-
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE KING
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ Whom you have sent. ” ~ Jesus Christ (John 17:3) And so we reach the conclusion of this series. We’ve talked about the heart of the Father, the heart of the Son, and how the heart of Jesus on earth was to do His Father’s business. We discussed what it means for man to be made in the image of God and the great sacrifice both God the Father and God the Son (including God the Holy Spirit) made to bring mankind back into the intimate relationship we were made for: adopted forever…
-
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: THE SACRIFICE
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ” ~ John 3:16 “Oh Pa…What’ll I do now?” In one of my favorite episodes of The Rifleman (“The Schoolmaster”, Season 3, Episode 10), young Mark McCain has had about all he can take of a difficult (and, yes, unfair) teacher. He threatens to quit school but his wise father, Lucas, tells him he can’t run from his problems and that they will figure it out together. So what does Mark do? Skip school with his best friend, of course. In their thrill of freedom,…
-
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: IN HIS IMAGE
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image…’ ” ~ Genesis 1:26 Have you ever wondered what it means to be somebody’s “spitting image”? I still have no idea where the “spitting” part comes from (and don’t really want to know 😊), but I’m pretty familiar with the whole “image” thing. It never fails. Wherever I go, if my family has gone before me, someone’s going to notice and feel the need to say it: “You look just like your Dad!” Those words are a bit strange to hear when you’re a girl, yet I always smile and say “thank you” because I know it’s true. I do…
-
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: THE FATHER’S BUSINESS
“Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” ~ Jesus Christ (Luke 2:49) If someone were to ask you why Jesus came to this planet, what would you say? That He came to save sinners? Do good things? Teach people about Heaven? Or maybe you’d be like, “Wait: who’s Jesus?” If the answer is the latter, check out “The Hidden Meaning” on this blog before going any further. If not, let us proceed… 🙂 Why did Jesus come to this planet? If the question “Why does it matter?” comes to your mind, well, I’m glad you asked it because the answer to that question is the…
-
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: HEART OF THE SON
“I have come in My Father’s name…” ~ Jesus Christ (John 5:43) “Jesus, what would You like for me to say in this blog post?” It’s taken over a month for me to be able to return to this series (“Like Father, Like Son”). The reasons for the delay have varied yet the desire to understand more clearly the heart of the son has remained ever constant. As I mentioned in my first post, the classic t.v. show The Rifleman has been a key element in this journey, showing so clearly the love of a father for his son and a son for his father: watch the show for about…
-
KID’S CARTOONS AND RACIAL RIOTS
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ~ Jesus Christ Last Friday was a wonderful day. After weeks of busyness, my family and I were finally able to take a much needed “day-cation”, traveling to one of our favorite places in Tennessee to sight-see, eat some BBQ, and generally enjoy the beginning of what promises to be a beautiful summer. It felt so good just to laugh and relax together—especially after the tension and intensity of the past two months. When at last we arrived back home, I felt rested, refreshed, and grateful to the Lord for being able to enjoy some peace and normalcy. Then I got on Facebook.…
-
MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART FOUR: EVEN SO COME
“Like a bride waiting for her groom | We’ll be a Church ready for You | Every heart longing for our King | We sing | Even so, come!” “Even So Come” by Passion Worship Band It’s amazing where we can find God sometimes. A sunset. A word from a friend. A song on the radio. A sign on the side of the road. A blog post (hopefully 😊)…. I find Him in a love story that looks non-existent to the world. If you’ve been following my last three posts, you know I take this romance thing pretty seriously. Originally it was the one thing I wouldn’t give to God…
-
MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART THREE: INTENTIONAL WAITING
“Like waking up from the longest dream, how real it seemed…until Your love broke through.” “Your Love Broke Through” by Keith Greene I once heard a heroine in a story say the fear she felt at being captured by bandits “paled in comparison” to how safe she felt in her hero’s arms when he came to her rescue. That’s certainly how it was for me. As I walked out of that gymnasium (see my last blog post) into the parking lot of South Laurel High School, I knew my life had turned a beautiful corner. Peace overwhelmed me like I hadn’t felt since the early days of my childhood when…
-
MY LOVE STORY (SO FAR), PART TWO: SWEET SURRENDER
“Oh, to tell you my story is to tell of Him.” – “My Story” by Big Daddy Weave October 22, 2000, is the sweetest date of my life. For a year after I slipped the promise ring on my finger, I struggled with holding onto life on my own terms. I knew Jesus wanted more—deep down, I knew He wanted everything—yet I just couldn’t bear the thought of what that might mean, especially in regards to my love story. As mentioned in my last blog post, the infamous image of what life would be like if God took over haunted my imagination in vivid color: me, aging and miserable, stuck…
-
STANDING ON TIPTOE
I originally wrote the following on December 5, 2009, at the age of 23…however, I strongly believe the message holds as true today as it did a decade ago. Merry Christmas: past, present, and future! 🙂 Last night was a beautiful night. White twinkle lights glowed in greenery and a cinnamon candle flickered to give the whole room a distinctly holiday warmth as I decorated my art studio for what has consistently been my favorite time of the year: the Christmas season. Though still only early December, the sounds of carols wafted through the air as if it were already Christmas Eve, followed later by a classic holiday movie that…