You Were Made for More
I’ve bumped into some familiar reasoning so many times lately that I decided to slow down and think it through. Just what do people really convey when they say, “That’s just the way I am” or “That’s just the way God made me”? Ever heard or said that? It seems those are just excuses for […]
Go Ahead – Make God’s Day!
After more than a year, the Ellis clan is together. Our little Benjamin is enjoying the benefits of being chosen, pursued, and redeemed. It will be a few years before he realizes the tremendous love that motivated his parents’ hard work and sacrifice. For now, he’s just enjoying mandarin oranges, toy trucks, and cartoons. Learning […]
Are You Overwhelmed?
If you saw the movie Facing the Giants, you might remember a scene near the end when Coach Grant finds out he’s going to be a father. He had just turned a potluck football team into state champions by teaching them to honor God in everything. He’d been given a brand new truck and a […]
Teach Us to Listen
Children’s brains fascinate me. They develop at such high speed their mouths can’t keep up. When a child tells a story it can take days for him to finish. He “sees” the story in his mind, but arranging his knowledge in a logical, understandable format is grueling. What comes out is “uh”, “and then”, and […]
Got Plans for Saturday?
If any of you have remained untouched by death, divorce, abuse, depression, or addiction I’d like to meet you. Being a Christian doesn’t insulate us from hurt, but it does offer strength and comfort to those willing to accept it. Sometimes even the smallest kernel of advice from someone who’s already been there can set […]
Getting Older? Read On!
Have you seen the t-shirts that proudly state “Old guys rule”? There’s a lot of truth in that. What older people lose in muscle mass, strength, and energy they have the chance to make up for in knowledge, experience, and wisdom. Many of our now-wise friends were once where they weren’t supposed to be, did […]
Mission Impossible?
What images do the words “Mission Impossible” bring to mind? Do you immediately start hearing the thumps of a theme song? Maybe you older ones remember Peter Graves as Mr. Phelps, while the younger crowd thinks of Tom Cruise. No doubt you remember a perfectly manicured hand striking a match and lighting a fuse that […]
Joy’s in the House
Every afternoon the hot and steamy or cold and frosty school bus, depending on the season, rolled through Green Valley transporting all of us elementary-aged, screaming meemies to our homes. Every day that big yellow shuttle screeched to a grinding halt on the busiest highway between Rainbow City and the not-so-big town of Lincoln to […]
Nervous? Who, me?
Tomorrow is the day I’ve looked forward to for a very long time. I’ll be speaking to the ladies at the GracePointe Church in Montgomery. This is the church family who helped raise me, but don’t hold that against them! I’m not usually nervous before I speak – excited, but not nervous. Tomorrow will be […]
How to Adopt
How long has it been since you became a Jesus-trusting-fully-surrendered-grace-accepting-Spirit-filled-washed-in-the-blood-believer? Were you young or old? Was it years ago or last week? Who was there to help you navigate the waters of new faith? Yesterday, I read my daughter’s new blog post explaining the bonding process that must begin in just a few weeks as […]
