Category: Devotional

My friend, Anne, has the reputation of being an excellent story teller. She tells her stories at the museum where she volunteers and at various group meetings. She is also on the schedule to give the children's sermons several times a … Read more

I was sitting beneath a tree one hot day, when a big, old porcupine plodded past. He carried an extra burden: a load of old leaves impaled on his spiky back. For a moment, I felt sorry for him. But here was the culprit that had chewed on … Read more

At regular intervals, I have a telephone conversation with my lifelong friend in the Netherlands. Our loyalty to each other has been solid since our high school years. Even my move to another part of the world had no bearing on it. … Read more

Nutricia — that's one name that I'll never forget! It was given to a baby girl. Her mother got it from a label on a tin can. She liked the name, so called her daughter by that name. Nutricia was a brand name for milk supplements. In … Read more

When I read this verse, it hits me hard, because, as I look back on my life, during so little of it was I aware of the need to keep in step with the Spirit. When I look back at my training in the deaconess school, or even in seminary, I … Read more

Recently, I hosted a party for two friends whose birthdays fell in the same week. Although I had hoped for sunny weather so that we would be able to enjoy sitting out on the back patio, it rained that day, and we were kept indoors. What we … Read more

Some time ago, I was asked to visit a lady in the hospital. She had just survived a serious operation, she was in extreme pain, and she was worried about her husband who was at home alone and not coping well. She wanted to tell me about … Read more

One of my goats developed the ailment called pink eye. This necessitated putting drops into her eye to clear it up. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong! Every medicinal episode developed into a dreaded wrestling match. Even when she was tied … Read more

How could it be that I had read this verse yesterday — glossed over it, really — and today, the same verse spoke to me poignantly? Today, my prayers were those of the destitute: the tired, the downtrodden, and the humble. How could it … Read more

During a Bible study class, I learned that some of the older women had asked for and received a verse from God for their wedding, a verse that sustained them through the ups and downs of married life. I had thought that the "Love is…" … Read more