Mornings with Jesus

HOW DO YOU DECORATE your house for Christmas? I wish I could tell you that my wife and I deck the halls with boughs of holly and colored lights and mistletoe, but I confess I often find the mere prospect of Christmas so overwhelming—scrolling through

DURING THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, a friend wrote that she found the campaigns so discouraging she just wanted it to be over. Another said he didn’t know what to do, that he couldn’t vote for either candidate in good conscience, but he also felt

WE’VE COMPLETED A PROJECT I’VE dreamed of for over thirty years: an in-ground greenhouse. We hope to grow vegetables that need more time than our short season allows, eat fresh salads through winter, then start seeds inside while the snow melts away.

AFTER CHURCH ONE SUNDAY, WE found ourselves surrounded by other church members who had chosen the same small but charming restaurant. Three young adult couples sat at the table behind us. A high-top table of high school boys was beside us. An elderly

I HAVE KNOWN AND LOVED today’s key verse for years. I’ve written it on recipe cards and posted it on my fridge. I’ve even memorized it. But truth be told, I haven’t fully understood it until recently. I’ve spent a great deal of time telling God about

DURING THE EXTRAORDINARY 2016 ELECTION season, I found myself unusually tempted to engage in debates about the defects or merits of the various candidates. Normally I’m not big on confrontation, but the remarkable political climate was ripe for contr

AS I GRABBED MY TOOTHBRUSH from a drawer near my sink, four bottles of beauty products tumbled to the ground. On the floor lay a jar of cream for radiant eyes, a serum for flawless skin, a pore minimizer, and a lotion promising to shrink any baggage

IT’S SOMETHING A PARENT PRAYS for. My husband, John, and I dropped off our daughter, Leslie, at camp when she was fourteen years old, and when we picked her up she was different. The messages and worship times at camp truly made a difference deep ins

I DUMPED THE DISH OF venison into the trash and sighed. I’d had such hope for that recipe. My husband is a hunter, and while I like having wild game in our freezer, sometimes it’s hard to get the gamier meats tender. It’s sobering to think that even

WHEN I GO OUT TO eat with friends or family, they know what I’ll be doing while we wait for our order. Collecting the paper that came off the straws and the slips of paper wrapped around the napkins holding the utensils. I like to twist it, fold it,

AS A WRITER, I LOOK at screens. All. The. Time. And when I stop looking at the big screen in front of me, somehow I end up reaching for the cell phone in my purse to look at. It is crazy how so much of my day can get sucked up checking on friends on

AS I TYPED THE SCRIPTURE above, two more urgent e-mails landed in my in-box, and one voice mail with an explanation point popped up on my phone. It seems that everyone I talk to is saying the same thing, “Why is my life so hectic and my schedule so f

MY FATHER CAME TO THIS country as a refugee. After spending five of his teenage years in a displaced person’s camp following World War II, his family was sponsored by a church in Minnesota and they began to make a new home here. From the stories I he

MY HUSBAND IS A COLLEGE tight end turned high school football coach. My son is a quarterback in middle school. Practices, games, films, weights, and strategy consume the summer and fall of every year. Needless to say, even with three girls plus me in

I’VE ALWAYS STRUGGLED WITH THIS verse, whether I encountered it in my Bible reading or sang it as a chorus in church. Really? In everything, give thanks? Everything? I’ve always been a “glass half empty” kind of gal and have always been able to think

RECENTLY, MY FAMILY AND I went through a season of financial reduction that has launched me back to some basics of faith and following Christ, including whether blessings and money are linked at all. Here are some key questions in my thoughts: Is hav

WHEN I WAS IN MY early twenties, a friend at work asked to borrow ten dollars. She said she’d repay it by the end of the day. A few hours before the conclusion of the workday, she’d made no mention of the loan. Ten dollars might sound like too minor

BOTH MY HUSBAND, SCOTT, AND I have dealt with some fear issues when it comes to public speaking. In high school, Scott would have rather died than give an oral report. His hands would shake. His voice would crack. It wasn’t pretty. But, miraculously,

JESUS AMAZED NATHANAEL BY PROVING that even before He met him, He could see him standing under a fig tree—what’s more, Jesus also knew Nathanael’s character. This revelation prompted Nathanael to proclaim his belief in Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus ass

SEVERAL YEARS AGO I LEARNED about Asperger’s syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism. Articles explained that people with Asperger’s often demonstrate a lack of empathy toward others in distress. Based on personal experience, I’d found this to be

ENJOYING ALL THE BENEFITS OF many Internet sites requires that we enter a password. I often forget that password and may even fail to write it down. So I begin again, either searching my brain for the right combination or entering a new password. For

OLD TESTAMENT AND NEW BOTH reinforce the notion that gratitude is an important part of faith. Several times in the Bible there appears to be a link between thankfulness and prayer and admonitions against fretting. Why is that? One explanation I hear

