When was the last time you read Judges 7? If it’s been a while, or if you’ve never heard this well-known story, here’s the quick version. Context In the book of Judges, the Israelites have settled into the Promised Land, Canaan, while also settling into a cycle of typical human behavior: disobedience to God, captivity […]
Do you like the rain? Most people I talk to prefer sunny days over rainy ones, in both weather and life, where we associate sunshine with warmth, life, happiness, and prosperity and connect rain with sorrow, gloom, pain, or hardship. Of course we value sunshine. Of course we dislike or even hate the rain–the discomfort, […]
Did you ever sing the children’s chorus “12 Men Went to Spy on Canaan”? “Twelve men went to spy in Canaan.Ten 🤚🤚 were bad 👎 and two 👆👆 were good 👍.What do you think they saw in Canaan?Ten 🤚🤚 were bad 👎 and two 👆👆 were good 👍.Some saw giants, tough and tall.Some saw grapes […]
We all know Ruth as the “face character” of the book that bears her name. After reading this book in my devotions, however–and watching the Sight and Sound production with Emily right after–I’d like to nominate Naomi as the “backbone character” of this story. It’s Naomi who starts the book, it’s Naomi who ends the […]
Here’s a testimony from two years ago that I wrote and shared with a few others at the time. I pray God can encourage you with the same truths He used to encourage me in my time of need. “𝘐 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺!” Sunday night after church. I sat on the kitchen floor, my […]
Do you ever wish you could do more? I know I do. Specifically in ministry — reaching out to people, helping in church, mentoring, teaching, cooking, giving rides, and the list goes on. I wish I could do everything for everyone, but I’m limited, and on my bad days I find I can barely do […]
I opened the messaging app for perhaps the fortieth time that day. All of my friends were busy, and I knew that, but I still felt lonely. Something about this felt familiar. I was transported back to my teen years, when many of my friends didn’t understand my chronic illness, and I often felt forgotten. […]
I recently read Genesis 18 in my devotions: Then [the Lord and His messengers] said to [Abraham], “Where is Sarah your wife?” So he said, “Here, in the tent.” And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” (Sarah was […]
The word kept appearing throughout the week: in my morning devotions, in my notes from Sunday School, in that little sermon reminder I’d sketched for myself at least a year ago, still lying on my desk. PERSPECTIVE In Hebrews 10:34, the writer commends his brothers for suffering the loss of their goods with joy. I […]
We’ve just read four beautiful, true love stories shared by women with chronic illness. While each post has included words of advice for those who are still single, Emily and I would like to conclude this series with some encouragement specifically for those of us who don’t have a Special Someone at the moment. (I […]
The Valley