Jan 19, 2015 | on Faith
I’ve learned from experience what to pack for a trip and what to leave behind. Here are a couple of my favorite packing secrets: First, I limit the shoes. They’re bulky and take up valuable space, so I like to wear the same pair for the entire trip if possible. I also reduce the number of pieces of heavy clothing like blue jeans and sweaters. One sweater is usually enough for a week. I’ve learned that dragging a giant suitcase up and down stairs, in and out of trains hurts my back, makes me anxious, and generally prevents me from enjoying my trip. Even worse, I have no space to carry home souvenirs because I’m already loaded down with stuff from home.
In my personal life, I have “baggage” that weighs me down.
Dec 17, 2014 | on Faith
The queue wrapped around the palace. Young and old, people stood all day for news of the royal baby. Prince William and his bride, Kate, had just given birth to the next heir to the British throne, and the throngs were breathless as they waited to welcome the new prince to London.
I was in London that week and saw the crowds fight for a chance to photograph the announcement. Not the baby, mind you. Just the announcement. A slip of paper in a gold frame announcing his arrival. At the airport en route to the UK, I heard stories of people who flew to London in anticipation of the birth. Thousands of dollars in airplane tickets and hotel rooms just to catch a glimpse of the child who may be king one day.
How different from another royal baby born over two thousand years ago.
Read the full devotion from Dec 17, 2014 here at Christian Devotions.us
Aug 8, 2014 | on Faith
Don’t long for “the good old days.” This is not wise. ~Ecclesiastes 7:10 (NLT)
My baby leaves for college this week. She graduated from high school in June, Looking back, the good old days always look rosy. As tender as those days were, I can’t live there. This next chapter in the life of our family is safe in Jesus’ hands.
Jul 24, 2014 | on Faith
The call went straight to voice mail. I was on my way home from an overseas trip and I tried to call my husband at his office, but I couldn’t reach him. Normally the receptionist would have answered; it was the middle of the day after all. Instinctively, I knew something unusual was going on.
When I finally reached my husband, he told me the whole story. The partners of his firm had arrived at the office unexpectedly that morning and announced that the firm would be closing its doors. He and a few other employees would be offered transfers to California, but the rest would be offered severance pay.
Jun 21, 2014 | on Faith
Several years ago, Hollywood made a film about a child adopted by a movie production company. In The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey, the boy was raised on the set for the television show and never knew that his “parents” were paid actors. His neighbors and friends were extras. Each day he walked down the street and greeted people that were paid to greet him in return. Then one day his eyes were opened. Instead of his perfect home and neighborhood, he saw an artificial main street. Rather than family and friends, he saw hired hands. His world, as enticing as it was, came to an end when he discovered the edge of the movie set and climbed out.
Sin is tricky. Like a movie set of a neighborly main street with beckoning storefront windows and inviting front doors, sin is an attractive façade. Look closely, however, and we find that nothing is for sale in the store, and no one lives behind those front doors. Sin is a charade, a mirage, a trick. It is never what it seems.
Read the full devotion from June 21, 2014 here at Wilmington Word Weavers
