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…
Tag: colossians 4:2
Eight Strategies for Remembering Prayer Requests
My Indy 500 day blew past like Dale Earnhardt. I looked at the clock. “Oh no! It’s 3:00. I completely missed my daughter’s exam time.” I’d always promised to pray for her study time and success on final exams. This time, however, I neglected to fulfill this important responsibility. Have you ever promised to pray for someone’s broken heart or surgery or job interview and then realized later you’d forgotten? We mean well, but our memories sometimes fail. In my teen years, I often voiced prayer needs to Pam, a mentor. She would respond, “Let’s pray now. I don’t…
Praying for Back-to-School Joy
Will COVID-19, a potential joy thief, rob families and educators of joy in 2020? Which safeguards are trustworthy? Do we have a responsibility in the current school year dilemma? Yes, I believe we do. Let’s join together in prayer for each student and educator facing a year of uncertainty. But first, let’s recall happy back-to-school days. Do memories of a new school year make you smile? Do you recall the smell of new crayons and the joy of seeing friends again? Remembering my own school days and those of my children spark joy. From the moment our son played on…