Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Treasured Up May 12, 2024 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ~ Luke 2:19 NIV ~ I remember opening my eyes early in the morning on this day over fifty years ago and realizing that I was a mother! I had delivered my first daughter in the wee hours of the morning and as was common back then they shuffled "baby" off to the nur ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR See Beyond the Smell May 10, 2023  ...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. ~ 1 Thess. 5:18 NKJV ~ "...in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thess. 5:18 NKJV) I was driving along with my son the other day when it happened. It went through th ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE NUGGET A Warning May 9, 2023 "On the following day, when they came from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He could find anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And He said to it, 'May no one ever eat fruit from you again.' And His disciples heard it. ... As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree wither ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Letters From Home May 8, 2023 Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land. ~ Proverbs 25:25 NIV ~ It was the 1970s, and my husband Lynn and I lived as far away from our hometown of Portland, Oregon, USA, as is possible. Portland's antipode (on the opposite side of the globe) is somewhere in the Indian Ocean, and the large island of Madagascar, whe ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Trusting the Unseen May 7, 2023 Don't be afraid...For there are more on our side than on theirs! ~ 1 Kings 6:16 NLT ~ Financial crunches sometimes reveal the unseen. Ours was a financial crunch such as we hadn't seen lately. The payment on our low-mileage used car was draining our bank account. We had a decision to make. As much as we hated to par ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Hoodoos From the Badlands? May 5, 2023 /…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…/ ~ Romans 3:23 NIV ~ Classic Illustrator Encountering the Canadian badlands is quite an experience. One moment you are driving on a completely flat prairie, able to see for miles around, and the next minute you are surrounded by sheer, bare, helli ...Continue Reading

Welcome ToTHE ILLUSTRATORThe TrailerMay 3, 2023Do not judge, or you too will be judged.~ Matthew 7:1 NIV ~   "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Pressing On May 1, 2023 /I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus./ ~ Phil. 3:14 NIV ~ "No turning back; no turning back!" I cheerfully sang these lyrics while tossing a pile of mementos into the wastebasket. I had extracted some old papers from my filing cabinet: a "Food Handler Certificate" granted ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR The Right Voice April 30, 2023 /My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me./ ~ John 10:27 NIV ~ There's a beautiful family of North American songbirds called the Wood Warblers. Every spring, when these colourful little birds return to their breeding grounds, the heavens are filled with their trills and whistles. There are over 50 species, and each has its ...Continue Reading

Welcome To THE ILLUSTRATOR Flowers, Anyone? April 28, 2023 /A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another…/ ~ John 13:34a NKJV ~ Enter any city in this world, and you are bound to find homeless people. It doesn't matter if it is a world center like New York or Paris or Dehli, or a tiny town like the one we live in: There are people who live in the streets. Some are old, some are young, ...Continue Reading