Lessons from Scripture
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What Legacy Will We Leave?
Since my dad passed away over nine months ago, I have been thinking more deeply on the aspect of leaving a legacy. My entire family is very aware that the biggest legacy our husband, father, and grandfather left to us is one of faithfulness to God. It affected everything my dad did. He was very mindful of passing along to us faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, and a rock solid belief in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God. His words, deeds, and actions were all a testament to it. Scripture speaks of laying up treasure in heaven; so there is an aspect of our…
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You Are Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
One of my favorite Christian authors is Sharon Jaynes. Many years ago I read her book “The Power of a Woman’s Words,” and then through the years most of her other books and devotionals. Something that comes through in her writing is the background of her personal story. She writes about struggling with feelings of inferiority, shame, and insecurity. But the key for her in overcoming this was understanding who she was in Christ and that her value and worth actually comes from God Himself. What an amazing truth that is a joy to share with people, especially when we’ve experienced this truth ourselves! It reminds me of a time…
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Consistency and Habits
Two books have come to my attention recently that have similar themes. One is called Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results. The other is The Compound Effect: Jumpstart Your Income, Your Life, Your Success. A summary of The Compound Effect is “the strategy of being consistent with smart, tiny choices over time that will produce significant results.” We are all aware that there is truth in these concepts for life. If we consistently exercise it produces a positive result over time. If we eat healthy it’s the same thing. If we save money it will grow. I asked my husband recently what he would say is an “atomic” habit that…
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Mindfulness
The word mindful seems to be frequently used these days. That’s probably a good thing. Life can be very busy and often we seem to be going through our days on autopilot without being aware of many details. As a result, most of us are missing out on good things, significant things. This week I was noticing a beautiful flower market as I was walking through a piazza in Rome, Italy. The presence of such a display indicates something about a culture. It made me contemplate why God created such lovely plants. He obviously values their beauty and wants us to notice it also. His creativity is on display in the…
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Going Through Deep Waters
Quite a few years ago on a night that felt very dark indeed, I sat in our living room feeling every bit of the deep waters, floods, and fire that Isaiah 43:2-4 speaks: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you: and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze…For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you.” I had reached out to a friend to ask…
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A Light to My Path
Four years ago at a church service the pastor quoted a Lifeway Books survey that had been done with long time committed Christians about what they viewed as the key to living the Christian life. The answer was that consistently being in the Word of God was the number one factor to living through all the ups and downs of life with their faith in God strong and growing. I don’t know where things like church attendance or prayer or any other Christian discipline fell in the survey, but I was deeply impressed by what came first. The following verses speak to some of the claims Scripture makes for itself:…
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True meaning of Christmas-from Sasha’s Hope archive
I don’t know how many of y’all are looking forward to the holidays. I love Thanksgiving and Christmas! My favorite holiday is Christmas! I love spending time thinking about what I am going to give to my family and friends. I have so much joy giving gifts to my family and seeing them opening their presents. I love baking Christmas goodies (and eating them too!), being with family, playing games, hanging the Christmas lights and decorations, going to Christmas Eve service, reading the Christmas story and opening gifts and celebrating the birth of Jesus! Now I want to take you back in my childhood. Christmas was really sad for me because I did not have anyone to enjoy the most wonderful day of Jesus’ birth. I remember we were…
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The Lesson of the Lizard
Recently a small garden lizard got trapped between the window and the screen in our bedroom. We could see it at different times each day moving about in between. We commented about it and would watch it briefly and then move on. After several days it became clear the lizard wasn’t finding its way back out. There was a small bend in the screen and apparently Mr. Lizard couldn’t find his point of entry again. Larry mentioned he would try to remember to let the little guy go, after all, we like lizards around the place. They help decrease the insect population. But we would get busy and forget until…
