While traveling a few weeks ago, I saw this image and just had to take a snapshot. There were profound messages in that scene. The black sheep looked so far removed from the herd, alone, isolated, and feeling the weighty stares of his herd-mates. I couldn’t help but ponder it. Do you ever feel like…

“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.” — Luke 15:20 ESV I sat on the ground, staring into my pink, Women’s Devotional Bible, reading that day’s message. Sitting in the…

Whether we are frequent students of God’s word or have barely opened the Bible, most of us have heard the term “Prodigal Son.” Jesus’s story of the Prodigal, or what some call Lost Son, is one of His most famous narratives from Scripture. If you are like me, you may have focused primarily on the…

Psalm 23 is one of the most familiar passages in Scripture, often recited at funerals or in times of trouble, grief, or uncertainty. Its words are familiar, comforting, and deeply personal. But, for me, there’s a particular line that jumps off the page: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”…

Last week we kicked off our series called Portrait of a Dinner Guest with a brief, perhaps seldom considered biographical sketch of Jesus as the guest. We learned that Jesus was invited to dinner many times during His earthly ministry. Sometimes others invited Him, sometimes He invited Himself, and a few times He even prepared the…

Have you ever experienced a dinner that was life-changing? Have you said yes to a simple dinner invitation, only to receive something far greater and long-lasting than the meal? We certainly have! For the next several weeks on this blog, we will be sharing our personal stories as dinner guests, and we will be painting…

The exclamation echoed loudly in my head as I awakened that morning. “You’re a fraud!” The indictment was coming from an adversary – the adversary  – but I had to agree with him. I not only felt like a fraud, but I also had behaved like one. I had sinned against God. The night before,…

Last month, we were looking at the first letter of our acronym, BLOOM, and learning ways to Be Mindful of our Hearts. On May 6th, we learned how not to quit when the harvest seems underwhelming, and also how to be patient in the wait. Today, we are finishing our series on “Be Mindful of…

Yesterday I spent the afternoon in my front yard, planting a new garden of native Ohio perennials. My hope was to not only add beauty to our neighborhood, but also to bring life to our neighbors, mainly the flying type. My sister-in-law has been educating me on the ways that Ohio birds, butterflies, and pollinators…