She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them." (Luke 2:7 NLT) Christmases at my maternal grandparent's home in Vance, SC, were different, but just as...
"As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend." (Proverbs 27:17 NLT)An old African proverb says, "If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night with a mosquito."But I had.My maternal grandmother, Grandmammy, lived in an old...
"Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down." (Proverbs 12:25a AMP)Worry and anxiety are bedfellows that often show up together.Kelita sat in her car, gunning the engine but going nowhere. There was good reason. The gearshift was in neutral. She burned fuel and fogged up...
"Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?" (Psalm 73:13 NLT)I was a goody two-shoes, but for what?John Newbery published the story, “Goody Two-Shoes,” in London in 1765 and popularized the phrase. The story tells about an orphan...
"He has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us." (2 Corinthians 1:22 NLT)They lay alongside the roadside, waiting for a lawnmower to crush them or for some boy to pick...
John 2:3, 7 "They have no more wine…Jesus told the servants, Fill the jars with water." (NLT)It was a tough move, but he had no choice. The call came at work; unless you can come up with several hundred dollars, your son will go to jail. John had wandered from the...
“Are you going to heaven when you die?” I asked. “I hope so,” she replied. It wasn’t the answer I was looking for but it would have to do.My grandmother and I were taking an afternoon walk when I asked the question. I’m not sure what prompted me to ask-childhood...
