I’m now home from our 25th anniversary celebration in Clearwater Beach. Pondering storms and focus. Three of us four Rickers have been long-battling a fairly serious physical storm, even as we intentionally focus on the Son. Storms feel confusing. They don’t make sense. They’re a test. How do we get to the other side? What should we do? What now, what next? The list goes on. Here are a few short lessons I’ve learned from our storms. As always, I pray you’re somehow encouraged and blessed. When you start to feel overwhelmed, meditate on the Word and the good that …
Selfless Example
The fact that Jesus emptied and limited Himself when He came to earth, makes me wonder exactly how much the human part of Him grasped the extent of His imminent suffering. Jesus eagerly desired to save the world, but as the end drew near, as Jesus talked to His Father in a garden reminiscent of the one where the first Adam hid from His Father, as Jesus prepared to absorb in His sinless body all the sins of the world, all the wrath of His Father… His heart picked up, His hands trembled, blood-red beads of sweat awakened the raw …
He Knows Better
Ask “I LOVE when you ask me questions.” God slips this in my spirit like sweet chocolate; and for a second, I wish my husband would say this too, but oh well. He isn’t God, my first love, and I’m glad. “Asking questions shows you trust Me with answers. It keeps us close.” Father, you’re as refreshing as a glass of ice water. You know I want to be close. “Drink deep of My wisdom. It’s your open invitation.” Lord, I love Your wisdom. May my family and I never be like Eve who saw the dangling fruit as a …
Beautifully Illogical
When it comes to prayer, we’ve all been struck by hardballs of disappointment. And when we don’t see results, we’re tempted to lower our expectations, hopes, and dreams. After all, what if God doesn’t come through the next time? I’d better protect my heart and accept my circumstances the way they are. Do you hear that whisper? Where does it come from? It comes from the spirit of fear who wants to keep us from believing the God of miracles. God is bigger than our disappointments, fears, and present situations. IF God can do anything, he can surely move …
Broken Doors
“I’m tired of our latch-dysfunction,” I told my husband. Our van’s power doors took an early retirement, so we need to manually wrestle them open and closed. “It’s good for your muscles,” we tell the boys. But during Minnesota winters, the doors take turns freezing shut. Until we’re driving; that’s when they fly open! Thus, our “discussion.” Can we afford it? No. Can I afford the anxiety of these surprise door openings? No. In the middle of getting nowhere, I pled my case to God. “I feel helpless, but God’s going to make a way,” I told Dwight. “I’ve been …
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, …
Faith Lift
Every step toward Christ kills a doubt. Theodore Cuyler
Promised Rest
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28