"Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8 (NIV)I recently went for a back massage to help relieve some terrible pain that was caused by a muscle strain. As I lay on the table, the masseuse...
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. John 15:1My husband loves working in the yard. The rose bed on the side of the house is one of his projects. After several weeks of neglect, he went out this morning and found the bed in disarray.The bushes were out...
I gazed out my kitchen window as my husband, Mark, climbed up his ladder to begin cutting away the bare branches of our Chinese Persimmon tree in our backyard. Watching Mark wield his saw this way and that way, as each leafless, fruitless branch fell to the ground, I...
"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." - James 5:11Glenn Olds was born in Sherwood, Oregon, in 1921 and was a...
When I was a pastor, a sharp, fourteen-year-old young man who was well respected by his friends and leaders was in the youth group. He was a good student and an accomplished athlete. Zealous for the things of God, the young man served faithfully and volunteered for...
Brent walked past the familiar park where he’d often visit and sit in close proximity to five or six old men who had erected an old foldout card table to play chess. It had become an ever-increasing fascination to watch the old men play for hours on end. Although it...
I grew up with a good, moral background, and I even went to church, but I wasn't a Christian. In those days I really enjoyed beer, especially on a hot day after mowing the lawn. When I received Christ as a young man, I joined a church which preached total abstinence...