The dawn of a new school year arrives with sharpened pencils and the smell of new crayons. Pre-K students wear backpacks that outsize them, and seniors celebrate the beginning of their last year. Children and teenagers enjoy rekindling friendships, but dread homework. Learner expectations are high. One kindergartener said to his mom at the end of his first day, “Mommy, you said I’d learn to read at school, but I didn’t.” Learning requires time, effort, and patience. Students need help as they navigate new friends and teachers in a world of steeper academic requirements. Students need prayer. Teacher expectations are…
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Three Ways God Brightens Our Days
One bright spot of color changed my view of the landscape. I warmed my hands with a mug of coffee and gazed out the kitchen window. Under a sunless sky, bare tree branches and the straw-like grass, pressed low by winter’s cold, mimicked a brown-toned painting. The scene echoed the cheerlessness of my struggling emotions. Then a fluttering burst of red swooped into the dullness and changed my view from bland to bright. A red cardinal landed in the grass and bobbed for seeds. Another cardinal joined the scavenger hunt, followed by a blue jay. I thanked God for…
What Can We Create This Year for the Glory of God?
Have you read the answer from an online quiz, then, based on the result, decided the program must be flawed? At the end of December, I took an online quiz that promised to present the perfect biblical word for me to focus on this year. I thought about words my friends have chosen to study like peace, holiness, faithfulness, or an ouchy one—self-control. My quiz response this year? Create. A Puzzling Word Surely, the answer was wrong. Frankly, it didn’t sound as holy as my friends’ words. Maybe I should pick grace or faith or love? Create? Create what? I’m…
How to Embrace a New Season of the Heart: Take Steps and Rest
In Georgia, we moved from early Spring to, as we say around here, pollen season. Although the heavy coat of mustard-colored powder required me to clean my deck and car, pollen serves a purpose. It signals a time of bees, butterflies, and more flowers. Like Spring, every season is beautiful, a creation of God—in nature and in our hearts. I needed to repeat the wash-off-nature’s-pollen chore several times, and the freshness led me to the next step—replacing the deck pillows, potting colorful annuals, and moving my quiet time moments from inside to outdoors. Now, in late Spring, I’m wondering…
How to Find God’s Blessings in New Seasons of Life
Weeks ago, I noticed tight flower buds had popped out to decorate the bare limbs on my Bradford pear tree. A glance out my kitchen window days later revealed one cluster of newborn blossoms bouncing in the breeze. Like God’s blessings in the Bible, the tiny flowers offered hope of more than I could see—more growth and beauty to come. More of God’s blessings. More opportunities to honor my Lord and serve others. Around town I noticed purple flowers on Japanese magnolias and clumps of sunny daffodils. But I enjoyed the signs of spring in my yard and neighborhood…