The Art of Kindergarten Identity
How special are you and why? One of the best things about kindergarten is the artwork. I love our daughter’s teacher this year. Every Monday she gives the students a blank sheet of paper to write what they did over the weekend and draw a picture. I treasure these and have kept each one. Last week, my daughter brought home one of these sheets with the header, “I am special because …” The kids each wrote why they are special and then drew a picture. I imagine her friend Lola just might have written something about her beauty queen trophies. Many probably wrote words about playing baseball, being a good singer, dancer or whatever else might pop into a 5-year-old’s mind. My daughter’s paper says, “I am special because … I AM MYSelf” (Caps hers). There is a picture of a sweet little girl with pink hair, pink lips, a pink triangle for a dress, and of course, pink pumps. I am very thankful that she knows she is special just being herself! I wonder what happens along the way that causes us to lose the carefree security of childhood. How many of us as adults would answer that we are valued “just because I’m me”? As parents, we treasure our children for the simple fact that they were born and placed into our lives through love. There is nothing they can do to make us care for them any more or any less – we just love them because they’re them! But in the “real world” of adults, things are different. We are a performance-based society. You’re either in or you’re out. You may be here today and gone tomorrow if your company stock prices drop, your team loses one too many games, or Simon Cowell just doesn’t like the way your hair looks today. We tend to value who we are based on what we do – and by how successful we are or we are not. Most of the time when we meet new people, one of the first things we ask each other is, “What do you do?” It is natural to ask these questions. Conversing about our careers can offer opportunities to find common ground. It is important, however, to distinguish what we do – and how successfully we do it – from who we are. We are God’s children with whom He desires to have an intimate relationship. He loves us just because we are His. Actually, He is crazy about us! He would have to be to give up His beloved Jesus to literally go through hell just so we can be together with Him in glory. Taking this a step further, I wonder what we tend to value about God. Do we love Him because of what He does for us or do we love Him just because of who He is? The difference is subtle, but also huge. God does so much for us. Salvation through Jesus is an unfathomable gift. And the list goes on of the blessings God pours over us. It is easy to love God the way we might have loved Santa Claus as a kid – to see Him as a larger-than-life, but rather distant figure that we can almost reach out and touch, but never really grasp. After all, there is something inside each of us that tells us we must do something to pay for all these lavish gifts. And deep down, we know we have nothing to offer that can even come close. Can it really be true that all He asks of us is our hearts? Does He really just want us to love Him because He’s Him? As we grow into deeper relationship with our Father and let Him steal our hearts, we begin to simply rest in who He is. And that is where we find our true identity. We abide in Him as He abides in us. And we come to realize that “I am special because … I’m with Him!” Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows (Matthew 10:29-31 NLT). About the author: Amy Grant lives with her family in Lebanon, TN, where she serves with the College Hills Church of Christ. She is amazed by grace, and she hopes to extend the same kind of grace to others that has been lavished on her. Amy enjoys writing about this grace in her blog, Growing Closer.
Today’s Verse – Deuteronomy 7:9
The Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. —Deuteronomy 7:9 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… God is faithful to his promises and his people. He fulfilled every promise with a great “Amen!” in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:18-20). His covenant is far more than a set of agreements between a god and his people. God’s covenant with us is a covenant of love. He will not forsake us or abandon us (Hebrews 13:5-6; Romans 8:32-39). He will treat us better than we deserve, just as a loving parent treats a rebellious child better than she or he deserves. We must tune our hearts to beat in honor of God as our God. We must not treat him as a good luck charm, a bellhop to bring us our every wish, or our weekly guest we occasionally invite to visit in the margins of our otherwise busy lives. What we do must be done with an awareness and intention that what we have done has been done before him, to honor him! As we do these things, God is faithful. He will uphold his covenant to love us, forgive us, restore us, and empower us until he brings us home to be with him. My Prayer… Faithful God, thank you for loving me so sacrificially and steadfastly. Thank you for keeping your promises to the Israelites and for bringing Jesus just as you promised. I trust your promise to send him back to bring me home to you. Until then, please receive the deeds and words of this day as my thanks to you for your covenant of love with me and those who love Jesus. In the name of Jesus, your gift of love, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
11 Mar 2026
One of the things that has lead to many divisions in the body of Christ is the personal interpretation of the bible. This can be influenced by culture, ignorance, selfish motives, etc. Many stand under the banner of Christianity but practise things that go against what God wants. Conviction is a powerful force, but based on wrong understanding, it can destroy life. Acts 14:8-28.
