Doesn't it always seem like we are never prepared for the unexpected trials and tests? I should just expect surprises in my life, and you would think I would learn that lesson. For some reason, I just don't look for the unwanted surprises.
A few weeks ago, after two good days in Bowling Green with some lovely ministers’ wives, it was time to head home. Storm warnings had me leaving earlier than expected. Those Bowling Green-ers watch the weather like crazy. And for good reason.
The past two weeks have been quite interesting for the Johnson family. Our daughter had a scheduled back surgery on May 20th. We knew it was going to be a difficult surgery due to the recovery process and the stipulations required during the recovery.
Summer for many means enjoying Vacation Bible School (VBS), a concentrated time of Bible study, activities, music, crafts, recreation, refreshments, and fun for children and students usually held during a week of “summer vacation.”
Merriam Webster defines paradox as “something (such as a situation) that is made up of two opposite things and that seems impossible but is actually true or possible.” In other words, it is something that does not make common sense. It’s something that cannot be and yet is.
When David stepped out in the Valley of Elah that day, he wasn’t afraid.
I have the sweet privilege of going to local elementary schools as the Tooth Fairy. I have a white curly wig, pink cat-eye glasses, a pink skirt, a pink sequinned top, pink sequinned shoes, and a white sequinned cape. I also have a white sequined tooth-shaped purse.
Recently, my son had a scare with his heart. All is good now, but it was a scary few days. It caused me to start thinking about my heart.
Recently, my aunt, who resides in an assisted living facility, celebrated her 92nd birthday. My mom wanted to call her sister, but she no longer has a cell phone. We decided to call the nurse’s station and request someone bring a phone to her so Mom could wish her happy birthday.
Doctors Bryson and Taylor (Building Sermons to Meet People’s Needs) said, “What you think about the Bible will not change what the Bible is. However, what you think about the Bible will determine the person you become.” They went on to claim, “The Bible has been uniquely inspired, marvelously preserved, and thoroughly proven.”
Jesus is coming to my house today. That sounds like Zacchaeus. His story is in Luke 19. A wee little man, he climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus. Jesus reached the spot and yelled, maybe He just whispered, “Zacchaeus, you come down, for I’m going to your house today.”
Several weeks ago, Wayne took our only grandson, Camden, who is 9, to a movie he had been anxiously waiting to see. It was a "guy" movie, so only the two of them went.
On March 16, a storm passed over our town and it knocked out electrical power at our house for ten hours. This was much longer than usual and long enough to prove very inconvenient to us. It also demonstrated just how dependent we have become on modern conveniences and luxuries. My wife said we had become spoiled, and she was right.
When Jesus died, it would have been more than mere mortals could wrap their minds around. Men and women from all walks of life had heard Him. They believed Him and in Him. They felt His love, saw it in action. He changed their lives, and they followed Him. In John 8:12, He told them, “I am the light of the world.” They soaked up that light.
I was watching a popular singing show the other night. One of the girls was singing a Christian song, and the host asked her what drew her to this song. She answered that it was the first line of the song, which says, "You're shattered like you have never been before, the life you knew in a thousand pieces on the floor."
Kelly* just got her license and was so excited. I asked who had been teaching her to drive. Both of her parents, she replied. Then I asked which was the better driver, her mother or her father. (It’s not a terrible question. The truth’s the truth. And, of course, I wasn’t going to tell them.)
We just returned from a "bucket list" trip with our very dear friends to Morocco. It was totally amazing! The countryside, landscape, and scenery were some of the prettiest I have ever seen.
Our dog Dixie was rescued last year and she knows it. It was at the end of summer and to be quite honest she was on the brink of death, close to dying.
As a newer retiree, I’ve checked a few things off my “wish list” of retirement adventures. Taking my wife to Alaska last year, making it to Spring training this year, trying to read more books. I still want to make a trip out West and especially visit the Grand Canyon. I understand it’s a place that takes your breath away.
One smell of hyacinth moves me. For eons, just a whiff of the beautiful spring flowers brought an immediate smile to my face and stirred my heart with something almost like yearning.
When my mother-in-law in Alabama moved to a nursing home here in eastern Kentucky, we had to go through her stuff. Her two sons, two stepdaughters, plus some other family members, had to decide what went where. We found she was a collector of many things.
According to Dr. W. Oscar Thompson (Concentric Circles of Concern), Matthew 28:19-20 seems to emphasize the word, “Go,” but that is not the way to translate it in Greek. The emphasis should be on, “make disciples.” Dr. Thompson suggests that this passage should correctly be translated, “As you are going, make disciples of all the nations…”
Makayla came out of the cell first. With purpose. Last Sunday morning at 7 a.m., female inmates at the county jail milled into the multi-purpose room for Bible study. It was coffee day, so they made a line for freshly brewed coffee with flavored creamer. There were also Little Debbie cakes.
Today is my last day of full-time work because I am retiring. It feels so foreign to even type that sentence. I am excited and anticipating retirement, but also a little scared and uneasy.
“Once saved, always saved.” This statement is a basic tenet of Southern Baptist faith. It is true and well supported by Scripture. But it is also one of the most controversial of all our traditions.