During a trip to Maui, I walked across the street from our motel. As I breathed in the ocean air and gazed at the sights around me, I suddenly looked at my feet and noticed a pair of sandals resting in the dark red powdery dirt. I looked up and saw a monument, actually a shrine dedicated to the lost extinct island of Moku’ula, a place where royalty and the gods assemble and kings are nurtured. I don’t know if the owner of the sandals merely forgot them or decided to leave them in honor of the many Hawaiian gods, but if he were here I would tell him about another episode in history where someone abandoned his sandals in reverence to deity. Only this deity was not one of many false gods. He was the one and only true God.

The time was about five thousand years ago. Moses was tending his father-in-law’s sheep on Mt. Horeb. It was a typical day for the sheep herder. Minding his own business, he encounters a blazing bush which tweaks his curiosity. He wonders why the bush burns but is not consumed. Drawing closer, he sees a figure in the midst of the fire. He had run away from a king only to encounter the King. God calls his name from the midst of the bush, and Moses responds, “Here I am.” FULL POST

Since the November elections, I cannot count how many people have asked me if we have entered The Last Days. For more than forty-two years, I have paid close attention to signs and seasons, and it appears that some great evil has been unleashed. Therefore, my answer is, “Yes.”

The most frequent follow up expressed concern – what will happen to America? It is my opinion; America is finished as a sovereign nation. The land remains, we find ourselves residents of something, and our US citizenship is dissolving into meaninglessness and transforming into a global villagers. As much as I appreciate Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster, we have exhausted all peaceful political solutions. The current government is driving us toward a borderless planet, and do not think it will honor its word not to use technology against anyone who resists the new global society, including American citizens. There is one thing left for thinking individuals – it is time to make an eternal decision. FULL POST

Maggie found it difficult to get out of bed in the mornings. Activities that once excited her now left her drained. All she wanted to do was sleep. Even sex held little appeal. Food gagged her. Friends were boring. Whereas she use to go out frequently for lunch with her associates, now she just stayed at her desk and ate a sack lunch. Pulling deeper and deeper within herself, Maggie felt hopelessly lost, as if she were spiraling through a long dark tunnel with no hope of return. Her husband had tried everything to pull her out of her pit. He surprised her with a week-long vacation to Bermuda, but all she did while there was sleep. He brought her flowers and took her out to dinner for no special reason, “just because.” But Maggie gave no response. Finally, her husband threw up his hands in despair and sought help from a professional.

Like Maggie, many of us experience a form of depression at some time during our lives. It may be surface, resulting from a sickness, bad weather, a friend's death, or a cut in pay. We may feel down for a few days, but eventually we pull out of our pit and move on to higher, happier ground. FULL POST

A few weeks ago, as we came back from a shopping trip, a driver in a van ran a stop sign on a side road. He crossed the highway only a few feet in front of my husband and I, riding in our almost twenty-year old pickup. My husband hit the brakes. Grinding crash as we collided with the van anyway.

Our seat belts held, but eyeglasses flew off our faces. Shaken, we picked them up, thankfully unbroken, and exited the car. I was aware of slight pain in my ankle, but I was grateful to be walking. We all, in fact, walked away from the accident with no serious injuries.

From the beginning, as I got out of our beloved pickup, the front now bashed in, I was aware of sadness—sadness that not everyone knew the blessings we did. Drunk drivers in our area recently caused several fatal accidents. Nobody wishes for accidents, but if accidents happen, I wish all would end as well as ours did. I wish all knew the kindness of strangers who stopped to make sure we were all right, to act as witnesses, and to direct traffic until the police arrived. I wish they all knew the professionalism of the emergency personnel and the policemen who took charge and of the hospital staff who later checked out our bruises. FULL POST

Praise is infectious! I've discovered that people either succumb to the disease or are repulsed by it, cowering away into the shadows.

I became more aware of this during one of our Subaru breakdowns on Rt. 419 a few years ago. Chuck and I were in the car coming home after work when we experienced some engine difficulties that necessitated a stop.

A few minutes after getting out of the car, a man and his ten-year-old daughter pulled up beside us and asked if we needed help. Chuck explained the problem and the man offered to give us a ride home. Chuck accepted the offer and joined the man in the front seat, while I slid in the back with his daughter.

After exchanging cordialities, Chuck witnessed to the fellow who turned out to be a Mormon. I took my cue and asked the little girl about her church and beliefs. I reciprocated with info about my church and beliefs.

The comment that followed revealed great insight on the part of this young girl. She said, "You know, I used to visit a Baptist church with my grandma. I liked it. It seemed so alive! Our church seems so dead." FULL POST

Your girl has been invited to the prom. It’s a great moment in her life; she dreamed of being a princess since she was little and she is certain this is the chance. You on the other hand, knowing everything that can happen on prom night have a bucket load of misgivings.

