You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. Psalm 145: 116 NIV If Buffy, the first cat-encounter, was local, the next was long distance. The black and white stray, Misha, was more influential, too, although we never met him. He was our “second-hand” cat. Misha wandered into my mother’s life shortly…
Month: June 2019
Philippians 1:12-14 (NIV)
Please read these verses in your own Bible or online at Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1%3A+12-14&version=NIV The notes are mine. v 12 Paul takes the long view, seeing what happens to him through God’s eyes. (What has happened to him? Arrest, 2-year imprisonment, 4 trials. An appeal to Caesar (his right as a Roman citizen) sends him…
Rainy Day
My father used to quote this rhyme. The rain it raineth on the just And also on the unjust fella; But chiefly on the just, because The unjust steals the just’s umbrella. – Lord Bowen Charles Synge Christopher Bowen, Baron Bowen, (1 January 1835 – 10 April 1894) was an English judge.
Philippians 1: 7-11 NIV
Please read these verses in your own Bible or online (Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1%3A+7-11&version=NIV The notes are from my studies. v 7-8 Financial support, prayer support, friendship, fellow sharers of God’s grace. There is a special relationship between these Christians and Paul. Paul is not alone, whether imprisoned or on trial, for the Philippians share it…
Journey
(Written sometime in the summer of 1993, shortly after my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis.) I am on a journey, a pilgrimage. I am not entirely sure when it began; I do not know where it will end. Right now, my reality is travel, or travail. For this is not only a physical journey; it is…
Suburban Fragrances
In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an…
I Hear a Noise
Here in the Midwest, tornado alarms are tested on the first Tuesday of the month. The people in our house acknowledge and ignore them: just another test. But the cats don’t shrug it off. Awakened from morning naps, heads turn and ears swivel as they search for the source of the noise. Eyes grow large…
Philippians 1: 1-6 (NIV)
Please read these verses in your own Bible or online (Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+1%3A+1-6&version=NIV The notes are from my studies. v1 This letter was written from a Roman prison in approximately 61 AD. In the standard greeting of the day, Paul styles himself and Timothy as “servants” (the Greek word means “slaves”). I am much quicker…
Discovery
The bad news: there are ants in my bathroom. The good news: the spiders got them.
Genesis 3: 8-24 NIV
Consequences Please read these verses in your own Bible or online (Bible Gateway: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+3%3A+8-24&version=NIVThe notes are from my studies. v 8: Apparently they had a regular appointment with God. I imagine they were usually eager to meet him. But not this day. On this day, they hid. (Did they really think they could hide from…