10 Mar 2026
There are also instances where the Lord disciplines us in order to remind us who we are and whom we belong to. It is uncomfortable and not something one would want to experience often. But it is to correct us and prevent us from falling further away from Him. May we heed the correction and turn back to Him. Hebrews 12:4-13.
The Old Home Place
Can we ever really go home again? Breathes there the man, with soul so dead,Who never to himself hath said,“This is my own, my native land!” Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d,As home his footsteps he hath turn’d,From wandering on a foreign strand!Sir Walter Scott May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. (Psalm 137:6) My great grandfather Per Erik Anderson came from Sweden in the 1870s. My great, great grandfather, a Swedish “land-owner,” disinherited Per Erik because Per would not give up his romance with a “peasant girl,” the milkmaid, Carolina. So Per Erik found himself land-less and homeless in Sweden. And when he heard rumors of free land in America, he headed alone across a wide ocean – looking for a new homeland – eventually bringing his Carolina and their two young children to Wisconsin. One of these children was my Grandpa Eric, just five years old when he left Sweden. HOMESTEADERS By the time he was grown, my Grandpa Erik, also infected with “wander lust,” began dreaming of his own land. In 1913 after my grandmother, Anna, had died of the flu soon after the birth of her fifth child, Grandpa Eric took his young family and migrated northwest to Saskatchewan, Canada, to look for land of his own. My father was just a lad of eight that year – when my Grandfather began his homestead on the virgin Canadian prairies. Moving. Searching. Longing. In time, both Grandpa Eric and Dad called it “the home place.” Later I would too. When my Mom and Dad married, they began their life together on the land homesteaded by my paternal grandfather, Eric. CHILDHOOD HOME During my childhood years, I felt that land would be my home forever. I roamed that homestead; explored every square yard of it. Every “coulee” and every hill. Knew which Choke Cherry bushes yielded the sweetest fruit. The draw where the most colorful crocuses exploded from the soil each spring. I could take you to the exact wrinkle in the prairie hillside which hid the coyote pup-birthing den. And the best spots to snare jack rabbits. And the brush patch where hawks nested year after year. Often, I would stand on “the big hill” a mile southwest of our house looking over “our land.” Dark winter evenings, I followed Dad to the barn, carrying the lantern as the hard cold snow crunched under our feet. Dad would point to the glistening crystals at the edges of that pool of lantern glow and say, “Look – we are rich. God has covered our land with diamonds.” LEAVING Although my Father tended his land for more than thirty years, in retrospect I wonder if he ever felt completely at home there. Dad loved that land all right, but it was not a permanent dwelling place to him. He held it lightly and for only a short few decades, then left that land, and moved on to different things. I also left that land – way too young. When I was fourteen years of age, since there was no high school near our homestead place, the folks sent me away to a boarding school. I have never really lived “at home” since then. The day I left, Dad drove me and my scuffed old cardboard suitcase twelve dirt road miles to the little village of McCord to catch the east bound morning train. He set the case on the platform then stood quietly and looked at me a long time. He shook my hand. Then cleared his throat. Then he squeezed my shoulders with a hug. Then shook my hand again. He kept repeating this and blinking back tears, his twitching lips unable to form words. Finally, Dad spoke huskily and abruptly, “Be strong son. And… and remember who you are.” Then turned on his heel and strode resolutely to the car. As the train pulled out of the station, Dad stood by the old Pontiac watching me leave his life. While that old coach rattled down the tracks, I tried to weep out the big lump in my throat. Somehow I knew that I would never live at home again. Oh yes, I returned briefly during a few summers and blew through for short visits. But, I’ve never really “gone back home.” LONGING By the time Mom and Dad died, the “old home-place” had long since passed into the “possession” of others, some of whom are strangers to me. Sometimes, in my nostalgic “home longings,” I wish I could bring back a few more childhood years with Mom and Dad. And I often wish I had “our” land back in my “possession.” Across the years, at times when bittersweet memories flicker in my soul, I go back to re-walk those hills and try to recapture