ALL THE BURNERS ON MY stove were busy with potatoes, gravy, and green beans. The oven wafted scents of roasting turkey. As we prepared for family to arrive for Thanksgiving dinner, music played from my iPod. I hummed along as I stirred the gravy. “I

THERE ARE DAYS I THINK back wistfully as I contemplate the size jeans I wore in high school, but the older I get the less I want to go back to those days. I don’t want to return to the immature, self-centered, self-indulgent person that I was. Even w

JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES HAD been among a crowd of thousands for some time while He shared His teachings. After hours of teaching thousands of people, panic set in as Jesus asked His disciples “How are we going to feed all these people?” He didn’t ask

WE LIKE THE IDEA OF blessings. We’re sure we need blessings, and we do. But do we really understand what Jesus means by bless? We say “bless you” when someone sneezes. In Arkansas, women say “Bless your heart.” And we ask for blessings when we pray.

IT’S HUMBLING TO ADMIT THAT sometimes I’ve taken Scripture out of context. I’ll latch onto a verse that supports my side in a disagreement with my husband, for instance. Or I’ll lean on my own interpretation of a tiny portion of a verse to justify my

MY DAUGHTER, GRACE, AND HER friend, Ethan, have been friends since they were born. Ethan’s mom, Sheila, and I have been friends almost that long. Now we’re raising our families in our small hometown where we all go to the same church. Yesterday after

A POWERFUL IMAGE CAME TO mind as I stood over the kitchen sink draining murky water through a strainer filled with delicate pasta. “This is just like taking our thoughts captive!” I blurted to my husband as I smiled. “We need to leave the good though

LAST WEEK I WAS STRUGGLING to meet a writing deadline, dealing with sore back issues, and trying to pick up around the house. I was failing on all fronts. Life had me on the mat. My husband, Scott, hugged me and encouraged me saying, “Sue, you know e

MY FRIEND, STEVE, WAS TELLING me about a trip he recently took with his ninety-year-old mother. I’m always impressed by the honor he shows her in her old age, because I know he had a difficult upbringing. His mother was not affectionate, nor kind. St

IT’S NO WONDER GABRIEL’S WORDS startled Mary. Various translations of this passage describe her as confused, troubled, even deeply disturbed. Here stood a young woman from a poor family in a small village that was looked down upon by many Jewish peop

GROWING UP, MY FAMILY ALWAYS opened gifts on Christmas Eve. We kids would go into a back bedroom and wait . . . and wait. Finally, we’d hear the ding-a-ling of bells, followed by Dad’s hearty voice: “Santa has come!” We could always tell the “Santa”

ACKNOWLEDGING THAT MY FAITH CONTAINS endless paradoxes that I may never understand helps me in my study of the Bible. So does the reality of my life experience. Although none of my family members have raised a sword against me, there has been an unde

OUR FAMILY CHRISTMAS IN COLORADO last year was a full week of joy, sledding, shopping, “big rounds” (Grandma’s special crepe-like pancakes), presents, and cousin time. The first day back in the school saddle was rough. Will calmly announced that he w

YEARS AGO I WENT WITH my husband to his office Christmas party. He introduced me to various coworkers, and they all began each conversation the same way: “What do you do?” Facing the question over and over left me stammering for a response. “Um, I’m

THINKING OF JESUS AS LIGHT is an image I can appreciate. I live way out in the country where I find myself in the dark a lot. There are no other houses around—my parents and brother live on either side of me but through the woods—and we are far from

I WONDER HOW OFTEN I’VE said to an approaching salesperson, “Just looking.” “Can I interest you in a sample of our new—?” “No, thank you. I’m just passing through.” Usually, that phrase—passing through—is a casual expression. When Jesus is involved,

I’VE BEEN MARRIED TO MY husband, John, for twenty-six years, but for many years I didn’t think that would be the case. My doubt was due to the fears and mistrust I carried into my marriage. I didn’t know my biological dad, and my stepfather was uninv

THE PROPHETESS ANNA PROBABLY MARRIED young, as did most Jewish girls of her time. But after seven years, Anna lost her husband. Instead of remarrying, she lived as a widow, denying herself the joys of marriage for eighty-four years. There’s no indica

IT’S DARK IN THE WOODS, but we have a plethora of flashlights—at least two in each car and each building on the property, on keychains and in purses. My favorite is an orange oval-shaped flashlight that was my dad’s. It’s lightweight and ergonomic. P

TYPE A FOLKS LIKE MARTHA and me easily lapse into fretting and frantic control, certain that without our diligent attention, the planets would stop orbiting around the sun. Or, at the very least, our dinner party would flop. This mind-set is usually

