The tomato was once known as the "poison apple". This myth was held for over 200 years in Europe due to the fact that aristocrats got sick and died after eating them. The truth of the matter was that the high society in Europe used pewter plates. Pewter has a high...
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18 NIV) As I write this we have been disconnected from the electric grid for 4 ½ weeks now. On a routine...
Who, me? It’s not my fault…we sometimes want to say. Blaming someone else for our sorry situation can be so tempting. When we mess up, pointing at another promises to be the easy way out. That’s what the Israelites did. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up,...
Faith is a key Fear is a lock Faith, the fabric that covers me. Fear, the incessant cold. Faith, the shield fear’s arrows clear. And the one who seeks for me. Until faith then becomes the door I go in and out restored. Ana Lisa de Jong Living Tree Poetry April 17...
"If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." (John...
"the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9) We had been in the midst of a tropical depression. Lots of gray, soggy clouds were sitting there not going anywhere. Day after day the rains...
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." (1 John 4:18) I was sitting at the kitchen table finishing my morning oatmeal. A little taste of Autumn sadness had crept...
God gave me a powerful Psalm this morning. It wasn't the first time I had been given this text, and as I heard the familiar words playing themselves out in my mind, my thoughts went back to that day, over 40 years ago, when God first spoke to me through this Psalm......
Humility. That's the word I heard from the Lord today. It has been a very long, trying week, filled with disappointment, pain, stress and lack of sleep, and I suspect that many of you reading this devotional can relate. You are probably either going through or have...
Fear is a funny thing. We can stand up strong in the face of the scariest moments, and crumble at the smallest detail. This was my experience as I went through cancer. Oh, there were moments where the fear of having cancer nearly overwhelmed me, but for the most part,...