The Bright Side

Have you ever been so grateful for someone that you can't find enough words in our language to express it? I've often thought with tears about the things I would say to my mother now. Things I never made the effort to say. The more I reminisce, the more I'm reminded of her goodness - and the more I regret not telling her so. Nehemiah had been Cupbearer to the Persian King Artaxerxes, and now had been Governor of Judah for twelve years. Overwhelmed with gratitude to God for bringing His people back from captivity, he poured his heart out in prayer.  God allowed them to rebuild their beloved city of Jerusalem, which had been utterly destroyed by the Babylonians seventy years prior. In an amazing 52 days, they had completely rebuilt the city wall. Nehemiah gathered all of the people and for three hours they read about the sins of their fathers and for three more hours, confessed that they had partaken of similar deeds "crying with a loud voice to the Lord their God" ...

Visiting my friend's home is always a refreshing treat. Especially when it comes to her backyard. The best description is an oasis of gorgeous flowers enjoying their specially selected locations under the mature trees throughout the entire perimeter. She and her husband have put in countless hours of back-breaking cultivation, and it shows. They have been rewarded with tranquility encountered by simply stepping out their back door. The furthest right hand corner of the property displays an amazing vegetable garden with more varieties of lettuce imaginable. Working the ground has become a therapeutic fix for my dear friend and they regularly reap its harvest. A couple of weeks ago, we sat side by side, enjoying the birds and musing over their beautiful songs. As we talked, she pointed at the grapevine and said sadly, "No grapes this year. Nothing! And I've done everything possible, catering to their every need - from just the right amounts of water, sunlight and food. It...

Most of us are probably familiar with the infamous story of God's miraculous intervention of freeing Israel from the tyranny of Egypt. Moses appeared before the Pharaoh of Egypt on multiple occasions, demanding each time that he let the Jewish slaves go. We know about Pharaoh's stubborn refusals followed by God's judgements. Fast forward to the mass exodus through the Red Sea. God's promise wasn't just to free the slaves from their bondage, but to lead them into the "Land of Milk and Honey", an area that God had intended to give to them where they could dwell forever under His protection and provision. A select few (twelve, to be exact - one representative from each tribe) went in to scout out the land and bring back a report. Ten of them returned shaking in their sandals saying, "no way can we take over that land - the inhabitants are giants and we are like grasshoppers in their eyes!" But the other two, Joshua and Caleb, trusted in God's pr...

Miriam took the role of big sister seriously, knowing that her little brother's life was in grave danger. It was only a matter of time that he would be killed by Pharaoh's edict demanding that every son born to the Hebrews must be drowned in the Nile.  Her mother Jochebed pleaded with God to protect her son after she could no longer hide him. Relying on her unwavering trust in Him, she cried out, "El Roi, You are the God who sees. Watch over him, I pray. Let no harm come to this precious child." Tears streamed down Miriam's cheeks as her mother placed the three month old infant into a papyrus basket and sent it drifting down the river. Her older brother Aaron quietly put his arm around her and pulled her close.  "Follow it, Miriam," her mother urged. The basket-cradle rocked gently until it arrived before the daughter of Pharaoh. Peering through the reeds, Miriam was filled with relief to see the beautiful young woman pull the tiny Hebrew baby out of the...

 A few months ago, I offered to help out my daughter in law, who was quite busy with my newborn grandson and two year old granddaughter. She smiled with appreciation, grabbed a remote control and said, "Okay, I'll send Dobby home". I stood there perplexed, wondering who is "Dobby" - and why is she sending him home? After explaining that was what they called their robot vacuum (cleverly adopted from the "house elf" of Harry Potter), I realized how out of touch I had become with technology. Turns out, there is a handy "home" button on the remote control. I watched in amazement as that busy little thing zoomed obediently back to it's charging station. The Bible tells us that this world is not our home. We are just sojourners, serving as God's Ambassadors in order to represent Him to a dying world which is in desperate need of His love. As the old hymn says, "this world is not my home, I'm a just a-pass'n through, my treasure...

Any advertisement making the claim "built to last" captures our attention. Why? Because it seems that hardly anything these days truly is. Almost anything we purchase appears to be make to break, in fact. Recently, I purchased a new washer and dryer. The man who removed my existing one sadly shook his head saying, "these machines used to last forever." As if the sticker shock wasn't enough, the possibility of products being deliberately manufactured not to last, using cheap materials and poor craftsmanship is sobering. Looking in the mirror at my aging body is a grim reminder of the process over time. Yet we are told that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, skillfully woven together in the womb. (Psalm 139). Surely our Creator didn't make us to degrade. Actually we were built to last ! Death wasn't introduced into the world until sin, as the "wages for sin". (Romans 6:23). But the good news is that our souls were made for eternity. God provi...

I have a friend who loves maps. She loves to unfold them, hold them in her hands, and study them... just because. Maybe you can relate. I can't. Even though I once worked as a cartographer, hand-inking topographic maps in the late '80's, it was nothing more to me than very detailed line work that sent me home every evening cross-eyed with pounding headaches. Even so, if I become desperately confused (in an airport, for instance), I will occasionally swallow my pride, find a directional display, and locate the "you are here" big red X . I can usually navigate from there. Some people don't need maps. They have an internal compass and would never ever wander aimlessly in a grocery store parking lot searching for their car. In the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we read about the first disorientation. Immediately after disobeying God, Adam and Eve recognized their nakedness and for the first time, felt shame. They then did what any of us would do. They hid thems...