some “at home” feelings. But, I know that place is no longer my home. Hasn’t been in fifty years. In some ways, I think it never really was. Joe Diffie sang my feelings for me, The only thing I see ahead is just the heat a risin’ on the road,The rainbows I’ve been chasin’ keep on fading, before I find my pot of gold.And more and more I’m thinking, that the only treasures that I’ll ever know,Are long ago and far behind wrapped up in my memories of home. Home was a swimming hole, and a fishing pole,And the feel of a muddy road between my toes.Home was a back porch swingWhere I would sit and mama’d singAmazing Grace, while she hung out the clothesHome is an easy chair,With my daddy thereAnd the smell of Sunday supper on the stove.My footsteps carry me away,But in my mind I’m always going home.[1] Guess it runs in the family. Now my youngest son tells me, “I feel homeless.” But then ‘Longing for place’ is as at least as old as the Psalms. Listen to the
To the Girl on the Elevator
I wish I could have hugged the girl on the elevator. I saw her from a distance carrying what appeared to be a clear trash bag. She stepped inside the elevator just a few steps ahead of me. I looked more closely at the garbage bag and saw that she had partially filled it with clothes. Then I looked at her face. Her eyes were red, and she was fighting tears. She lifted a shaking hand and punched a 3. I reached out and touched the 6, and the elevator doors closed. She was thin and pale and not very old. If I had to guess, I’d say somewhere in her 20’s. There were just two of us on the elevator, but she didn’t make eye contact. She leaned heavily against the wall and looked down at the floor. Her whole demeanor said, “Don’t talk to me.” The second the elevator doors opened, she practically ran out, and when she turned right, well, I knew where she was going. You see, the 3rd floor to the right is ICU. That’s where we – my husband Bill had Covid-19 – were when we arrived back in January. Now…. I’m sitting next to Bill (who is sound asleep and improving) in a dark hospital room on the 6th floor, and I can’t stop thinking about the girl on the elevator. If I could talk to her, I would say, “You aren’t alone!” I know you feel like you are, but there is a God in heaven watching over you. I hope you know Him. Seek comfort from Him. Lean on Him. Pray to Him. Trust Him. There is no one you will ever need in your life as much as you need God. Don’t. You. Give. Up! I don’t care what the doctors, nurses, well-meaning friends, and neighbors say. If they tell you there is no hope, they are wrong. Only God knows what lies ahead. He may say “No.” He may say, “Not yet.” But He may say, “Yes.” Keep hoping and praying even when you are so tired and discouraged that you want to give up. Don’t. You. Give. Up! And, ask everyone you know to pray. The Bible says the prayers of a righteous man or woman “availeth much” (James 5:16 KJV). Find your prayer warriors and let them lift you and your loved one up to God. You will feel their prayers, and it will comfort you in a way you have never felt before. Lean on friends and neighbors. The world is full of good people who want to help. Let them. When you are in the midst of a crisis, it’s okay to say, “I need help.” Cry. Cry buckets full if you want to. Cry on the elevator with a strange old lady who can see your heart is breaking. Tears are a universal language. People hurt. People cry. We don’t hide smiles when we are happy. Don’t hide your tears because you are sad. Take one day at a time. My grandma would say, “Don’t borrow trouble.” I know the “what if’s” are scary but don’t let them overwhelm you. When it’s really, really hard, take it hour-by-hour or minute-by-minute. I wish….. I wish I could have hugged the girl on the elevator. She sure looked like she could use a hug. That’s another bad thing about Covid. It has stolen our hugs and replaced them with fist bumps – which, in my opinion, fall far short of conveying the emotion that comes from having someone’s arms wrapped around you. I will be praying for the girl on the elevator…. even a pandemic can’t stop our prayers. In fact, it probably increases their frequency and their power. I know I’ve spent more time in prayer and thinking about the verse, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Won’t you say a prayer for her, too? And for all those like her who are scared and fighting tears. They need you, and so do I. About the author: Teresa is an accomplished author, speaker, mother, and grandmother. Teresa has been married to Bill for a lifetime of family, faith, and love. They are members of Pleasant Hill Church of Christ in Kentucky. They have 5 children and 4 grandchildren. Teresa is also the author of the popular women’s blog called “NanaHood”!
