life. faithful.

Here in Arkansas, it's definitely not spring yet...but there are glimpses of it. The first thing you see are the jonquils, and they seem to pop up out of nowhere. They are bunched across the countryside, along back roads and creek beds, many planted by early settlers to the region and a whole lot of others that have spread through the decades along flood paths.     Then there are the frogs singing at night--not loud yet, but there, calling out with tentative voices. The chickens take notice of the days growing longer and egg production starts to pick back up. They also take notice of the green starting to sprout--oregano is a favorite.   But inevitably, the hint of spring is followed by another freeze. It comes almost every year, the false spring that leads to early buds on trees and the danger of frost killing off the delicate buds. I've heard people talk about how bad the false hope is, how these early nice days only serve to get their hopes up and then the winter retur...

  The story of David and Goliath is a familiar one, even if you don't really know a whole lot of stories from the bible. It's referenced all the time, a picture of standing up to the giants in your life, facing your problems head-on, knowing you can conquer anything you come up against. Or at least, that's the common understanding. We're shown David, a young man, who isn't afraid to fight the giant no one else will stand against. And on the surface, that's true. But what really matters is what we see when we dig a little bit deeper. Yes, we're shown David. We're told he was a young man (though I tend to think he was a bit older than is usually depicted, possibly closer to 20) who was home tending his father's sheep instead of serving in the army. We know that God had used his time in the fields protecting the sheep as preparation for what he would face--he had killed both a lion and a bear, and he was willing to stand against the giant. It's easy...

We're a week into 2026, and I'm glad to see you here :) At the beginning of the week, I received a newsletter from Story Warren that took a different approach to the start of a new year. Instead of focusing on change and resolutions, she gave a reminder of things that are still true heading into 2026. Following her lead, I would like to give you a list of 6 things for 2026. My prayer is that it will bring you some peace, reassurance, and encouragement as we start another year. 1.  God isn't surprised by any of the stuff that catches us off guard. There's nothing that will pop up in your life this year that will make Him say, "Well crud--I didn't expect that. Now what?" Isaiah 46:10 tells us, "I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, 'My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.'" So whatever happens, God knows. He's there in the midst of it, even the worst of the worst. 2. ...

 We see the Christmas story in a neat, polished picture: a serene young mother, Mary, with her doting husband by her side as they adore a peaceful new baby while the animals watch quietly; beautiful angels singing in the night sky to a group of shepherds who then bow around the manger; 3 kings decked out in all their splendor. We speak of peace on earth and depict the birth of Christ as a moment solely of peace and joy and all the happy feelings. But the peace of Christmas isn't about a neat, polished story where everything is going perfectly. The young mother? She was far from home with only her new husband, expecting a baby that had most likely made her the subject of rumors since she first started showing. She had endured a trip of around 70 miles at the end of her very first pregnancy, not really knowing what to expect or when the baby would come. She got to a new city where she was given a place in a stable instead of a room, then gave birth to her first baby far from home in ...

When I started looking into the weekly themes for Advent, I realized there's not really a uniform list... so I guess I just get to pick and choose what I focus on ;) So I'm using this list from Focus on the Family a few years ago: Last week was hope, and this week I want to look at faith.    One of the most famous places to look at for faith in the bible is Hebrews 11, often called the "faith hall of fame." In the Voice translation, the chapter starts off with this: " Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen." (Hebrews 11:1) What follows is an amazing list of some of the heroes of the bible: Abel Enoch Noah Abraham Sarah Isaac Jacob Joseph Moses Rahab Gideon Barak Samson Jephthah David Samuel We all love to hear the great, dramatic stories of faith. We are thrilled to hear about miracles and people standing for their faith in the face of great persecution, like Daniel when he was...

 It's the season of Advent, the time set aside for celebration and reflection as we count down to Christmas day. "Advent" means (from the American Heritage Dictionary) "The coming or arrival of something or someone that is important or worthy of note." As a tradition, the celebration of this season has been around for at least 1,500 years...but it's not something I grew up with in a Southern Baptist/Methodist family. This year, though, I feel drawn to focus in these days leading up to Christmas. This first week, my focus is hope. When we generally talk about hope, our meaning usually leans more toward wishing for something. We talk about something we would like to see happen, but something we're really not sure about...we  hope  for our team to win a game, we  hope  to get a certain gift, we  hope  to get to go on a vacation, we  hope  for a certain political outcome. There's a secondary definition of hope, though--to have confidence or trust...