Into The Desert
After the Israelites miraculously crossed the Red Sea, they were led into the desert. How strange that God would lead them from a place of revelation and power to a place of disappointment and dire need!
Not Fair
When I was coaching high school freshman girls basketball in the fall of 2005, I was surprised at how many times I heard, “That’s not fair!”
My People
A little girl was being punished for bad behavior, and her parents were making her eat dinner by herself in the corner of the room. They paid no attention to her until they heard her pray part of Psalm 23: “I thank You, Lord, for preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
Realistic Expectations
One of the things I’ve learned as I’ve grown older is not to expect too much from people. It’s possible to pour a good deal of energy and love into a friend or family member and see no growth or receive no gratitude for our efforts. It’s even possible that others may receive credit for the work we’ve done.
Ain't It Awful!
A friend told me about a man who shouted the same three words each day from his street-corner newsstand. "Ain't it awful!" he would say to passersby while extending a newspaper. People bought a paper because they just had to know what terrible thing had occurred.
Facing My Fears
After Bill and I married, I became overly dependent on him, rather than depending on God for my security and strength. Feeling very inadequate and fearful, secretly I worried, "What if one day I don't have Bill anymore?"
The Beacon
When a helicopter crashed in a cold, mountainous wilderness, the pilots survived but were seriously injured. The frozen afternoon stretched toward an even more freezing night. The situation seemed hopeless—until a rescue helicopter appeared, its searchlights illuminating the darkness. It spotted the wreckage, landed nearby, and carried them off to safety.
A Fresh Start
They stand in the cold by the thousands in Times Square, New York City. What draws them to that place? There's no sporting event or rock concert. There's just a huge lighted ball that drops down a pole on top of a building. It takes only a few seconds, and it hardly seems worth fighting traffic and subway crunch to see—except that it happens on New Year's Eve.
