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TechnoratiPOST PUBLISHED INAugust, 2011
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A Native American Beauty, Sex, and the Church
August 31st, 201101:12 AM ETI was told long ago that if you wanted an honest opinion about something, trust that of strangers, not of family or friends (I call them "chummies"). Strangers will give you an honest assessment, while chummies will tell you only what they think you want to hear—or in some cases, say nothing at all. If you are a writer, artist, musician, cook, o... -
Writing Perfume
August 31st, 201101:00 AM ETIn my small Bible group, we were all bemoaning the fact that we weren't doing enough, that we needed to be out working in God's Kingdom more. We each compared ourselves to others and found our own walk with the Lord lacking. Someone pointed out to me that my writing was ministry—that my books were a witness to faith and the Christian life. I foun... -
Feeling Alone In The Pew? Overcoming Isolation Among Women in the Local Church
August 30th, 201103:29 PM ETI was a lonely believer. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it? With Jesus as my best friend, how could I be lonely? But I needed a God-touch from someone with skin on. A newlywed and seminary wife far from family and friends, I felt isolated. God understood. What I could not orchestrate, He did. He appointed a beautiful ensemble of older women in ac... -
World Changers—A Little Victorian Backbone Goes a Long Way…
August 29th, 201102:02 PM ETYou are reading this in the English language; the emerging real-world Esperanto at the center of global communication. But, chances are, only a small minority of you have a majority of English blood running through your veins. I probably have a little—my paternal line weaves back in time through Kentucky, up the Ohio River, and into Pennsylvania... -
Pennies From Heaven
August 23rd, 201111:59 PM ETMy sister and I started to do morning walks during the weekdays. One day there was a penny on the ground and I reached down to pick it up. I explained there was a day, not too long ago, that I wouldn't have picked it up, but instead I would have just left it for someone else who may have needed it. But one day, I was convicted of appreciating even... -
The Parent Divide
August 23rd, 201112:20 AM ETI played board games with a young family: father, mother, and two elementary school-aged children. Games are a favorite pastime of theirs. The children have learned many skills from these games: fair play, mental and physical dexterity, waiting their turn, and honesty, even if it means they lose sometimes. Before the girls learned to read, their p... -
Through All Generations
August 22nd, 201112:20 AM ET"I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations. I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself." Psalm 89: 1-2 This morning in my time with God, I was reading Psalm 89. As I opened my Bible and began reading, that... -
What Do They See?
August 18th, 201111:25 PM ETOur woman's group at church has been studying the book of Revelations. Wow, Sometimes it's a bit overwhelming to read all of the things prophesied to happen in the future. But in the midst of all the seals and judgments, is a very knee-bending reality. God sits on the throne, and those in the throne room see before their eyes someone who is worsh... -
Why God Sometimes Says "Stay!"
August 18th, 201101:07 AM ETMarley leaped at me with all the vigor of a husky puppy. Her ample paws tore at my arm. "Stay, Marley!" I reinforced the command with my palm poised at her chops. Immediately, her rump plopped to the ground. I walked across the lawn and turned to face her. I waited. She waited, eyes eager, ears twitching, tongue panting. At last, I called, "Heel... -
What the Apostle Paul, Johnny Cash, and C.S. Lewis Taught Me
August 17th, 201112:42 AM ETThe apostle Paul did not shut himself off from culture; he invaded it. He went to Athens and spoke to pagan philosophers and thinkers about their altar to an Unknown God. When country music singer Johnny Cash died in 2003, Time Magazine ran a special report on "The Man in Black." Cash would never have been as well known for his Christian faith if ... -
Sitting at Jesus’ Feet
August 15th, 201112:06 AM ETThis morning when I turned on my online music station, the first song it played was a Gaither Vocal Band song called "Sitting at the Feet of Jesus." It was particularly poignant at that moment, because that's exactly where I'd been for the previous hour and a half. It's probably my favorite place to be, and I'm quite particular to guard that time o... -
God Is No Respecter of Persons or Cats
August 15th, 201112:03 AM ETI have two cats named Baby Girl and Thaddaeus. Baby Girl is a diminutive older gray tabby while Thaddaeus, named after a character in my first book, Unto the Least of These, is a large portly orange tabby. Thaddeaeus is very jealous of Baby Girl. If I want to pet Baby Girl, I'd better have one hand on Thaddaeus at the same time or he gets mad. ... -
Is Life Calling You Too Loudly?
