About the Author

For almost 50 years, I have been a persistent student. I did my university study later in life than most. I have an undergraduate major in  English, and I  studied with the finest professors I could find on our campus-- in English, American, and World literature, and linguistics. My undergraduate minor was Biblical studies,where I sought professors of excellence whose teaching was based on personal identification with Christ and strong Biblically orthodox theology. I did my Master's Degree in English with a focus on second language learning because I perceived opportunities to teach English as a ministry to international students in this country and possibly abroad.

I have traveled on five continents, lived on four, and taught on three. God has taught me in a personal way how precious are all the people of his world. I have served on the staffs of two churches as Minister of Education. In and out of the church I have met people who struggle with hurts, habits and hang-ups--sometimes because of what others have done to them and sometimes because of what they have done to themselves.

While working with a Gideon Auxiliary, I regularly met with girls and women who were incarcerated, and I longed for opportunity to meet them outside the confines of jail cells. When I moved back to Kentucky, I found Celebrate Recovery (CR), a para-church program and a safe place for people who are physically, mentally, and emotionally bruised to learn that the loving Creator of the Universe knows their hurts and is waiting to free them for a life of forgiveness, purpose, and peace.

About this Website

I plan to write to hurting people, praying that they find relief from pain, suffering, disappointment, loneliness, hopelessness, rejection, insecurities, hurts, habits, hangups, addictions, and just general needs as they regularly go with me into the Scriptures--words written for our instruction and for hope (Romans 15:3). My prayer is that some will come to know the comfort only found in a personal relationship Jesus Christ. He knows us. He'll meet us where we are. He promised.

I hope to write often--daily is my goal but I know how difficult that will be--about a Scripture and a hymn or praise song. I truly believe that God continues to speak to us through his Word, and I want to share some things I've learned with any who chose to join me on an amazing journey of faith, receiving forgiveness from the God of the universe through his son, Jesus Christ and thereby learning to forgive ourselves and others. Fifty years have taught me that the Christian journey is difficult but at the same time it is a powerful, rewarding journey into peace of body, mind, and spirit.

Dedication

I dedicate each written word

• to the Lord who found me almost 50 years ago--lonely, frightened, and insecure--and has never left me.
• to all who long to know the life-changing love of Jesus Christ.

Hymn of the Day

Here I Am, Lord

I, the Lord of sea and sky,

I have heard my people cry. 

All who dwell in dark and sin

My hand will save,

I, who made the stars of night;
I will make their darkness bright.
Who will bear my light to them?
Whom shall I send?

Refrain
Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord?
I have heard you calling in the night.
I will go, Lord, if you lead me.
I will hold your people in my heart.

I, the Lord of snow and rain,
I have borne my people's pain,
I have wept for love of them.
They turn away.
I will break their hearts of stone,
Give them hearts for love alone.
I will speak my word to them.
Whom shall I send?

Refrain

I, the Lord of wind and flame,
I will tend the poor and lame,
I will set a feast for them.
My hand will save.
Finest bread I will provide
Till  their hearts are satisfied.
I will give my life for them,
Whom shall I send?

Refrain



Though I don't play an instrument or sing for anyone but the Lord and myself, I love music. It ministers to my soul in a depth I can barely put into words. It also speaks to me words of urging as I continue my life of learning and serving. This relatively new hymn, written by Dan Schutte in 1981, based on Isaiah 6:8, is one of my favorites. (The tune is simple, and you may find it in most Methodist hymnals and probably on line.) Schutte's words often run through my head as the Lord speaks to me about some ministry. I think Schutte captures well  God's tenderness as he speaks of his love for all he has made and his pain and disappointment that we have not responded to his longing for us. And I am challenged by the refrain, a servant's  response of obedience to the voice
 of his Lord.

This hymn, especially the little refrain, has  become increasingly important to me as I read and study. Over and over I hear myself singing it to the Lord as I am challenged by what I see and hear. I sing the words in obedience, but I also recognize their challenge and remind myself, "Don't sing this if you don't mean it. Going almost always requires more than you first imagine."

I need not fear, however. Years ago, I read in the Gospel of John, "I no longer call you servant; I call you friend." And I no longer answer as a servant; he is my Friend. Since a friend does what a Friend asks, I am learning obedience. Thus, with only slight trepidation, I chose a line from this chorus to serve as the title for the blog I now take up again to communicate to friends


Scripture for Today

Luke 2:52

And Jesus grew in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man.

For years I had an "unbiblical" picture of Jesus. I recognized his diety, but I failed to recognize his humanity. Because of that, my relationship to and with him was stunted. I now understand more that he came to earth, limited only by human flesh. He did not move supernaturally but had to walk from place to place. He ate, slept, and functioned in a 24-hour day. Yes, he was God, but in flesh! He had to grow up, mentally, physically, socially and spiritually! Can that be possible? According to Luke's verse above, yes? He's been where we are; he understands! Amazing!

The physical part is no problem for our limited minds. He came as a baby,  but the "gentle Jesus, meek and mild" that we see in the manger is only the beginning. He didn't stay there. He grew and as he grew he faced every thing we face, every temptation, every challenge, every emotional hurt, every pain of rejection. When he says to us, "I understand," it's a statement of absolute truth. He does understand! From experience!

The wisdom part of his growth is a little more difficult to grasp. Jesus, who actually inspired the Scriptures we read, had to learn them! He wasn't born into that tiny form with a head full of words. He was born a normal baby of flesh who had to learn to speak and then to read and then to understand what he'd read. He learned and recognized his Father's Word even as we do. Only he recognized his Father's voice immediately and responded in obedience--immediately.

The spiritual side of his growth require some serious mental exercise. He "grew in favor with God." Can that be true? Didn't God love him from the beginning? How could he grow and become even more accepted? When we get into serious study of God's word, we discover the answers. He "grew in favor" as he was always and in all situations obedient to what God asked! The Scripture says he "learned obedience" and that learning and response continued all the way to the dreaded cross!

Recognizing the social side of his growth will hurt. He grew in "favor with man" even as he endured our stubbornness, our rejection, our self-centeredness, and failure to recognize his Father's great love for us. He loved us so absolutely that he refused to allow our reluctance to hinder him, to deter him on his journey to rescue us from the sin that separated us from his Father. Yes, he learned as a man that God loved us so much he sent him [Jesus] to save us. But there's a little verse in John's Gospel that we often miss. As the day of Jesus' crucifixion drew near, he told his disciples that he wold die to save a world his Father loved, and his obedience would show the world how completely he [Jesus] loved his Father (John 14:30).

The little verse above from Luke 2 is a model for us. We need to continue to grow "in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man," This isn't and never will be an easy task, but as we learn more and more how to accomplish this--with God's help, of course--we'll find that past hurts and habits fade into insignificance. We begin and will continue to find a peace and wholeness that was intended for us at our creation.

And so my prayer for myself and all who read this blog is this: Grant, Lord, that we will hear your longing for us, that as Jesus did, we will learn obedience as we mature in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with You and with men.