don’t judge me.) Surprisingly, a few lovely flowers remained, only they were fastened to an underbelly of deadness. The stems were brittle and lifeless. Sadly, […] Read more »

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” —Matthew 6:1-3 NIV I am not the best at menial tasks. In fact, I avoid […] Read more »