August 12th, 201103:32 AM ETI love to be out and about staying in contact with my family and friends. The one thing I have come to discover about myself though, is when I'm out and about too much, I start getting frazzled. My emotions become extreme over the issues of life. That's when I need to reel myself in and spend some time alone, doing projects, writing, reading and t... -
A Prayer for My Husband—Colossians 1: 9-12
August 12th, 201103:25 AM ETHeavenly Father— I pray for my husband today. I ask that you would fill him with the knowledge of your willAnd that you would give him spiritual wisdom and understanding. I ask this so that he might live a life worthy of you, Lord, and that he might please you in every way. I pray that he would bear fruit in every good work, that he would gro... -
In Defense of Boredom
August 11th, 201101:08 AM ETI read a great article this weekend about our tech-saturated world and the damage overstimulation is doing to creativity. (Scott Adams "The Heady Thrill of Having Nothing to Do" Wall Street Journal 8/6/11) Since I just got back from spending a couple of hours at the hospital while my mom had a CAT scan, and I had my IPad with me so I'd have pl... -
Laundry Day
August 11th, 201112:59 AM ETI love laundry day. It's almost my favorite day of the week. When I grew up, my family used an old wringer washer, so laundry day was a major production. When all of us kids were still home, it was quite a houseful and the laundry piled up rather quickly, so Mother did laundry twice a week: Mondays and Fridays. I loved those days, especially i... -
Logic and Feeding Multitudes
August 10th, 201112:55 AM ETWe can't even predict the weather accurately beyond a few days. The logical world we know as manageable by our current knowledge—math, physics, and so on—represents only a tiny part of the universe, according to something called chaos theory. But chaos, so I understand, is not really chaos. It's part of an order we don't yet understand, like t... -
What I Learned from Horatio
August 10th, 201112:52 AM ETHoratio Spafford was a successful Chicago lawyer, a contemporary and friend of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1873, the family doctor recommended a vacation for Mrs. Spafford, so the couple planned a trip to Europe by ship. Just before their departure, a matter came up that changed Mr. Spafford's plans. Rather than ruining the family vacation,... -
Murder by Suicide... Internet Predator Claims Right to Free Speech, Even if it costs Others their Lives
August 09th, 201102:08 AM ETOne thing cops know is that some people enjoy murder. That is their motive. Your average person does not understand this. This month a court in Minnesota decided the case of William Melchert-Dinkel, an ex-nurse who trolled the Internet for victims the way sharks hunt for bleeding prey. He looked for depressed people so he could talk them into comm... -
An Insect Chorus
August 09th, 201101:39 AM ET"Grandma, what is that?" Two-year-old Daniel cocked his head, gaze raised to the sky. "What, Daniel?" I stooped beside him and studied his pudgy face. He pointed to the trees. "That sound." I strained to listen for what I had not slowed down long enough to absorb. My eyes and ears had been intent on adult concerns, not tuned in with a childlike ... -
A True Diamond: A Review of Bruce Judisch’s The Word Fulfilled
August 08th, 201112:21 AM ETIf you thought that no one could find adventure in the story of Jonah, you've missed The Word Fulfilled. The Word Fulfilled is the last of three novels by Bruce Judisch that chronicle the narrative of the historical Jonah. I say historical because, Mr. Judisch, in his treatment of Jonah the prophet has teased out some beautiful historic... -
Revamping Your Leftover Philosophy
August 08th, 201112:13 AM ETHave you ever had leftover food that you really didn't feel good about throwing out, but still you didn't look forward to having to eat the re-heated version? I came from a long line of very "Scotch" people who cannot abide waste, nor can we usually afford much waste. And so...we eat leftovers. Now setting up housekeeping myself years and years ... -
