"that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" 1 Peter 2:9
Happy New Year! As I type these words, my son’s plane should be taking off, flying him back to college. It’s been wonderful having him home for the last three and a half weeks. This brings an end to the holidays, and I’m thankful for a quiet morning to reflect.
My heart has been bursting all week! First, we started Women’s Bible Study at our church for the new school year last Wednesday. It is thrilling to study God’s Word together in fellowship with others. We are studying the Psalms. I believe it’s the first time in 13 years, since 2004-05, that I have been able to attend the morning session. Though I love the evening session, too, I was often tired or had a hard time sticking with it after work. There’s something special about starting my Wednesday mornings in this way, both in our small group, where we go over the week’s lesson, and then in the large group session where we hear a message tying it all together.
There’s nothing quite like the awareness of our own mortality to give us a change in perspective. I remember being hospitalized for nearly a month before my daughter was born three months early. Life had become complicated by a rare, life-threatening pregnancy. Each day the hospital chaplain would visit, and she would say, “Just for today.” We took things one day at a time. We couldn’t project the outcome for my daughter or for me. We could pray and hope while we waited to see. If we looked too far into the future, it might overwhelm us. So the chaplain would remind me each day, “You made it another day. Just for today.” Read more
We are in the two weeks leading up to my son’s high school graduation. Things are getting a little sentimental around here. He just received the senior superlative for the person most ready for high school to end. And this comes as no surprise. Ever since he decided on a college, that’s been in the forefront of his mind. He’s eager for the next phase, and we are excited for him.
Wednesday, I got that dreaded call from my kids on their way to school: “We’ve been in a wreck, but we’re okay.”
As I was about to get ready for work, I changed gears, threw on clothes, grabbed my glasses, and was out the door. I spent the morning interacting with the police, tow truck driver, auto body shop, insurance company and adjustor, discovering the car is in fact totaled.
But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” Matthew 22:29
When my husband was in seminary in Dallas and in graduate school in Virginia, we were part of different small groups from our churches. We would sometimes be studying a passage of Scripture or a pertinent biblical topic. I rarely prepared by reading my Bible beforehand. I was always ready though with an answer and to share what I thought! This was based on what I had been taught or on my own logical interpretation of the subject in that moment, not from what I had studied on my own.
