Every Sunday I meet after church with a small group to study the Bible and right now we have started walking through the book of Acts. One story in chapter 4 of that book really makes me stop and examine my own Christian witness. Peter and John had been brought before the religious leaders who […]
Sisters are a blessing? Or a curse? Growing up I was fortunate to have two older sisters. Time and distance now separate us, but the older I get, the more I like to remember those days when we were young and still free of wrinkles, arthritic backs and grey hair. Velma My oldest sister, Velma, […]
Thirty-eight years ago my beloved husband and father of my two daughters was killed in an accident. Only those who have suffered the loss of a loved one know what sorrow I felt. In that first moment when I realized I was a widow at 33 with two little girls to raise, the first thing […]
Growing up in a Christian home, I learned to pray at a very young age. Prayer was an important part of my family’s life. Every meal we took turns thanking God for our food. As the “baby” in the family my first prayers over meal time were memorized prayers like God is great, God is […]
Time for another New Year! For most of us this time of year leads to reflection over the past 12 months and many of us make plans or resolutions for the coming year. On New Year’s Eve in 2017 I went through that thought process. My husband and I made plans for the coming year. […]
there are two kinds of Christians: those who sincerely believe in God and those who, just as sincerely, believe that they believe. You can tell them apart by their actions in decisive moments.” Pastor Richard Wurmbrand Richard Wurmbrand, founder of Voice of the Martyrs was born in Bucharest, Romania. Highly intellectual, Richard was fluent […]
My mother, Fern, and me, Barbara Fern In the last years of my mother’s life she lived in southern Illinois while I lived over 300 miles away in northern Illinois. I worked a Monday-Friday job and my husband was a pastor which meant his job required work on the weekends. Thus, it was hard to […]
I can’t take credit for this story. I heard it somewhere along the way, but I don’t know who or where. So – if anyone knows, please let me know. But the story is so good as I think about how we fail so often to be grateful for our “every day” blessings. One afternoon […]
My church has been doing a sermon series on the book of Daniel. At first glance you might wonder how a book written thousands of years ago has any relevance to today. As I listened to the messages each week I found it clearly spoke to our current culture today. As a Christ follower I […]
Growing up I often heard my mother say that as you age time flies faster. I always thought that was silly. Time is time. It does not move slower or faster. A minute is 60 seconds, an hour is 60 minutes. Same for everyone. Now that my mother is gone and I am the old […]
I recently shared some information about a very important organization, VOM. (The Voice of the Martyrs) I would like to share more information about how you can pray for those who are being persecuted around the world for their faith. Pray that persecuted believers will sense god’s presence. Pray that they will feel connected to […]
As we enter Advent – the season of waiting – I have been reading scriptures that speak of the wait for the Messiah, the one who would save the world, scriptures that speak of our wait for our Lord’s return. Examining my life I realized I do a lot of waiting – but what am […]
Before the costumes for Halloween are off the shelves, Christmas decorations are everywhere. Now I’m not fussing about getting ready for Christmas too early – or listening to Christmas songs before Thanksgiving. I love the Christmas season and understand how exciting that time can be. But sometimes it seems Thanksgiving gets lost in that time […]
Every October I always reflect back on the time I was first diagnosed with cancer. During the nine months of treatment, I kept a journal. My first response to that dreadful word “cancer” is given in my post: Cancer Survivor As I read the journal every year, there is one entry I love to […]