Love, the Rebel Force
August 05th, 201112:07 AM ETJesus said we should love our enemies. Perhaps we have heard this admonition so often we forget how revolutionary it is. It has been pointed out that most major religions, if not all, encourage doing to others as you would have others do to you, even if in a negative form. (Don't do to others what you don't want done to you.) But love your enemie... -
Poignant Characters and Scheming Enemies; A review of Rebecca Velez’s Such a Time As This
August 05th, 201112:03 AM ETIn Such A Time as This, Ms. Velez retells in unique style the delightful tale chronicled in the Biblical book of Esther. She takes us from the young girl Hadassah's warm and peaceful home in Susa's Jewish enclave, to the guile and intrigue of the royal harem in Xerxes' palace. Along the way we're given glimpses into the tender mind of Hadassah as s... -
Baby Joseph And the Kindness of Strangers
August 04th, 201112:38 AM ETIf your heart breaks easily, you don't need to read this thing. In February 2010, Joseph and Sandra Maraachli became the parents of a baby boy they named Joseph. Just having another baby was an act of faith for them. Eight years earlier, they lost a daughter to a rare genetic condition called Leigh's Syndrome. With this terrible disease, a baby i... -
Don't Forget Leah While You're Pursuing Rachel
August 03rd, 201101:29 AM ETI have always had a problem with the story of Jacob and his two wives. First came Leah— steady, dependable, mother of many sons. Then came Rachel, ravishingly beautiful but only producing two sons, the last of which took her life. Reading between the lines, I am afraid Leah was never appreciated for her worth in the family, taken for granted, pus... -
Jonah Revealed as the World Has Never Seen: A Review of Bruce Judisch’s The Journey Begun
August 03rd, 201101:22 AM ETJonah learned a lot while studying the insides of a great fish. In The Journey Begun, author Bruce Judisch gives us the gift of a novel that ensures that message is not lost on us. This Jonah is real flesh and blood—a reluctant prophet, whose family and friends can't understand him, and who in his rush to escape God, cuts a swathe of pain ... -
Love is Spelled T-I-M-E
August 02nd, 201112:28 AM ETTo my six grandchildren, love is spelled T-I-M-E. T ouching: Lots of hugs are in order for the little ones who are currently ages 4,3,2,1,0 (two newborns). No, not blast-off, although some days it seems like we're ready to take off with all the noise and toddler activity on the ol' Rife homestead. I nvesting: Chuck and I have discovered... -
Praying God’s Word For My Family
August 02nd, 201112:23 AM ETWhen I was a young wife and mother, an older woman in my church shared that she prayed God's Word over her family regularly. Soon God began opening my eyes to Scriptures I should pray over my family. I routinely did that for years, but lately I've gotten out of the habit. God brought this to mind this morning as I read one of those prayers during m... -
Are You Serious or Are You Skilled?
August 01st, 201112:20 AM ETI met my friend Kent for a cup of coffee a few weeks ago. He has been a great encourager for me the last several years in my writing and in my life—a true Life-Board member. In this digital age of Facebook, Twitter, e-mail and IM-ing, this simple analog activity of heart-to-heart conversation has become increasingly essential to my emotional and... -
Ever Feel Weary?
August 01st, 201112:14 AM ETHave you ever felt like asking, "What next?" but then found yourself afraid to find out what could be next? Ever watch your dream play out in another person's life? Or wondered why it seems so easy for some and you're scrambling through the day, frazzled and exhausted? Have you ever just been plain weary? Those times are tough. Ever been so tired...
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Bindings offers thought-provoking blogs by vibrant, published Christian authors on faith issues, life and current events, and intriguing, must-read books.
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