

Donna Jackson
How Can Anxious Be a Good Word?
Learning a new language can be frustrating and quite time-consuming. I remember going on a mission trip to Guatemala many years ago and trying to communicate with only a few Spanish words in my vocabulary. The mistakes I made brought belly laughs to those who spoke the language fluently. However, it was the dentist on…
Justice for the Bad Guy
Sometimes I can’t help myself; I want the bad guy to get what he deserves. I watched an old TV police show a few days ago. The bad guy was a serial killer who had been methodically killing young women. After the authorities zeroed in on him, he was literally trapped between a rock and…
When God Takes Us Back to School
There’s an air of anticipation wrapped around a new school year. Elementary kids grin with excitement over new scissors, glue, markers, and folders stuffed inside new backpacks. Middle schoolers spend time searching out the latest logos on shirts and shoes. High school students look forward to being back with their friends and finding out who…
You Are Not the Only One
It’s easy to think our whole world has gone haywire and turned its back on God. On our weakest days, we think there is absolutely nothing we can do about the decline. And then … God, who knows our hearts, drops bits of encouragement in front of us to help us remember that we are…
Shifting Our Perspective
Our eleven-month old grandson Chapel, whom I affectionately refer to as Chappy, finally put his hands and knees in motion. The first time we held him, like all babies, he couldn’t do much. He can now successfully crawl from one chair to another and pull himself up. In no time at all, he will be…
Changing Our View of Marriage
Most who enter into marriage make the same kind of tenacious promise; leaving will never be an option. Yet, we’ve all been touched by or acquainted with those who finally succumbed to frustrations, temptations, or difficult circumstances and chose to to walk away. They gave in and gave up. Hopefully, we also know those who…
Nothing Left to Lose
Kris Kristofferson co-wrote it. Roger Miller first recorded it. Then versions by Gordon Lightfoot, Charlie Pride, Kenny Rogers, and numerous others were released. But, it was Janis Joplin who made it famous. Just as the counter-cultural, free-loving, drug-experimenting sixties was giving way to a new decade with troubles of its own, “Me and Bobby McGee”…
No Good Reason to Love
“I love you.” It’s such an easy thing to say. We utter the words with a hug as we leave a relative or friend’s house. We whisper them when we snuggle with our children at bedtime. We often hear it said with a smile at church gatherings. We slowly mouth the tender words to soft…
To Hell in a Handbasket?
For centuries, Christians have been portrayed as the bad guys. During Jesus’ day, religious leaders felt like He threatened their status, power, and influence. Jealousy reared high its ugly, and seemingly-triumphant, head until a bloody crown of thorns bowed low on the cross. In A.D. 64, the egomaniac Nero first blamed the burning of Rome…