The man who had been freed from the demons begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him home, saying, “No, go back to your family, and tell them everything God has done for you.” So he went all through the town proclaiming the great things Jesus had done for him. —Luke 8:38-39 NLT It seemed like a really good request. This man had been literally out of his mind for years, living in a cemetery, cutting himself, and being totally ruined by demons inside him. And now, he has been healed! He’s clothed for the first time in years. He can think clearly again. I can’t imagine the freedom and relief and amazement he must have felt after all those years of mental anguish and isolation. This […] Read more »

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. —Psalm 147:3 (NKJV) As Ralph and I approach the sharp curve on our walk down our country road, we pass a hundred-year-old, weather-beaten maple tree that bears a noticeable scar, telling the story of a vehicle that did not make the curve. Thankfully, the driver fared far better than his car. With all its scars, that tree still stands strong and displays an awe-inspiring burst of color each fall. When our bodies sustain a wound, they go through the essential process of producing collagen, a substance that stretches over the wound to bind and mend it. Scars aren’t necessarily bad; they are the outward sign of the body’s inward work, doing what it’s supposed to do. […] Read more »

He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law [scribe] who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.” —Matthew 13:52 NIV Perhaps you, too, have some old treasures from a grown son’s childhood in the form of stuffed animals (I have several). For me, very special memories are embedded in the musty fur of a squishy groundhog named Granville. Donned in red long-johns and denim overalls, he rests in a plastic bin alongside Pluto, Donald Duck, and Winnie the Pooh, waiting for another child to treasure him. Come to think of it, Granville was a gift from my mother to our son, Sean, […] Read more »

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. —Psalm 56:8 NLT In May, when I suffered total hearing loss in my left ear—with already poor hearing in my right ear—tears flowed as I grappled with a disorienting “new normal.” That first week, everything was muffled except for the loud humming in my head. It was all so off-kilter and distressful. I cried. A lot. Tears slipped from my eyes off and on every day—and I let them. I wrote a little note to our email followers about my tears at the end of that week, and I was surprised that some thought tears were not good. Some worried I’d […] Read more »