The Task at Hand
How can we begin to help in a world so full of hurt? Ever suffer from paralysis because of the enormity of a task at hand? This company has to be turned around. My family is in crisis. The nation is at risk. My church is in decline. These are familiar themes. And the sad truth is that not every sinking ship can be floated. Some promising starts will end as dismal failures. Then there are the personal challenges you encounter. There always seems to be a worthy charity that needs money to help children. You hear the call for volunteers at your child’s school or from your church. Someone you know is struggling with drug addiction or has lost her job. There are so many needs. You might begin with the awareness that you can’t do everything that needs to be done. You can’t right all the wrongs. You can’t help everybody who is in trouble. It is arrogant to think you can; it is self-destructive to try. Even Jesus didn’t try to shoulder so heavy a responsibility. And occasionally he withdrew from the press of demands being made on him. He could help many, but not all. So what are you and I supposed to do in the face of crippling poverty and drug or alcohol addiction? How are we supposed to respond to hurricanes, unemployment, and hungry children? How can you be God’s instrument of hope in a world that is filled with troubles and heartache? Dr. Fumio Shigeto was waiting for a streetcar about a mile from the center of Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. There was a blinding fireball when an American bomber dropped an atomic bomb that had the destructive equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT. A five-square-mile area of one of the chief supply depots of the Japanese Army was devastated, and 60% of its buildings destroyed. Sheltered by the corner of a concrete building at his distance from the blast, Dr. Shigeto survived. He began hearing the screams of victims almost immediately. Not knowing what had happened, he stood bewildered and overwhelmed at the carnage. He was only one doctor wondering how he could respond to a city filled with thousands of desperately wounded patients. He knelt down, opened his black bag, and treated the person lying at his feet. Dr. Shigeto’s experience is our own. Having survived alcoholism or divorce, toxic church life or childhood abuse, what is your calling? Having put your life together after cancer, job loss, or a child’s death, where should you focus your attention? Help someone near you. Reach to somebody whose grief you know. Without making that person dependent on you, help him or her with what you have learned. You can’t address every need. But you can do something. [After a very hard day of demanding ministry we find Jesus on the next day] In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” He said to them, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons. And a leper came to Jesus, beseeching Him and falling on his knees before Him, and saying, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. (Mark 1:35-42 NASB) About the author: Rubel Shelly preached for decades and served as a professor of medical ethics, Bible, and philosophy at multiple universities. He was a former president of Rochester College and Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Lipscomb University. He was the author of more than 30 books and hundreds of inspirational articles. His commitment to a non-sectarian presentation of the gospel touched countless lives.
