A Second Chance… “Cheryl, check out the rainbow!” I scrambled for my camera, but when I finally dashed outside, the colors in the partial rainbow had mostly faded to nothing. Not another wasted camera op! Last month it was the baby ducks trying to (unsuccessfully) jump the curb in front of the Mayo Clinic. Then it was the twelve huskies pulling a man on his bike. Now this? Resolved not to let it bother me, I hopped in my dinghy and, with each paddle-stroke, encouraged myself to ponder the week’s blessings. One, we were at Strawberry Lake Christian Retreat, our favorite …
God’s Detours
[box] When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt armed for battle. Exodus 13:17-18[/box] I love how God considers our weaknesses when planning our itineraries. Yo, Gabriel! Better steer that Cheryl Ricker toward Sam’s Club instead of HyVee down the street. HyVee has a sale on chocolate and they’re …
Baby, Don’t Cry
(True story by a doctor working in Central Africa. I only made a few minor punctuation, grammar, and spacing edits.) [box] Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Psalm 105:1 [/box] One night I worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward. In spite of all our efforts, she died, leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We had difficulty keeping the baby alive because we had no incubator (no electricity to run one). Nor did we have special feeding facilities. Yes, …
Lost
[box] “By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night.” Exodus 13:21[/box] With my “creative” sense of direction, this kind of “guidance” could sure come in handy! My GPS usually does a good job, but it didn’t on July 3rd. Instead of taking us to an out-of-town fireworks display, Mrs. GPS took us to a cemetery! No joke. Our first hint should have been the lack of cars and …
Baby Steps
[box] “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4[/box] Our family recently laughed ourselves silly in front of videos of our kids as babes. Highchair time was clearly more about playing than the serious art of eating. Carrot and pea-smothered faces, proud monosyllabic babbles for the camera ~ great material! The boys, now teens, howled watching one of them make his first crawl, or should I say first scoot. “Come on! You can do it!” Frustrated when his body wouldn’t cooperate, he whined and got feisty. Finally, with a grunt and push …
Balancing the Love Scales
Poor poor Leah. I know what it’s like to be picked last on a team, but I’ve never been my husband’s second choice for a wife. Jacob liked Leah’s sister, Rachel, the pretty-faced hottie with a body. Jacob thought he was working seven years for Rachel, but woke up the night after the wedding with a gasp of horror at his father-in-law’s switcheroo. Because Leah wasn’t what Jacob wanted, he kept working another seven years for the one he truly adored. Rachel. Our Compassionate God [box] But because Leah was unloved, the LORD let her have a child, while Rachel …
Scars of Trust
It felt like a punch in the gut. My husband and I wrote this for the classifieds: FREE older playground set, complete with swings, slide, and climbing fort. First person to pick it up, gets it! We fielded constant calls before a couple finally padded across our lawn, inspecting their potential treasure. “Oooh…” they gushed. “Our kids will looove it! But we can’t pick it up until Monday. Is that ok?” The couple won us over, so we deviated from our first-picker-upper-gets-it plan. We shook on it, and it was a done deal for Monday. We thought. Monday was family …
Good Morning Thinking
I wake up early. Too early I think. My brain’s still trying to unravel my dream, separate the uglies from reality. No, my husband doesn’t have a problem with that any more. And yes, he still loves me. But ok, I’ll say a quick prayer for his strengthening. I watch him under the glow of the digital clock, his chest rising and falling, his snores gentle for once. Why am I awake? I feel the pull of the Spirit. In the same way hunger awakens me after a workout, some part of me, my spirit I think, starts to hunger …
Love-Covered
Do you believe that God rejoices over you, watches over you, and secures you and your loved ones ~ in his forever-hands? Show me someone who knows she is love-covered, and I’ll show you someone who knows how to love. People say, “you can’t give what you don’t have,” but neither can you give what you don’t know you have. How free can I be if I don’t know I’m free? How can I experience the fullness of God’s love if I experience it in my heart, but not in my mind? Heart Imagery Jesus wants us to intentionally remember the …
Raising Your Standard
[box] All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 [/box] When I think of God-breathed, I picture God, up-close and personal, igniting life in Adam’s nostrils, awakening unlimited possibility-seeds in mankind. Just as God worked with dirt and breathed life, He used imperfect men as human pens. Breathing life on their truth-stories, His Spirit-seeds continue to produce every kind of good fruit in keeping with repentance. God describes his Word as a sword, just as our …
Who’s The Judge?
