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What I Learned from Two Japanese Drivers
When I arrived in Narita/Tokyo airport (not knowing a 9.0 earthquake would hit almost two weeks later), my sister, niece, and I waited for some time to take the naval base bus to the base where my niece Kelly would get her car and take us to her home. As I walked...
Facing Fear in an Earthquake
When I was sharing about my earthquake experience in Japan with my friend, Mike Bechtle (author of books on making evangelism easy for introverts Mike's books), I told him about how I felt God's peace and protection even in the midst of possible danger. He replied,...
Privileged to Be There During the Earthquake
I talked with my sister yesterday and said, "It feels funny to say, but I feel like it was a privilege to be in Japan for the earthquake." She agreed she felt the same way.I thought more about that statement and I thought of Philippians 3:10, where Paul writes, "that...
God’s Provision In the Train During the Earthquake
Here's the train that we were riding in when the earthquake struck in Japan. You can see the ladder in the center of the photo that we climbed down to get out. God was so good to my sister, her grandson, and me in so many ways. I've actually wondered whether we didn't...
I Was There During the Earthquake!
I survived the 9.0 earthquake in Japan.I was in Japan visiting my niece, Kelly, with her mom/my sister, Karen, and we experienced the earthquake. Kelly is married to Tim, a sailor on the Blue Ridge Naval Ship stationed there. On the day of the earthquake, Karen,...
Knowing God’s Will
I'm sorry to be so absent lately in blogging but I've been traveling a lot and will again within a few days. So I thought I'd try to fit in some thoughts before I leave again.I'm thinking of one of my spiritual pet peeves: that troubles indicate how close you are to...
Entitlement and Pleasure–the Connection
(If you received my last post and couldn't open the link, here's the right one:Article about praying for Egypt.)New Post:The other day after enjoying one of God's gifts of pleasure, I had this inward assurance that God was yelling to the angels, "She enjoyed my gift!...
Pray for the Christians of Egypt–Corrected Link
I'm sorry the link I gave previously didn't work. This should:Here's a Christian's insider view of what is happening in Egypt and how we can pray.Article
What’s Your Definition of Pleasure?
I love going to the movies. I feel like I'm careful about what I watch but I love the relaxation and the buttered popcorn! Just give me the popcorn and no one will get hurt! I love going to the movies!Larry hates going to the movies. He's so careful about what he...
The Tithe You’ll Love!
I bet you've never heard a sermon on Deuteronomy 14:22, 25-26: "You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year ...then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the...
It’s Not What You’ve Been Told
Young people are abandoning the church, right?Christians have the same divorce rate as unbelievers, right?Prayer, Bible reading, and evangelism are decreasing, right?If you agreed, you might be encouraged to find that the opposite is actually true. There's an...
Afraid of Feeling Happy?
It's been interesting to continue thinking about pleasure. As a recovering perfectionist, I have trouble with not making things "all or nothing." Enjoying pleasure seems dangerous because won't that mean I'll go to the extremes?I remember many years ago (many!), being...
Do You Have Gladness in Pleasure?
We housed some new friends this past weekend. After they left on Sunday, I went into the bathroom they used to gather their towels for washing. I was surprised to see that they had only used one set. One set? The other set was hung just the same as before. Why did...
Memories of My Father
Thirty-five years ago last night, my father died at age 50 of a sudden heart attack. Within seconds he was gone and the paramedics were unable to bring him back.Because it's been so long, it's strange to me to think that I felt so weepy this morning remembering him...
Are You in Orbit?
As I thought more about growth being like a spiral (see yesterday's post), I thought of how the earth orbits the sun. In that orbit, every year between August 9 and 13 when the Earth passes through the orbit of the Swift-Tuttle comet, we see the Perseid meteor shower....
Growth Is A Spiral
It always surprises me when a weakness I've been working on for a long time--and I think it's been buried--rises up again. Then I must remind myself that growth is not based on a time line but a spiral. If growth is based on a time line, then a struggle can seemingly...
A Small Simplicity Tip
I've been unsubscribing from emails of stores, etc, that I never actually go to their websites. It won't save me loads of time, but I'm hoping it makes the long list of emails I receive feel a little less burdensome.
Ah! The Joy of Surrender
How does it feel to successfully surrender something to the Lord? It truly is a wonderful adventure which I regretfully don't choose enough but over the last two days I did. I hope my tale will encourage you to do the same.I was on vacation when my sister called to...