What’s In Your Hands?

loaves of flat bread with two fishes

Luke 9:12-17 records Jesus feeding 5000 men with five loaves of bread and two fish.  The result was that all ate, everyone was satisfied, and the disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces leftover.  Luke didn’t give much detail about the precise way Jesus did this except to say,…

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Space Available

movers unloading boxes at a residence

Growing families often move residences one or more times to find the additional space they require.  A larger house generally means more bedrooms and baths, more storage, and more kitchen cabinets. There is something very gratifying about moving from cramped conditions into what feels so much more spacious.  But the…

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The Mystique of Being Unconventional

artist's paint brush mixing colorful paints

Artists are often thought to be a little peculiar, so in college I took advantage of being an Art Major to be unconventional.  My clothes were splashed with my current projects: pottery mud, paint, or ink, and sometimes blood from the slip of an X-Acto knife. I generally wore the…

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Demanded or Freely Given

ungrateful woman looking at a gift

Have you ever had the experience of offering to do something nice for someone who instead of thanking you, immediately began making demands regarding the gift?  An offer of service might be given a hard deadline along with strict performance requirements.  An invitation to a meal could lead to the…

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Unattractive Package

young man holding crumpled package

When our grandson was six, he wanted to gift and wrap his own Christmas presents.  Many of his gifts came from his collection of “treasures” that ranged from snail shells, to ordinary small rocks, to weathered glass fragments.  His unique wrapping method consisted of half a roll of wrapping paper,…

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Deconstructing the Lie

red apple wet with droplets of water in a dark setting, illuminated from the top with a spotlight

Most of us are very familiar with the account of the Fall of Man where Eve was deceived by the serpent into eating forbidden fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  It is tempting to judge her harshly for so easily believing the words of the…

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No Black Bears

One of our boys came home from elementary school with an unusual challenge he tried out on me.   He said, “I bet you can’t stand in a corner and not think about a black bear.”  My immediate reaction was that was silly, because I never think about black bears unless…

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The Unexpected Through the Unlikely

Most of us very familiar with the Christmas Story of Jesus’ incarnation marvel at what God did, and give no thought to a possible alternative story line.  We have the advantage of Biblical history that specifically fulfills prophesy.  But those who originally received these prophesies could only guess what the…

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