Recently, our small town was recently devastated by a murder/suicide. Having grieved numerous deaths by suicide personally, my heart goes out to the family and friends left behind. While I did not know the families involved, my heart hurts for them; I can only imagine the consuming agony they must feel. Surviving Michael’s suicide was gut-wrenching at times, but I cannot begin to fathom the…
Recent reports say that nearly one military personnel dies by suicide daily, marking more suicides than deaths in the war in Afghanistan. Both those who have been deployed and those who serve stateside are at risk. They face tremendous stressors; they often return home unable to find employment or to find relationships severed. Many soldiers refuse to admit their struggles for fear of being dubbed…
I’ve been thinking a lot about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Just when they though their suffering was at its peak, they were thrown into a fiery furnish but to their astonishment, they were not burned. What kept them from being burned? The Lord’s presence. What kept them from frantically losing their mind and endless worries? The Lord’s presence. Recently, I feel as though I’ve been…
Fear. We’ve all experienced it. Fear can be crippling. It can paralyze us. Fear can also be good; fear keeps children from touching a hot stove. Fear keeps us from jumping into the lion’s den. So how do we keep a healthy fear from turning into a consuming fear? Several years ago, I was struck by lightening. It was a terrifying, death-defying experience. For months…
Ever wonder where an author gets her motivation to write? Ever since I was a child, I always dreamed of being a writer. When I was about nine years old, I spent months writing a story to give my parents that year for Christmas. A year later, I asked my parents, “Do you remember the story I gave you last year? Did you like it?…
I’ve always heard big things come in small packages, but I never dreamed this small package would get so big. Last year we went on vacation as a family of four (me, Jorjanne, our dog, and our cat) but we came home a family of five. We adopted a pet turtle named Polkala (Pokey for short). He came with a cute little “habitat.” It didn’t…