“I have called you by name, you are mine” (Isaiah 43:1). One of the desires of the human heart is to be known. More specifically, to be known, appreciated for who we are, and loved. When someone uses your name, it makes things personal. If someone knows your name, and uses it when addressing you, …
Tag Archives: faith
Follow the Pattern
“I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless” (Psalm 101:2-3). Patterns are a part of life. Symmetry, in nature and art, is part of what gives a thing beauty. I remember the symmetry in my grandmother’s quilts as she stitched a hodgepodge …
Willing
This time of year our hearts are turning toward Christmas, and the story we know so well. There is a lot of detail in Luke 1 and 2, beginning with the origin story of John the Baptist. Have you ever wondered why Zechariah was struck dumb for questioning the angel who gave him good news, …
Words and Confessions
Words. Twenty-six letters in our alphabet. They can be arranged to create a nursery rhyme or great works like Shakespeare produced. Letters can be put together in such a way as to inspire, or to criticize, to convey truth, or to spread falsehood. In the very beginning, the world came into existence with words, God’s words. The nothingness became …
Over All
In the information age, we want answers. The demand for information is insatiable, and we seem to want, and in many cases can get, almost instant access to news and other details about a situation, even if the news is just beginning to break. If facts are not forthcoming in a timely manner on a …
Live Out Love
“I will show you a still more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31). If you have trusted in Christ, then you are a part of his Body. Like our physical bodies, this Body has many parts, but all function together, each doing its job. If one member suffers, all suffer together. This is easy to understand …
Parent or Guardian Required
Forms are a part of life, beginning in childhood. I remember all the school and medical forms of various kinds which had to be signed “by parent or guardian.” I think being adopted must have made me more sensitive to the distinction between parent and guardian, and I remember the feeling of discomfort that some …
A Long Way Off
Don’t you love it when you read a passage of Scripture and something jumps out at you that you had not noticed before? Sometimes it may be the Holy Spirit giving you that insight or it might be simply your own mind discerning more of the richness of Scripture, but either way it is a …
Deconstruction
Deconstruction. What a sad word. It implies an undoing of something that is complete and whole. Deconstructing is far easier than constructing. In my work as a pediatric occupational therapist, I often see children whom I call my “deconstructors.” They are not yet able to grasp the concept of a particular activity but will …
Surrounded
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 What does it mean to be “in Christ?” That phrase (in Christ) is used around 180 times in the New Testament, depending on the translation you use. The dictionary definition of …
Life By The Way 