When you are living in the shadow, you may feel unseen, but that place of the hidden may be the best place to be, so let’s make the most of it. One of my favorite plants lives in the shadows. It can live in full sunlight but does best and […]
Spiritual Growth
Every Saint Has a Past. Every Sinner Has a Future. So what choices of forgiven acceptance are you making in the moment of the now? The source of the phrase “Every Saint Has a Past Every Sinner Has a Future” comes from Oscar Wilde’s play A Woman of No Importance. […]
God, I need a miracle, but perhaps I need something more, and that is what God offers me and you. Something of depth and hope. There are times in life when there is a cry from the heart for a miracle. It’s that diagnosis, the loss of a job, a […]
Every one of us needs someone to help us with our stress load, but the best person is someone who has been there, done that, got the scars to prove it —Jesus of the scars. Take the stress away. Essentially, that’s what many of you and I pray for. We […]
As a gardener, I work in all kinds of weather. Rain, sun, and wind—both light and strong. In the extremes, I find myself tempted to complain: * The furnace of summer heat can quickly become too much to bear. * The torrents of winter rain can stop me completely in […]
It can be so easy to lose hope. But when we ask, ‘How is it with your soul?’ an opportunity opens to journey to know wellness. ‘How are you?’ they asked. My response was polite, and I said that I was okay. They repeated the question. They wanted to know […]
We want a behavior change, but it doesn’t seem to happen. However, it will happen with many changes in the mind (repentance). We always notice significant behavior change, don’t we? Yet, people who change dramatically are often given the stage and a microphone to trumpet the difference. I remember as […]
To demand or expect forgiveness is like a chess player trying to manipulate the board, but that’s not true repentance. Instead, repentance submits itself to the poetry of waiting, praying, and hoping. They thought they could use the Bible to manipulate and control. Verses were hurled, and they were told, […]
We don’t want to be like a barren fig tree, but something has to change. Therefore, we submit to the wisdom of a master gardener. As a gardener, I often go to people’s gardens, and they ask me why a particular fruit tree is not producing fruit. I look over […]
We want to change, but willpower alone is never enough. It runs out. We need to have a stronger power – a heart power that strengthens our thinking. I was going to change. I was determined. No more of those old habits and going down those old stupid ways. Now […]