We might say to a group of people, “God is in your crisis.” But it is entirely different to look into the eyes of a hurting believer and say, “God is in your crisis.” This morning, as I read a commentary on the book of Isaiah, those words, “God is in your crisis,” popped off the page to me. I underlined them…and then I chewed on them as I drove to work. And God rephrased them, He re-emphasized them, “God...
Read MoreI remember the evening a few years ago now when a visitor attended our church service. He was a slender man with lots of energy and it was obvious he was trying to find a place to sit. Certainly, he was aware of the rules for the Crawford Section; that we were very selective about someone invading our turf…but alas, he was not cognizant of our rules made for such a time as this. I made casual eye contact with...
Read MoreI have been reading/studying/meditating my way through the Psalms in 2022. I am reading the Bible and through 4-5 commentaries and am at different points in each of them. This week, I came to Psalm 23 in one of the commentaries. I had already read it in the Scriptures and, like you, can pretty much quote it by heart. When I read it in the Word, my mind fell back on what I already knew, “The Lord is my Shepherd,...
Read MoreEvery December 31, the next day is anticipated as “the year” when a fresh start is given to each one of us. A new chance to get our weight under control, a new hope for better family relationships, a better job, or more security for our future. Some resolve to begin daily devotions for a closer walk with the Lord. Some hope for a fresh start for their marriage, while others hope for someone to marry. Someone on Facebook said...
Read MoreDo you ever get the idea that some people are going to be with us forever, that other folk will die, but not them? I think that Wilbur Wagenschutz was one of those people for me. When I see his obit on my desk, it jolts me, it doesn’t seem real. Wilbur had been a long-time friend of my wife’s family, and when I came into her family, I became a friend of Wilbur’s as well. He had known my brother...
Read MoreChristmas, the time of year, brings many emotions as our thoughts of the holiday are formed by our past experiences. My parents were fully involved in Christmas. My father sold Christmas trees from his salesroom, formerly known, as recently as a few weeks before, as the family's two-car garage. My mother made wreaths and other items in her workshop, which also doubled later that day as the dining room table. The look and smell of Christmas was evident throughout the...
Read MoreI write about grief often; it is what seems to be in the ink of my pen as it touches paper. I begin to write with some other theme in mind…and before too long I am writing about grief, and heartache, and loss. But in writing about the trials of life, I must also write about the faithfulness of God who always keeps His promises to care for His children. Just as I believe that this life may be full of...
Read MoreOne of my worst nightmares (seriously) growing up was being caught in quicksand. It was not something I should have been too concerned about because I have lived my entire life in Northern Michigan on pretty high ground where I hardly ever read in the local newspaper about some hunter or mushroom picker being swallowed by quicksand. We didn’t have television when I was young, but every so often we would visit a favorite uncle who did have a black and...
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