From My Heart

In my previous post, I mentioned that Larry and I have been dealing with aging parent problems. My mom in particular is suffering with dementia and I knew my dad could no longer take care of her alone in their home. Unfortunately, until they came to live with us, I did not realize just how much she had deteriorated. After an illness, surgery, and two hospitalizations, I came to realize I could not bring her home again. So she went to rehab, my dad stayed with us, and we began the search for an appropriate assisted living. After looking at options and talking with my dad, we found a place we felt was perfect for them, got them at the top of the waiting list and began to pray for an opening. In the meantime, we were shuttling my dad back and forth to the rehab every day and at each visit my mom would beg us to bring her home. I know his heart was breaking. After a couple of weeks of this, I began to feel tired. No big deal. We've been busy and stressed and we all just needed...

I have tried to stay out of the fray for the most part re: this election. And now that it is over, I have something to say. I have seen some divisive political campaigns in my life, but this one may top the list. I believe Satan has used it not only to divide one half of this country from the other, but to divide Christians as well. Christian brothers and sisters calling the faith of others into question because of their voting preferences or political opinions. James 3:10 says "From the same mouth comes blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." 1 Peter 4:8 says "ABOVE ALL, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." I have seen so much hate and vitriol posted on social media this past year and much of it has come from fellow believers. As James says, 'this ought not to be so.' Not only are we at each other, but at opposing parties and candidates. Name calling, belittling remarks, etc. Where does...

"Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2 Prayer has never come naturally to me. I have always felt awkward in prayer for some reason. Over the past year, I have finally come to the conclusion that in all my years as a Christian, I have never really learned how to communicate with God properly. Not that I haven't made valiant efforts. I have had beautiful prayer journals. Sections for specific days and topics. I have written out my prayers (I still believe that helps me concentrate). I've used all the acronyms and prayer plans. But in the end, I look at it all and think, "If one of my friends communicated with me this way, I would toss them out the door." Some days I feel all I do is bring my wish list to God - admirable though it may be - and ask and ask and ask. For now, I'm done with asking. Color me ecstatic when I learned our little Bible study between online Bible studies was going to be on prayer! ...

"I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for EVERYONE - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants ALL men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth."  1 Timothy 2:1-4 At 2:40pm, on April 15 of this year, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon killing several and inflicting catastrophic injury on others. In the hours that followed we learned that two brothers were responsible - Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev.  At our church, the choir sings a song called 'There's Power in the Name of Jesus'. We were rehearsing it shortly after the bombing and something caught me in the words this time. They go something like this: "A mother barely twenty out there on her own, A teenage boy in prison, before he's even grown."  A teenage boy. In prison. A BOY. Nineteen y...