Honest Anger
Read: Matthew 27:45-50 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (v. 46) Dementia is one of the cruelest diseases. When someone experiences dementia’s progression, loved ones helplessly watch memory, function, and personality slip away. On […]
Regret
Read: Philippians 3:12-16 . . . forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. (v. 13) Throughout the course of our lives, we tend to accumulate a considerable list of regrets. The end of life often brings them up again, even when we thought we had dealt with them. One man I served […]
Caring for Afghan Refugees
In August of last year, the Albanian government agreed to take in thousands of refugees from Afghanistan, locating many of them indefinitely inside a compound near Words of Hope’s offices. The ministry team in Albania applied immediately with the government and was screened in order to become one of the first groups on the ground […]
Grace Unearned
Read: Luke 15:11-32 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (v. 20) Have you ever done something that made you feel ashamed in front of your parents? Maybe something from childhood, […]
Walk and Pray
I am not the first one to say it, but walking is good for your body and your mind. People throughout history have recognized that moving your body helps you to take in information, process emotions, and lower stress. The philosopher Aristotle used to walk and teach so much that his school was called peripatetic, […]
Clinging to God
Read: Psalm 63:1-11 For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. (vv. 7-8) It’s no secret that kids can be clingy. We’ve all seen it during Sunday coffee hour or some other social gathering. You walk […]
Complete Dependance
Read: Mark 10:13-16 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it. (v. 15) When my baby sees something she wants that’s out of reach—a rice husk, her bottle, anything shiny—she crawls over, points with both index fingers and begins a refrain of “dah dah […]
Crying Out at Night
Read: Romans 8:12-17 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” (v. 15) It was four o’clock in the morning the first time my daughter said my name. Her first tooth was coming in […]
A Room of Our Own
Read: John 14:1-7 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? (v. 2) Our new house had more rooms than we needed at first, but shortly after we moved in, I learned that I was pregnant. “The corner […]