Tag Archives: hope in Jesus

Tough stuff? This will help you.

I sat with Dad this week as he lay waiting for his blood thinners to get out of his system so his surgeon could work on his fractured hip. His arm is also broken and in a sling. He would drift off to sleep, but every little movement would cause him to cry out inContinue reading “Tough stuff? This will help you.”

Do you wonder if Jesus is coming back soon?

Lately, I’ve found myself wondering if Jesus is coming back soon. Have you? Here are some things we know about the Second Coming of Christ— People will be going about their normal day-to-day stuff… getting married, partying, buying and selling, building, and planting gardens. (Luke 17:26-30) Many will reject Jesus. Wickedness will also be acceptedContinue reading “Do you wonder if Jesus is coming back soon?”

When It’s Dark

We grabbed our bag chairs out of the back of the truck and walked toward the trail. Rain was dripping from the trees and night was coming. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect, but for years we had heard about the mysterious, beautiful synchronous fireflies in our nearby Smoky Mountains. We walked a shortContinue reading “When It’s Dark”

Chips, Salsa & a Picture of God

I sat trying to restrain myself from the bowl of chips and salsa when it happened. She poked my arm and looked up at me proclaiming, “THIS is a picture of God.” She was only four then, and proudly held up her crayon drawing– a large squiggly face with two odd-shaped, bulging eyes. Speechless, forContinue reading “Chips, Salsa & a Picture of God”

Here I am, anxious again.

It’s early. I rolled out of bed with a mean headache, a side effect of the nitroglycerin patch I’m now wearing. My mind went quickly to my heart, and more tests I’m scheduled for next week. It was so early, only 5 am, yet there it was, that dark cloud again. I began to prayContinue reading “Here I am, anxious again.”

When Your Heart and Strength Fail.

Psalms 73:26 says, “My heart and my strength may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever”. My strength and heart will fail,but Godnever will. And I know this to be true. These aren’t just words. I am not just hoping or wishing. Still, if I’m honest, a situation ofContinue reading “When Your Heart and Strength Fail.”

When you want God to explain Himself…

Just in case you are suffering and need some deep truth about our Lord, (and just in case you need to know God is at work through the next generation), read this from my sweet Jenna Mitchum. I’ve been reading the book of Job, a book I continue to come back to, but this timeContinue reading “When you want God to explain Himself…”

Early Morning Momma Thoughts

It’s dark outside.I’m up early. And my heart is sad and happy all at the same time. It’s a momma heart and it’s just apt to be like that. My youngest will graduate college today. She’s already married and living on her own. In a couple weeks, my only one left at home will closeContinue reading “Early Morning Momma Thoughts”

When Your MOOD Swings!

Have you ever had a mood swing? Have your emotions ever flip-flopped? Mine sure have! And Naomi seems to be able to relate as well! After Ruth meets Boaz, she goes home and tells Naomi all that has happened (see Ruth 2). Naomi says, “Blessed be the name of the LORD, who has not forsakenContinue reading “When Your MOOD Swings!”

You Should Run To Him

I love the beautiful picture of this phrase, “under the shadow of your wings”. How many times my broken, fearful, confused, tired heart has clung to this picture of God. It is a picture of refuge, God holding us close, and this is how Boaz used it when he spoke to Ruth in his fieldContinue reading “You Should Run To Him”

HE IS RISEN!

The ground shook with supernatural tremor. I wonder did the distraught, discouraged disciples suspect something when they felt it? The angels appeared. The mighty Roman soldiers fell like dead men. The stone was rolled away. The grave was empty.Death had been defeated.The Way was Made!Victory was complete. JESUS IS RISEN! Can you imagine the utterContinue reading “HE IS RISEN!”

The Day Before Jesus Would Die

The day before Jesus would die. The precious Messiah bends down to wash His disciple’s feet then takes the bread and the cup of Passover with the men in the upper room… knowing, full well, He would soon be their perfect Lamb. The Lamb. The Perfect Lamb… soon it would be His blood spilling outContinue reading “The Day Before Jesus Would Die”

Some days the love of Christ seems so far away.

Some days it feels like the love of Christ is a thing to be experienced later, a Heaven thing, a later on, a not-soon-enough, far away thing. I catch myself longing for what, in truth, I already have and have all the time as a Christian. I already have the love of Christ. I possessContinue reading “Some days the love of Christ seems so far away.”

When we fall apart. He is still there.

As I continue to think about the Lord and His interactions with others, these weeks before Easter,I’m reminded of these two wonderful, but contrasting, examples. Jesus has just finished teaching the famous parables about the blind leading the blind, and building our houses on the rock (Luke 6), and then walks into Capernaum. He isContinue reading “When we fall apart. He is still there.”

“I’m not even mad at God about all this.”

Daddy has dementia. It’s the cruelest and strangest of diseases. He seems to float between moments of complete clarity, and absolute confusion and even delusion. We have had a rough few days as his sweetheart, my precious mom, the best caregiver ever, fell ill and had to go to the hospital. She’s better now butContinue reading ““I’m not even mad at God about all this.””

When Life Sucks You Dry

There are THOSE moments when the stuff of this life simply sucks you dry. And you are a Christian. There are days where the problems scream, and everything in you has to fight to remember truth. There are days the battle seems great and the blessings feel, well, small. Real small. And stress, and worry,Continue reading “When Life Sucks You Dry”