Not An Umbrella


Jesus is not an umbrella. He does not always shield us from the rain. He stands with us in it always, though, and He feels every pelting raindrop. He cares deeply, loves strongly, and is always good.

It is enough to know that His purposes are always perfectly right, and He never leaves or forsakes us. Instead, He holds us close and calls us beloved.

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11: 28-29

“He (God) never works in an arbitrary way. He has a reason for everything He does. You may not understand why He leads you now in this way and now in that, but you may, nay, you must believe that perfection is stamped on His every act.” 

(Elizabeth Prentiss)

Calm in the Chaos


She stood there, perfectly calm in the midst of swirling chaos. Hands were reaching out for her and many children were right in her face, but she exuded patience. Harper is a trained therapy dog, and she was visiting kids at an elementary school. She is excellent at her job and brings a lot of smiles to both children and adults. 

I learned that before “retiring” and becoming a therapy dog, Harper was a bomb sniffing police dog. I imagine she’s quite used to high stress situations. How about you? We can be calm in the midst of chaos, too. One of my mom’s favorite verses was:

“You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”  (Isaiah 26:3) 

Where are you placing your trust? God is completely trustworthy and a sure refuge in the midst of any chaos.

“To know that nothing happens in God’s world apart from God’s will may frighten the godless, but it stabilizes the saints.”  J.I. Packer

These two have brought a lot of smiles to our family.

The Life of a Snowman


It was too good to resist. The snow was perfect for snowman building, so I began rolling a big ball for the base. Before I finished my husband joined in and found a hat for him. A day later he was gone.

What a reminder. Death may come quickly, slowly, expected yet unexpected, painfully, peacefully, but it does come, even to snowmen. When Jonathon Edwards was 19 years old, he wrote:

“Resolved: To think much on all occasions of my own dying and of the common circumstances which attend death.”

“Resolved: That I will live as I shall wish I had done when I come to die.”

That may seem strange to us. As a culture we seem to avoid thinking of dying, but I think that is a mistake. I encourage you to think on it, not in a morbid way, but in the way of being prepared.

“And just as it is appointed for people to die once — and after this, judgment — so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28) 


This is good news! We don’t need to fear death because we can trust in Jesus for salvation. He invites us to eternal life with Him, starting now. I’m waiting for him. Are you?

“The gospel is the victorious announcement that God saves sinners.” – Burt Parsons

Here today…
Gone tomorrow.
While we wait, we have a lot of fun!

3 Lessons from 3 Ladies


She missed the ball again. Vanessa was rather bad at it, to be honest. Then again, she had never played before. She was smiling and laughing even when she messed up. It was her first time playing volleyball. She loved trying new things, and I appreciated her lack of self-consciousness. She taught me to go ahead, step in, and try. You don’t have to be great at something to enjoy it.

Lisa had a saying she shared with many. “Do it scared.” If someone talked with her about feeling hesitant to step into a new role, she’d encourage them to “Do it scared”. She taught me that a bit of fear doesn’t have to hold one back. Jump in and press on.

Sarah (not me, obviously) also has a saying. “I’ll feel awkward about this later.” She taught me to do what needs to be done and say what needs to be said even if it makes me feel awkward. This helps me to think of the need and take action.

What lessons have you learned from those around you? What lessons are you teaching others? 

“The one who walks with the wise will become wise…” (Proverbs 13:20a)

“The ultimate purpose of our human relationships is to glorify God. God will use even our most challenging relationships for our good and His glory as He conforms us to the image of Christ.”  – Marissa Henley

A chance to “ride” a longhorn doesn’t come along every day!
Mike: always making life fun and always teaching me things!

30 Days of Thanks


It comes very easily to me, unfortunately. I’m talking about the tendency to complain. How about you? I am trying to consider what my whining about something will add to the conversation. Nothing helpful is the obvious answer. If something is bothering me, I want to change it rather than complain about it. My aim is to develop a habit of thankfulness.

There are so many things to be grateful for! You are invited to join me in this endeavor by writing down one thing you are thankful for each day in November.

“Grumbling slowly hardens our hearts, and worship slowly aligns our hearts with God and his promises. Hard hearts lead to judgement and unrest, but worship leads us to joy and eternal rest.”  – Rebecca Faires

Happy (early) Thanksgiving, and thank you for reading this!

“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his faithful love endures forever.” (Psalm 118:29)

Apple Slices and Hope

My dog, Kaylee, was looking up with hope that I’d share an apple slice with her. We were taking a short break on a long hike. I want to share with you 3 reasons I have hope. 

  1. Jesus lives.
  2. Jesus saves.
  3. Jesus reigns.

Pastor Drew Belden shared these inspiring truths in a message on 4/27/2025 at my church. https://www.bethanypca.org This is real, and it makes all the difference in one’s life for eternity, but also for the here and now. God created us intentionally and invites us to be in relationship with Him. I invite and encourage you to look into this for yourself. 