As you go dress shopping you find yourself silently praying, please don’t pick out the plunging neckline or the so tight dress it inhibits breathing. The last thing you want is the dressing room battle. Then negotiating the terms for the night, what friends she will be going with, how she gets there, where exactly does she go, and how long does she stay. That minefield is huge.

The boy that asked her, do you know him, his parents, or his expectations? Suddenly your imagination is out of control. You know everything that can go wrong at a prom will and your daughter will be smack dab in the middle of it. Your next logical step is to ground that girl until she is 25.

But don’t mom. This is a time of sanity. Before you shop, before you ask all the questions about the night making the appropriate rules talk to your girl. Not about the prom but about how much you treasure her, remind her how amazing she is. Make sure she remembers she should be valued and respected. FULL POST

Room 1011B. The room my dad shared with a man who was in bed, hooked up to oxygen, and who slept most of the day.

Oh, daddy, I wish you had a more lively roommate. Just walking past the man's bed was a challenge.

"Hi, Dad." I mustered a smile and feigned a cheerful voice. He was dressed and sitting in his chair. I leaned over and gave him a kiss. "My, you've combed your hair so nicely today."

My eighty-nine-year-old dad had trouble even dressing himself after a severe bout with pneumonia and a couple of mini-strokes. Whenever I applauded his efforts, his clear blue eyes twinkled and a slight grin formed on his face. He was getting his strength back, but painfully, I realized that at his age, he would never be the dad I remembered--strong, independent, capable of any task thrown at him. My hero.

The physical therapist stuck her head in the door, signaling time for some earnest work. I gripped Daddy's arm and slowly we walked down to the rehab room where other folks were "working out." Always one for humor, Dad joked with the therapist throughout the exercises. He seemed to come alive around other people. I was glad for that, not looking forward to when he would return home and sink back into his old routine of sleeping and eating. I hoped he would gain some motivation to use his hands and legs again when he went back home. FULL POST

The Declaration of Independence (2nd Paragraph) We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

God endows – not government – to individuals – not collective groups – rights. Our national founders understood fallen and fixed human nature and designed the Constitution to recognize and protect the rights God gives against corruptible men. Progressives concocted a lie transforming privileges into rights. In the name of, “Fairness,” for example, the chief Re-distributor wants to steal from those who have earned wealth. Then, he pretends to give it to the indoctrinated who covet, “free,” stuff. Our founders recognized that a person has a fundamental right to express and practice one’s faith in God. A legitimate government protects this right. It must never use unjust regulations to deprive anyone from practicing the tenants of their beliefs or force the performance of an act, which would violate one’s conscience. Does God violate a person’s will? No. From where does Pharaoh receive the authority to force followers of Judeo-Christian Biblical values to fund birth control under the guise of a, “Fundamental right for women’s health?” It does not come from the Constitution. The rights God gives apply to all people, not a given class, race, or gender. FULL POST

It was 4:30 when we loaded our terrier, Buttons, into the car. A cold misty rain fell, accentuating our dismal mood. My oldest, Rachel, clung to Buttons in the front seat while Michelle and Stephanie sat soberly in the back. During the forty-five minute drive, the winter sky darkened and the rain poured. A feverish Buttons twisted and turned in Rachel's lap, periodically nestling his nose into her neck. Adjusting his blanket like a mother tending her sick child, Rachel quietly wept, her tears falling onto Button's tousled head. Staring straight ahead, I suppressed a sob.

A melancholy foursome walked through the vet's door. I approached the counter and told the receptionist that we had a sick pup requiring immediate attention. The nurse escorted us right back to an examining room. When the doctor came in, Rachel placed Buttons on the table as we all gathered around to observe. She stroked Button's stomach, while Stephanie patted his head. Michelle stood aloof. I watched, my thoughts scrambling for order and direction. FULL POST

No, this is not your grandmother’s America. Christians battle stereotypes caused by protestors at the funerals of dead soldiers, burners of the Quran, and creators of video trailers designed to stir up anger. Others see Christians as anti-intellectuals determined to return us to the days when women were burned as witches.

Christians include deep thinkers and scholars as is true since the days of the apostle Paul. The culture wars, however, have put Christians on the defensive. Changes in lifestyles mean the majority of Americans are not as associated with religion as in the past. Careers and consumerism have positioned thoughts elsewhere. Some Christians fear the changes and huddle in cocoons or lash out vindictively, leading the average American to an unfavorable image of the religion these Christians profess.

Best to remember that Christianity was born and thrived in a multi-cultural, pleasure-seeking world similar to the one today. Christianity grew because Christians provided an answer to the purposelessness of the day. They lived their religion. FULL POST