JOY Magazine

3 min read

Do you find it strange that we are so quick to accept and acknowledge the label or identity that the world wants to bind us to? Bondage, hurt, or lies that we so often see as our portion? Yet we find it so hard to understand the divine process of how

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. 2 PETER 3:18 (ESV) YOUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH continues until you enter into eternity. Regardless of your chronologica

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

MY HUSBAND AND I STOLE away for a weekend at the coast. Along the way, we stopped at a picnic area above the Columbia River. Below was an island, a teardrop of forested land, punctuated with meadows and small structures. I was intrigued. On a whim, w

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” MARK 4:39 (NIV) SOMEONE SAID THAT doubt is not the opposite of faith, it is in fact a part of every faith journey. When God’s plan is greater than you can grasp and doubt storms

JOY Magazine

1 min read

This year will always be remembered as the year of coronavirus, and our modus operandi as travelling missionaries has changed drastically. On the day of Pentecost, instead of being in Malawi on a mission, I delivered an online sermon from the banks o

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 NIV IT’S BEEN SAID that no one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. Is there a ch

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. PHILIPPIANS 3:13 (NIV) IN THE ABOVE Bible passage, the Apostle Paul gives wonderful guidance on overcoming life’s problems. Even in times of tremendous pain, you are never alone. There is

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

AFTER MANY YEARS OF WORKING odd hours in chaotic Neonatal Intensive Care Units in four different states, I’m following the apostle Paul’s recommendation. Retired and living deep in the woods, I again have chickens, keep bees, and garden. I have even

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” MARK 12:30-31 (NIV) JESUS’ INST

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

THE BIBLE IS FULL OF prominent old folks God recruited for vital kingdom missions. Abraham and Noah, Elizabeth, mother of John, and assorted mature apostles. God is definitely not ageist. One of the things I most enjoy about living in the Sunshine St

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I LOVE WATCHING TV. MANY of my favorite shows had servants, especially those shows from back in the day. Among them were the ever-present Lurch from The Addams Family, sassy Florence from The Jeffersons, and the quick-witted Alice from The Brady Bunc

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV) I RECENTLY BOUGHT A SMALL gift book for my son Jack, who is getting ready to leave for college in a couple months. It is called Lette

JOY Magazine

1 min read

In the book of Ecclesiastes it says that there is a time and a season for everything under the heavens. It is amazing how change in seasons can affect people differently. As children of God, we need to learn to not only go through our seasons, but to

JOY Magazine

1 min read

When materialism dominates our thinking, our motive for work is what will make the most money in this life. Yet when the Gospel is applied to our work, it profoundly alters our motivation. In Colossians 3 the apostle Paul presents a totally different

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

LAST NIGHT, MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, who lives in Nashville, organized a family game night over the internet. My older daughter in New York and her boyfriend joined in, and my husband and I participated from our couch in Minnesota. At one point, my youn

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

MY FRIEND ORDERED A BUNCH of ceramic mugs that said, “God of All Comfort,” and gave me one as a gift. I’ve used it for years, thinking of her whenever I drink my tea from that cup. But after years of use, most of the words have worn off. All that rem

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written. JOHN 21:25 (NLT) LIFE IS ABUNDANTLY blessed with God’s many miracles. This verse helps us to remember that

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” JOHN 11:25–26 (NIV) THEOLOGIAN FREDERICK BUECHNER wrote,

JOY Magazine

2 min read

The divide between parents and their children grows more evident every day. Parents feel today’s youth are independent and are doing their own thing. Young people believe that their parents are trying to control them, and they are not free to lead th

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. PHILIPPIANS 4:11 (NIV) ARE YOU LOOKING for more order in your life? The beautiful thing about a strong faith is that it helps you tap into divin

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

LAST WINTER I DECIDED TO attempt transcription and captioning work from home. The work was more challenging than I imagined. I would select a project, and the audio would be faint and crackly. The various people speaking would be difficult to identif

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

MY HUSBAND’S LATEST FISHING TRIP took him to a small lake with few private properties and great bass fishing. It also boasts a stunning log-and-stone house that captures his attention almost as much as the fish tugging on his line. I’ve heard him tal

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I LOVE TO MAKE “KITCHEN Sink” soup. It’s made from whatever veggies I find in the refrigerator and some chicken broth. Two things are true about it: it’s always delicious, and it never comes out the same. My world as a believer is like that pot of so

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

I COULD SPEND HOURS RESEARCHING information about a topic that stirs my curiosity. If I had no other responsibilities in life, I’d easily become a full-time information junkie. In college I was fascinated with Kennedy’s Camelot years during the 1960s

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say. Luke 12:11–12 (NIV) I USED TO HAVE A terrib

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

MY SON IS IN SEMINARY, and I love discussing theological issues or difficult biblical chapters with him. The last time we visited, we chatted at the supper table about various denominational differences and the Scriptural basis for their views. Later

JOY Magazine

1 min read

I recently had a vision of myriads of angels that were assigned to our nation, waiting for Christians to give voice according to God’s Word. We have the responsibility to pray in line with His Word and the angels will heed and act according to His Wo

60 Days of Prayer

1 min read

He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). MARK 7:34 NIV WHEN JESUS HEALED the deaf man, he yelled out, “Be opened!” When you are open to trusting God, you are receptive to His guidance, help an

Mornings with Jesus

1 min read

THE JEWISH PEOPLE OF JESUS’S day who lived under the tyranny of Rome longed for when real peace—true cessation of enemy control—would come. And that’s what they thought when they heard Isaiah’s prophecy of a soon arriving Prince of Peace. Naturally w