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    For You…

    Our church held its Walk-Through Nativity last week, and I was privileged to serve as a guide. One of the scenes along the route depicted an angel appearing to the shepherds outside Bethlehem. As I narrated the scene, I quoted Luke 2:10: “The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (NASB) Those beloved words filled me with awe as I repeated them during the course of the week. The good news the…

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    What Do You Magnify?

    What do you magnify? I don’t know about you, but in order to see the fine print of life, I squint. Two small but permanent lines crease my forehead as proof. Even though several pairs of reading glasses are scattered throughout the house, I inevitably can’t find a pair when I need one. My trusty magnifying glass, however, is always in the kitchen drawer. The magnifying glass works well to bring into focus dosages on medicines and laundry instructions on new clothes. Once I examined a brown speck I pulled off our dog to determine if I was holding mud or a tick. Fortunately, it was mud. How about you?…

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    Love Thy Neighbor

    A sunny day with temperatures in the fifties greeted me—perfect for a morning jog around the neighborhood. As I (slowly) ran, I noticed a new sign dotting the landscape. Love Thy Neighbor. Amen and amen. Jesus preached love and lived it. He demonstrated it with the ultimate sacrifice of laying down His own life for mankind. He taught us that by loving others, we show our love for God. But sometimes in our attempt to love one of our neighbors, we judge another. We point fingers and accuse a person or group of not loving like we think they should. Our motives turn messy. In the end, we pick and…

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    Embrace the Journey

    Have you ever focused so intently on reaching your destination you forgot to embrace the journey? Sometimes we need a reminder. Mine came this past August as my husband and I drove to our daughter’s home. To celebrate her birthday, Barry built a beautiful farmhouse table and benches. We rented a truck to transport this special gift. Our usual route is the interstate, where heavy traffic and construction is a given. We decided on a different, less traveled road. We figured a more relaxing drive without fear of a collision mangling the table would be a good thing. So off we went on the six hour trip. My husband drove…

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    Refresh!

    What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘refresh’? Don’t think about pressing a button on your electronic device. Think life. Does a cool breeze on a hot summer day refresh you? Sipping a glass of ice-cold lemonade under a porch fan? How about a dip in the pool after yard work in the sun? When I hear the word ‘refresh,’ I think of a place called Ein Gedi. During our church’s visit to Israel in the summer of 2023, we traveled through parts of the Judean wilderness. As temperatures reached one hundred, the sun beat down relentlessly. But in the midst of the wilderness, we arrived at…