MY FRIEND, TATUM, IS PREGNANT with her third baby. I could barely contain my joy when I found out. There is something so utterly delightful about a new baby. I love babies. Their smell. Their tiny hands and feet. Their amazingly sweet faces and the w

ONE OF MY FAVORITE TIMES of the day is reading aloud to my younger kids. I’ve read books like Little House in the Big Woods, Charlotte’s Web, Betsy-Tacy, and many more wonderful classics. I love sharing some of my most cherished stories with my kids,

TODAY I RECEIVED AN E-MAIL from a woman I knew as a teenager many years ago. She told me how Jesus has been identifying the hurt places in her heart and then healing them one by one. She described her journey, beginning with her childhood. Abandoned

IT’S AMAZING HOW A COMPLIMENT or word of encouragement can nourish our spirit. A simple string of words, delivered at just the right time, assures us we can do or believe anything God sets before us. I wonder if that’s why after hearing the words of

LIFE HAS ITS UNPLEASANT MOMENTS, but when I think of happy occasions, I remember celebrations from the past: the day I graduated from high school, the day I married, the birth of our children and grandchildren, special birthdays, anniversaries, vacat

THIS MORNING I’M HAVING DEVOTIONS near a window that looks out over a peaceful pond. Birds sing and the sky is dusted with soft shades of blue and white. It’s easy to be aware of Jesus’s presence. But I’ve dwelt in other places. Sometimes my view has

FOR MOST OF MY LIFE I’ve struggled with feelings of falling short. If most of my house was clean, I’d fret about the room that wasn’t. If I exercised, I’d feel guilty about a poor food choice I made. If my child had trouble with a school subject, I’d

YEARS AGO IF YOU HAD asked me to name my favorite kitchen/ cooking task, I’d have answered, “Baking bread.” A friend’s hearty wholewheat bread recipe made a heavy loaf—filling, satisfying, and a good Christmas gift for neighbors who didn’t bake their

OUR YOUTH PASTOR RECALLS THE months as a newlywed when he and his bride owned no living room furniture. Lacking both a sofa and the money to buy one, they sat on the floor. They hesitated to invite guests because they felt uncomfortable asking others

I HAVE NEVER BEEN A fan of the dark. Everything is unknown. Noises sound worse at night. The shapes I can see look menacing. Making it through the hallway without tripping on a wayward shoe or knocking a picture off the wall is almost impossible. The

WE LIVE NEAR THE SOUTH shore of Lake Superior—also known as the shipwreck coast. Its sandy floor is littered with wrecks. You can drift over them in a glass-bottomed boat or walk beside the beached wreck of the Mary Jarecki, or even see the ship’s be

THE JEWISH PEOPLE OF JESUS’S day who lived under the tyranny of Rome longed for when real peace—true cessation of enemy control—would come. And that’s what they thought when they heard Isaiah’s prophecy of a soon arriving Prince of Peace. Naturally w

I LOVE CHRISTMAS DAY. JESUS’S birthday, time with family and friends, planning the perfect gifts, the anticipation of receiving gifts. But I might love Christmas Eve even more. It’s the pinnacle before the Gift, the height of knowing, trusting, hangi

I ONCE MET A COUPLE celebrating seventy years of marriage. Naturally, they were often asked the secret of their successful relationship. They emphasized that their marriage had not been a fairy tale. Both recalled tough times when they felt like givi

IT’S AMAZING THAT GOD USED lowly shepherds to be His first evangelists. It must have been quite a sight when the angel came telling them not to be afraid. There they were, watching in wonder as the heavens opened and the angels sang, “Glory to God in

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO FRIENDS OF ours wanted to do something with their grandchildren’s inheritance that would set them up for the future. My friends didn’t just want to put money into a bank account. Instead, they sought to provide job opportunities

WHAT DOES WISDOM LOOK LIKE? Is it the absence of confusion? Knowing the answers? I’d love to have wisdom at my fingertips. According to James 3:13, having true wisdom affects how we live and talk. That makes sense, because I’d like to have wisdom so

AFTER MANY YEARS OF WORKING odd hours in chaotic Neonatal Intensive Care Units in four different states, I’m following the apostle Paul’s recommendation. Retired and living deep in the woods, I again have chickens, keep bees, and garden. I have even

FOR THE FIRST LESSON IN my daughter Adelaide and her cousin Sophia’s Bible study for kids at our church, they chose Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. Sophia read the story aloud and then they fielded questions from their audience. While Madd

HOW DOES ONE BEST DESCRIBE New Year’s Eve? I equate it with the word celebrate. When I was a teenager, my parents invited our church’s youth group to celebrate New Year’s Eve at our home. My sister and I decorated the basement with streamers and ball

Every attempt has been made to credit the sources of copyrighted material used in this book. If any such acknowledgment has been inadvertently omitted or miscredited, receipt of such information would be appreciated. Scripture quotations marked (AMP)