By the way, Kaylee did get an apple slice. Actually, she and my other dog, Zoey, enjoyed several before we continued on that beautiful trail.  

“The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” 

(Romans 3:22-24)

Hope in Jesus does not disappoint.

Kaylee and Zoey happily continuing on the trail.

A Starless Tree

We plugged it in. Nothing. So we bought a new lightbulb for it. Nothing. The star on top of our Christmas tree finally quit, after many decades. Thankfully, it won’t stop Christmas. The light of Christ that is Christmas never stops and never changes. 

Our tree is still starless, though we do plan on picking up a new star. Meanwhile, may we all focus on the Light of the world that never goes out. Jesus came that we may each have hope, peace, joy, and life eternal in Him. That gift gives us a very bright Christmas! I hope that each of you chooses to receive it.

Our Christmas candle – a tradition my mom started to remind us that Jesus is the Light of the world.

Jesus clothed Himself in human flesh

To clothe us in His righteousness.

If we will but just yield to Him

He will save us from our sin.

“Well then, here is joy upon joy. Here is not only the Lord come among us as man, but made man in order to save man from that which separated him from God.”

– Charles H. Spurgeon

“And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent His Son as the world’s Savior.” (1 John 4:14)

Merry Christmas!

Joy to the world and to YOU!

Cookies and Forgiveness

I ate the cookie. It was both pretty and delicious. I took a bite then saw the expression on my granddaughter’s face go from happy to upset like the flicking of a light switch. Adina had carefully decorated it and probably wanted to save it. I can give excuses like being extra tired, but that is just a dumb excuse. The truth is that I didn’t stop to think about it before popping it into my mouth.

This is before the cookie eating incident.

I’m pretty sure I’ve been forgiven now, and I consoled myself with thinking that resiliency is a good trait to cultivate. My sweet husband, Mike, assured me that it’s something we’ll laugh about. Isn’t it funny how such a little thing can cause you to stop and ponder bigger things. I’m so grateful for forgiveness. 

Another memory being made.

Thankfully, God does not allow my faults to affect His love for me. When I mess up, realize it, and repent, He always forgives. “He forgives us, and He loves us just as much after we sin as He does beforehand.” (Charles Spurgeon)

This Christmas season, I hope you know the good news that Jesus came to make a way for us to be forgiven. His love never changes, and He invites you to put your faith in Him. I also hope you get to enjoy some Christmas cookies. As for me, I trust that He will continue helping me grow and learn things, like to ask before eating Adina’s cookies!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

God’s love never changes, and He’s always ready to forgive.

My wonderful family.
This was one I was allowed to eat.

Thankful for Intervals

It’s time to begin again, and I am thankful for intervals. It sounds simple, but before my daughter, Amy, introduced me to interval training, I’d always trained by running straight through. Intervals are when you alternate running and walking. For example, you may run 60 seconds then walk 30 seconds and repeat until you have completed your distance. 

This actually helped me improve my time and go longer distances. The walking moments also provide a chance to take in the views better. Now, after a fairly long break, I’m starting running again and doing it with interval training.

Throwback pic – a family run (just missing Dave).

Life is full of intervals, too. There are seasons and rhythms, like day and night, by design. There are holidays that mark the moments throughout the year. I love that! May you grow through each interval and enjoy the views along the way. 

The moon.
My Mike finishing a 5K with a flourish.

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease.” (Genesis 8:22)

God’s design – following it leads to flourishing!

Beetles and Ideas

As I walked past, he was picking up fallen branches and sticks and had an armload of them. I was thinking how beautiful the trees were with their brilliant fall colors. To my surprise, he told me the trees were dead. He explained that beetles had bored into them and killed them. 

This reminded me that small things have a big impact, for good or bad. Ideas may seem like small things, but “ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims.” I heard that on Breakpoint, a podcast from the Colson Center, and it is so true! It is important to evaluate ideas and follow them to their conclusion. 

Our idea of the value of life is one example. If we recognize that each life is inherently valuable from conception to natural death, we will want to protect it and allow it to flourish. If we think some lives are more valuable than others, that leads in an entirely different direction, one that allows some lives to be destroyed. 

I’m glad we can analyze our ideas and that we can change. It may take courage to admit when we’re wrong, but it is also very rewarding to turn around and go in the right direction. 

“Doesn’t wisdom call out? Doesn’t understanding make her voice heard?” 

(Proverbs 8:1)

Ideas have consequences, and bad ideas have victims. (From the Colson Center)

Here’s a very helpful book covering many current ideas and their consequences. It also has an enormous amount of endnotes with references used, if you’d like to dig deeper.