Teeth, Fear and Faith

  • March 6, 2021
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My daughter, Neely, is full of life with big blue eyes and her daddy’s humor. She laughs hysterically at anything related to flatulence, stands firm on all rules given and dissects life’s moments. As she grins ear to ear, a baby tooth dangles like a grape on a vine. My husband’s shivering response to my personal excitement as a dental hygienist is “that’s creepy, when will she lose that tooth?” You could assume wiggling out my daughter’s baby teeth would...

Restore the Garden

  • February 20, 2021
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One of the things I hear from so many people is what is my purpose? Why did God put me here? I think we can find the answer when we look back at the story of creation. God created us in His image, to connect to each other and to him, and to care for his creation. We are all creators. And rightfully so because we are made in the image of our Creator. We are made in the image...

Story of a Friendship

Have you ever lost touch with a friend? Or, the question could be – How MANY friends have you lost touch with? Then facebook came into our lives and VOILA…friendships rekindled. What was lost has been found. A few years back one of those sweet friends came back into my life. We caught up through facebook and soon realized we were going to be in the same town and would be able to catch up in real life – face...

Love Like Jesus

Over the course of the pandemic, we watched and worshiped with several congregations over the United States.  On one particular Lord’s day, we worshiped with Kingwood here in town and Green Lawn in Lubbock, TX. Both Brother Jeff Brown and Brother Dale Mannon had the same message: LOVE LIKE JESUS.   That afternoon, Jody decided it was time to install a basketball goal in the barn.  The directions said it took four capable adults to lift it and secure it into...

What is in your book?

John 21:25 “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” Two dear friends of mine have recently lost their husbands. It is heartbreaking, hard and so sad for those left here on this earth. But, as Christians, we find hope in the lives that were lived while on earth…we find our healing in the “book...

For all the Sons

A couple of months ago, I wrote a blog to the daughters. It was widely shared and I have wanted to write one to all the sons in my life. The grandboys weren’t too keen on getting together for a ‘boy” picture, but when we dressed in Star Wars pajamas, WIN! To Ezra, Parker, Tucker and Jameson; to my one-and-only son Jarod, to my beloved sons-in-love Curtis and Clay, and all the amazing sons in my life that I have...

When you just aren’t the person for the job

  • January 9, 2021
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It’s a brand-new fresh year. A new beginning! And when have we all felt weneeded hope, dreams, and plans more than now? We’ve all learned to cope with plans falling through, events being canceled, loneliness, and unspeakable loss this year. At the turn of a fresh slate, we crave to hope against hope and step into this new year undaunted at what should come our way. Because the struggle has brought with it resilience. So we’ve sat down, poured our...

With JOY

  • December 7, 2020
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He knew that the culture and worship of pagan gods were not right.  It did not provide peace or joy.  It did not “reach” or stir up others for a zeal that could be stirred for a lifetime and beyond.   So, he took it upon himself to draw as near as he could to God.  He traveled a far distance and sat outside of the temple thinking that was as close as he could get.   He loaded up in his...

The Vine Project

I called it “The Vine Project.” It sounds like a cool, new program at church or a new group on Christian radio, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it was just me, traipsing through our woods in rubber rain boots with a pair of borrowed gardening shears, trying to free my trees from thorny vines that had grown around them. After six years of unintentional neglect, these vines weren’t going down without a fight. It started when my neighbor knocked on my door...

The Courage to Pour

  • November 2, 2020
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In 2 Kings 4: 1-7, we are told of a widow who comes to Elisha with a desperate situation. She had faced a health crisis resulting in the death of husband, and now faced an economic crisis which would send her sons into slavery. She was living her own version of 2020. For some, the story of the widow feels familiar. We have buried friends and family and we have prayed with families wondering how long the savings account can...