Wisdom of the Wounded

“I’ll Pray for You” Do you ever sincerely tell someone, “I will pray for you,” and then forget to pray? I often do just that: I say, “I will pray for you,” or “You will be in my prayers,” and then I get busy with my own agenda. So I have devised some ways to […]

What is Prayer For? Connecting with God What is the purpose of prayer? One of my pastors, Jill Russell, said in a sermon, “We have asked and it has not been given. We have looked and have not found; we have knocked and the door was locked tight. We’ve prayed for healing for people who […]

One afternoon, I pushed the button to replay my phone messages and was shocked to hear a young angry voice say, “Shame on you! How can you call yourself a Christian woman and do what you are doing! You should be ashamed at yourself.” I wondered what I had been doing that earned these angry, slanderous words. As he proceeded, I found out. He said, “You talked my mom into getting a divorce. How could you? I’m not going to allow you to put my dad down! I won’t stand for it.”

I read, on most days, an on-line devotional called, “Stillspeaking Devotional” from the United Church of Christ.  I like the name because it affirms that God is still speaking to us.  We just need to listen.  On April 20, the day’s devotion was titled, “The One Who Gives Us Room,” and the reflection was written […]

Mommy, Listen to Me! “Mommy, listen to me! Quit saying Uh huh, and give me an answer!” How many of us Mommies are guilty of tuning out our children’s chatter, punctuating only with a few well-spaced hu huhs? Have you ever noticed how frequently the phrase, “Incline thine ear to me” occurs in the Psalms? […]

The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.  (John 1:5) Merry Christmas.  My wish for you (and me) is that at some point today, we will stop and be quiet. Maybe it will be tonight when the festivities of the day have ended.  As Quinn Caldwell suggests:  “Wrap up warm and […]

Make a difference.  It is not that hard.  Start a habit of making another person’s day.   Every day. How?  Following is a list of possibilities.  Just choose 1 idea each day, and do it.  You will be a blessing and you will be blessed.  Invite your family to join you, and as each person completes […]

Christmas is an especially difficult holiday when there is an empty chair at the table following the death of a loved one.  The first Christmas after my lovely mother died there was definitely the sadness of an empty chair.  So we began our celebration by sharing stories about mom/grandma.  I ask each person, if they […]

Please do not throw away those Christmas Cards. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children recycles your used greeting cards and creates new holiday and all-occasion greeting cards. Recycled cards are sold to support the programs and services for abused, neglected and homeless children, young adults and families. You may purchase cards in St. Jude’s Ranch online […]

Longing Quinn G. Caldwell So?  Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? Is there a check mark next to everything on your list? And are you totally fulfilled?  Completely happy? Now let me ask a more important question: did you get everything you truly want?  I mean the stuff you want so bad it’s […]