[box] The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him. John 5:22-23[/box] The apostle John got me thinking… What could be a better way for the Father to show how much He loves the Son than for Him to give the Son the power to judge the world? Digging into this verse, I saw several things… The Father honors the Son. Love always honors and prefers another. The Father …
Everything Happens For A Reason?
“How can it be possible that everything happens for a reason? Some things are too painful!” Has a hurting friend ever said this? How did you respond? [box] “In your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1 Peter 3:15[/box] As Christians, our hope isn’t based on feelings and circumstances; it’s based on God’s character, Sovereignty, and unshakable love. The bright Jewel of heaven went through hell for us. Why? Because He’s all about redeeming our broken places. Look How …
Ok, God, I’m Listening
Prayer with a friend stopped short when I received a call from the school secretary saying, “Justin was in an accident during gym class.” Racing for the soccer ball in a one-on-one game against time, my eleven-year old collided heads with another boy. Arriving at the nurse’s office, my son lay flopped on her bench with an icepack to the back of his head, eyes glazed. The doctor said he suffered a concussion. A CT scan showed a fracture to his temporal bone, the part of his skull behind the ear. My pastor’s words rang in my spirit, dangling with …
Redeeming Sensitivity
Susan Delaney was mad at herself. After a misunderstanding with her coworker, she willed her voice and face to stay intact. But she lost the battle. As she stood in his office, her eyes misted and her lips quivered. With no turning back, she wondered, will he understand? In light of his knowledge about her current stress, she guessed yes. When she first got the job, Dan reminded her of a father-like figure. A whole lot better than her father, actually. “Are you trying to manipulate me?” The question jolted her, cutting deeper. She last heard it from the lips …
Micro Matters
My microwave oven went on the fritz just five slim days beyond its one-year warranty! “We’re VERY sorry,” said the store clerk, “but we can’t help you.” I hung up the phone and started to pray. Nothing fancy or super spiritual. Just, “Lord, please protect our things.” It seemed natural enough. After all, we’re to be wise stewards of our things, right? It hit me like a whoosh! “You need to also pray, Lord, protect my heart from things.” Protect my heart from things…. Ok, I can handle that. I’ll think about that. Then this verse hit me: “For where …
Prayers for the Undeserving
[box] “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34 [/box] As I have loved you. You must love one another. Quite the request, Lord. It was in your heart all along, wasn’t it? “Love my people. Do unto others. Feed my lambs.” It’s a breeze to love you, Lord, so perfect and kind. But people? Even the best pastors, leaders, teachers, people who know better… They fail. You want me to love them with complete, sacrificial love? Pray for those who hurt me? Forgive them deeply …
His Valentine
“I have loved you with an everlasting love…” Jeremiah 31:3 Tripping through life, tossed and torn here and there, we manage to lose it, to leak it. Where’d it go? Where’s joy? Instead of bubbling out, it fizzles flat, leaving us without a wave or a pat. We’re dry, needing a tune up in order to bloom up. Maybe we need to wake up, inhale the rush of salvation. Christ’s resurrection power pushes us passed death, into the new garden we neglect too often. We’re saved! No matter what’s wrong, there is a Holy Ghost song. Earth is just a …
Put on your Dancing Shoes
The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. Psalms 37:23,24 About that disappointment you’re feeling… God’s working behind the scenes to make it a God-appointment. That’s Sovereignty. There are no missteps, only his steps; no detours, only God-tours. Rejoice in the Lord! Shout aloud! One blast of Jesus-joy, and say goodbye to those heavies. Remember how he called you? How he flipped on the music, reached for your hand, saying, “May I have this dance?” You said, …
God’s A Planner
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 Satan is our disaster-planner, but he’s not the writer of our future. God is. Best of all, God is into the details, right down to our cellular level. Consider the word disaster. An “aster” is a star-shaped structure that forms during cell reproduction. It’s formation is crucial to sustain all future life. We know Satan “disses” or disrespects all things “life,” especially Jesus, the author of life. That’s why …
Who’s At The Wheel?
Be still, and know that I am God! Psalm 46:10 Be still in this restless world? Is it even possible? Perhaps not. Unless we let God do the stilling in us. Be still, and know that I am God! Maybe if he does the stilling while we do the knowing, we’ll get somewhere. Somewhere serene on this sacred journey to stillness. Be still, and know that I am God! Why in the world is this taking forever? Are we there yet? Daddy, Sally’s wiggling in her car seat, and Bobby took my doll! Daddy, I’ve got to go pee! Chill. …