The Name Above All Names

Recently members of our church distributed school supplies at a back-to-school event in an underprivileged community. To our church’s credit, we had more volunteers than we needed to man the tables, so I decided to be on the lookout for families as they arrived or for people carrying empty backpacks. Then I would lead families to the tables where they would (more…)

Woman’s Best Friend

A friend loves at all times.—Proverbs 17:17

It was Labor Day weekend 2006, a month and a half after the death of our 12-year-old Springer spaniel Duncan, as we traveled from a friend’s wedding in Jacksonville, Fla., to a Wendy’s parking lot in South Carolina to meet our rescue puppy.

Called Floyd at the time, he had been rescued the night before he (more…)

Praying for Strangers

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.—James 5:16

If you don’t like awkward encounters, maybe you shouldn’t hang out with me because I’m the queen of awkward. And I hope that’s a good thing.

I’m that person who will ask a stranger how I can pray for her, and then, with her permission, I pray for her on the spot. (more…)

God’s Indescribable Gift

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! – 2 Corinthians 9:15

It had been a hard year, and I found myself sharing my heart with a trusted friend. “I don’t think we’re going to be able to do much for Christmas this year,” I said sadly.

“You mean Christmas presents or Christmas itself? Because Christmas isn’t about presents,” she replied. Her reply (more…)

Handle with Prayer

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. – 2 Timothy 2:15

It had been a long day of work and a long evening of serving extended family members. As my husband and I finished our last errand to help a loved one, we (more…)