Our new Camry sparkled in the sunlight like a pocketful of new pennies scattered on the ground. When the engine purred to life, we grinned with giddy excitement. But the feature we enjoyed most was the scent. The aroma of a new car’s interior wakes up our olfactory senses and prompts a deep breath. Did you smile just thinking about it? Many of us like the aroma so much, we install “new car smell” vent clips in our older cars. This manufactured scent comes close to tricking the human nose, but the benefits are short-lived. As short-lived as most of…
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How Can You Help a Widow Who Faces Empty Chairs?
Even when a widow accepts invitations to join family and friends at their table, she faces empty chairs at her table and elsewhere. The Bible teaches us to care for widows. In addition to visits, invitations, and offers to assist with various tasks, I want to share another way we can help. In Marilyn Nutter’s BRAND NEW book, Hope for Widows, she provides comfort, encouragement, journal prompts, and practical suggestions for her fellow widows. She shares her grief with candor and tells readers how God’s faithfulness buoys her on challenging days. What a wonderful gift or recommendation to share…
7 Ways You Can Honor God and Serve Others During the Christmas Season
The news spread through our class at church. One couple’s son had passed. Bill, one of our teachers, and his wife were among the first to visit. The afternoon we arrived, Bill had returned, vacuumed the house, and polished the shoes family members would wear to the funeral the next day. He’d demonstrated ways to honor God and serve others—even in a busy season. As he said good-bye, he noticed another need and turned to add water to a vase filled with white roses. The grieving mom shook her head in amazement, grabbed my hands, and faced me with tear-filled…
5 Ways to Enhance the Gratitude Capacity of Your Heart and Give Thanks
My friend Karen planned a Friendsgiving celebration for the residents at the healthcare home where her mother lives. We decorated the tables with tall lanterns filled with tiny lights and red, orange, and yellow silk leaves. Then we added stuffed pumpkins and sprinkled candy at each place. During the celebration, the elderly ladies and gentlemen taught me an important lesson. After participants had listened to a devotion about friendship and played games, they gathered around the tables to share some of their blessings. Their lists included life, family, friends, good memories, sunny days, chocolate cake, and many more. When…
Banish the Morning Blues and Celebrate Each Day with the Psalmists
Local friends, please read the invitation at the conclusion of this post and RSVP. Thank you. When you hear, “She got up on the wrong side of the bed,” you know someone displayed grouchy behavior. How can we start our days on the right side and banish the morning blues? Let’s start by celebrating each day with morning prayers from God’s Word. Even if we don’t display grouchy behavior, life’s circumstances can cloud our attitude as soon as we wake up unless “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV) and focus…