Today’s Verse – 2 Timothy 1:9
God has saved us and called us to a holy life — not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time. —2 Timothy 1:9 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… “Before the beginning of time!”How do you understand when that was? God first thought of us at a time we cannot even begin to imagine. His reason for thinking of us was to demonstrate his kindness, grace, and call in our lives and to bring others to his side. Jesus has always been God’s plan, and we have always been his goal for that. Let’s make sure we respond by living his holy life in our day-to-day world. My Prayer… Thank you so much, Father, for knowing me and thinking of my needs even before there was a world. I dedicate this day and every day that follows to your honor as I seek to live a life that reflects your righteousness, holiness, mercy, and grace. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen. All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.
09 Mar 2026
Let us not give up when we face opposition or challenges. Our gaze should be on Jesus during such moments. We should let the joy of the eternal life with God motivate us during such times. But let us not forget to pick the lessons we are supposed to learn through the process. Hebrews 12:1-2.
I Was Robbed!
How important to you is your stuff? I’ve often heard the title of this article spoken by a losing team following a ballgame with poor officiating. However, yesterday this phrase took on a whole new meaning for me. Allow me to explain. I was invited to present a seminar on Internet Safety at the Memorial Parkway Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama. My good friend and former co-worker, Reed Swindle is one of the preacher’s there. I left Glasgow immediately following Sunday worship service and arrived in Huntsville, Alabama at 3:30 p.m. Since the building doors were unlocked upon arrival, I entered and went to Reed’s office. I sat and talked with Reed for approximately 5 minutes when a wide-eyed man suddenly appeared in Reed’s doorway. The guy who appeared in the doorway had on a hooded sweat jacket, a cap, and a bandana covering his face like in the old Western movies. He pointed a gun at both of us and demanded all our money! Reed and I both laughed at him at first. I thought it was one of the kids in his youth group and he thought I had brought someone with me who was playing a joke. As he pointed the gun at our heads, it eventually dawned on both of us that this wasn’t a joke, and that he was serious. We gave him all the money we had and as he kept the gun trained on us, he said as he was about to leave, “I’m sorry I have to do this.” At that point, I didn’t know whether he was sorry for having robbed us, or if he was telling us he was sorry for what he was about to do. Fortunately, it was the former. The young man then fled the building, and Reed called the police. Fifteen minutes later I had to begin presenting four lessons on Internet Safety. Actually, I don’t remember much of what I said. I probably owe the good brethren at Memorial Park a do-over – but good luck getting me back down there … Ha! (By way of side note, when the detective asked me what kind of pistol the man had, I said, “Pistol? From what I could see, it looked more like a bazooka!) It is amazing how many thoughts flash through your mind while an event like this happens to you. I can’t begin to share all of them with you, but I’ll share a couple of thoughts that occurred to me immediately following this incident. I was reminded of how quickly and unexpectedly life can be taken from you. I can certainly tell you that when I woke up Sunday morning, I didn’t think I’d have someone pointing a gun at me before the day was over, but I did. It caused me to reflect on how many people awaken every morning, having no idea that this day will be their last day on earth. Some day we will all awaken to our last sunrise. Will we be prepared when the day arrives? Also, moments after this man ran from the building, I recalled the words written by the Bible commentator, Matthew Henry. On one occasion in his life, he was robbed. That very evening, he recorded the following words in his journal as he gave thanks to God. “I thank Thee first because I was never robbed before; second, because although they took my purse they did not take my life; third, because although they took my all, it was not much; and fourth because it was I who was robbed, and not I who robbed.” As bad as things may be, there are plenty of reasons to give thanks if one chooses to do so. Well, I’m certainly thankful that things worked out as they did. Reed and I are both fine. I’m back safely in Glasgow with a renewed appreciation for a lot of blessings I take for granted. How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog – it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. (James 4:14 NLT) About the author: Steve Higginbotham is a native of West Virginia. His father also preached. Steve serves the Karns Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN and is an instructor in the Southeast Institute of Biblical Studies and an editor for Think Magazine. Steve & Kim have four children, Kelli, Michael, Matthew, and Anne Marie.