Well, it’s been a week. Last Friday I read the most beautiful prayer in one of my favorite books, A Diary of Private Prayer. Here’s a portion of it: O, God, you have proved your love for all people by sending us Jesus Christ our Lord… Help me,...

Looking out the airplane window, flying into Dallas, I got the biggest lump in my throat and teared up as I watched the city in which I live come into view. Barely. I strained to see skyscrapers peeking through the thick layer of smog that...

“Don’t smile so much,” she warned me, “you’ll get wrinkles.” The woman, whose name escapes me, suggested that I relax my face muscles, draw my chin slightly downward while softly raising my eyebrows in order to bring a pleasant look to my face without actually smiling. You’re trying that...

Over the years I’ve encouraged thousands of people with the strong Truth from God’s Word—in person, in my writing and speaking, through social media, text messages, cards, and face to face. Just last week, I shared Habakkuk 3:19 with a dear friend of mine who...

One of my favorite quotes: Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. ~ Pierre...

Monday is Memorial Day, a National Day of Remembrance here in the U.S. I love that we take a day to honor and remember…after all, the Bible tells us often how easily we forget the most important things. Scripture is full of calls for remembering,...

“I’ve done it again.” Looking over my calendar this past week I didn’t see much white space—one thing was stacked on top of another with no breathing room in between. I could feel myself being squeezed. My problem: I had said “yes” to too many things...

If you know the basics of anything, you can learn just about everything. My mom taught me the basics of life—home economics, cooking, cleaning, ironing, prayer, etc—the essentials that enabled me to leave the nest and become a fully functioning, self-sufficient human being. I’m convinced that...

“Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.” Philippians 4:8, TLB I’ve been thinking about my mom a...