Category: Detoured by Affliction

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7…

I took my troubles to the Lord;    I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer. Psalm 120:1 NLT I suspect that there are ants permanently living under my floor. I ignore them as long as they stay under, but from time to time, they find their way up. This time, my first clue was ants…

“Many people think their prayers are never answered because it is the answered ones they forget.”C. S. Lewis Someday we’ll praise and thank God for the unanswered prayers that once we begged for. (unknown) Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear;To check the rising doubt,…

Many people are suffering— crushed by the weight of their troubles.But the Lord is a refuge for them, a safe place they can run to.Lord, those who know your name come to you for protection.And when they come, you do not leave them without help. Psalm 9:9-10 Easy-to-Read Version “We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good,…

Our brain accepts what the eyes see, and our eye looks for whatever our brain wants.  Daniel Gilbert One day, at the height of a Chronic Fatigue crash, I wanted to watch TV, but couldn’t find the remote. (Remember when there were no remotes? Now we can’t watch TV at all without one!) So up…

The Israelites were stuck (Exodus 14). They had done everything God told them, followed everywhere Moses led them. Now they were stuck between the sea and the Egyptian army, and in terrible danger. They probably thought, “I did everything I was supposed to do. Why is this happening?” Because that’s the way we tend to…

In the crowd that day was a woman who had suffered greatly for twelve years from slow bleeding. Even though she had spent all that she had on healers, she was still suffering. Pressing in through the crowd, she came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his garment. Instantly her bleeding stopped and she was healed. Jesus suddenly…

We Remember Adapted from a post on September 11, 2019 by Pam R September 11, our nation’s day of affliction, has become a day of remembrance. Yet I worry that as time passes we forget the horror, the sorrow of that day, and completely lose the incredible unity we felt as those events unfolded. We who were alive…

After Barry retired, we team-taught Adult Sunday School and took classes. In one such class, we were randomly given 3 ordinary playing cards. A poster listed each card’s meaning. I turned over a card and found I had a full-ride scholarship! The next card was a second full-ride scholarship! I started to feel pretty cocky….

I had an dream: a garden at the base of the swimming pool. Unfortunately, that area was lawn. If I wanted a garden, the grass has to go. It was the early days of Barry’s illness (ALS). He suggested we pay our lawn service to dig my new garden. But it would be at least…