My True Family
Note from Jesus Dear Child of God, There is so much talk in your world about community. I understand that you want to find a place where you can be close to other people and be yourself. You want people around you who understand you and support you. I know that many folks today don’t like the word church, so community is a nice, safe, nondescript word to use for a gathering of My followers. Yet something precious is lost when My followers are reduced just to being a community. Let Me explain. There are two powerful, dynamic, living images I have given you for My church: My body and My family. I don’t ever talk about a member of the church — in fact nowhere does the Bible use that term. You, however, are a member of My body — a vital body part that the rest of My body needs to function fully as My presence in and to the world! Just as there is no perfect human body, the church as My body will not be perfect. A community can have folks come and go, wander in or wander off. However, this is not true with My body. When a member of a body is hurt, there is pain and impairment to the whole body! When a member of a body is missing, there’s been an amputation. You’re a connected part of Me! You matter. You are much more important than a member of a community or organization! You are also a member of My family. Yes, I know some of you come from messed up families, and sometimes family analogies can be hard for you to hear because of your negative experiences with your family. My spiritual family on earth is far from perfect — a lot like your human family. But I promise you, My family has a future that is so wonderful it is even hard for you to imagine. All those hurtful family connections are caught up in the grace of My presence and perfected. A family — especially My family — is something far more precious than a community. Our Father — your Father — loves you so desperately that He sent Me to bring you into a relationship with Him. I AM your older Brother. I came to rescue and redeem you and restore you to Our family (Hebrews 2:14-18). I paid the ultimate price to buy you out of slavery to sin and death and bring you to the Father and to Our family. So you are far more precious than a member of a community — you are My blood-bought family. The people around you are flawed just as you are flawed. But remember, they are blood-bought family. So when you hear Me teach, I don’t invite you to become part of a community: I call you to be My disciple — a follower who obeys and becomes a vital part of My family as we do the will of the Father. Hear clearly what I say: Anyone who does the will of My Father in heaven is My mother and brother and sister. (Matthew 12:50) When you hear Me teach, pray, or talk with My followers, notice the language I use: it is the language of family. God is your Father. You are brothers and sisters. Yes, community is a nice word, but I call you to something deeper — something you crave and need. I call you family because you are! Verses to Live I AM the Lord, the Christ, the Messiah and Savior. I am also your older Brother Who loves you so much that I left the security of My heavenly home to come to you. I love you so much that I gave up My intimate participation with the Father and the Spirit in Our heavenly glory so that I could bring you home to real, forever, family. So come, follow Me, and let’s walk together in the way and will of the Father as family. While Jesus was speaking to the crowd, His mother and brothers came up and wanted to speak to Him. Someone in the Crowd: Your mother and brothers are waiting outside to speak to You. Jesus: Who is My mother? And who are My brothers? (pointing to His disciples) These are My mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of My Father in heaven is My mother and brother and sister. (Matthew 12:46-50) Response in Prayer O Father in heaven, You are holy. Without Your grace, I have no chance to be holy. And because of Jesus’ love and sacrifice, I come to You as Your beloved child. I am thankful for Your grace, Your love, Your mercy, and my adoption into Your family. I ask for the Holy Spirit to be poured out into my life so that I can be conformed to Your will and love my brothers and sisters, Your children, just as much as my older Brother Jesus does. I ask this in His name. Amen. ‘A Year with Jesus’ is written by Phil Ware. © 1998-2026, Heartlight, Inc. ‘A Year with Jesus‘ is part of the Heartlight Network.All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Voice™. © 2008 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
28 Jan 2026
It is recorded in God’s word that He is a restorer. We may experience devastating challenges, but when we cry out to Him, he hears and responds. Let us not give up. Jehovah is merciful and gracious. Psalm 102:17-22.
Trust His Timing
Don’t you find it hard to wait? One of the features of my new mobile phone is a clock that allows me to see the time in multiple time zones, set an alarm, use a stopwatch, and time an event. When I take a walk, I usually set the timer for about fifteen minutes short of the length of time I want to walk. That way, I can decide the route for the last part of the walk. For instance, if I plan to walk for an hour, I will set the time on my phone for 45 minutes. Invariably, I will check the timer a number of times before the alarm sounds. Is this thing working? Did it sound and I did not hear it? Has something malfunctioned? Thus far, the alarm has never failed to work. I have never walked an extra hour by accident. The device has never failed to perform as it is designed to do. Yet, I still have a feeling of distrust in the clock. The same thing happens as I walk through life, trying to live on God’s time-table. I have read the instructions from His word about trusting Him. I am listening to God, praying for His will to be done. I believe that He is working even though I cannot see it. I know that the Father is in charge. I know that nothing will happen that escapes His view. I know that He cares for me. I know that the Lord has always dealt, and will always deal, with me according to His justice and goodness. However, there are still times when I have difficulty trusting His timing. I have discovered three realities about trusting His timing. First, trusting His timing is sometimes hard. There are times when I eagerly lay my cares down, but then I decide not to wait for God to work and pick them back up again. There are other times when my concerns must be ripped from my hands. My doubts and fears take over: What if He does not listen? What if He hears the wrong thing? What if He chooses to act in a way that I do not like? Or worse, what if He chooses not to act at all? I have swallowed hard when He responded with “No,” and I have laid awake at night wrestling with His answers that appear to be, “Not now.” Second, trusting His timing is sometimes easy. There are times when waiting for God to work His plan is easy. Laying my concerns at the feet of the Lord and leaving them there comes naturally. I have experienced answered prayer soon after making the request. I receive his “Yes” with joy and gratitude. I receive His “No” with patience and trust. Third, whether easy or difficult: I have learned over life and from His word, that the Father’s timing is always right. Solomon said it this way: He [God] has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV). You may be in a waiting time. Waiting for the answer. Waiting for direction. Waiting for peace. Waiting for hope. Waiting for healing. Waiting for victory. Doubt and uncertainty may have set in. You may be left with questions and fears. Whatever is the focus of your wait, trust His timing … it is always right. He has made everything beautiful in its time. About the author: Tom Norvell is the author of “A Norvell Note” — Thoughts and reflections on God, life, people, and living as a follower of Jesus. He has ministered with followers of Jesus for four decades and loves Jesus, his family, and those seeking Jesus, passionately.
The Waiting Is the Hardest Part
O how our hearts ache till all our precious ones are in Jesus! Waiting is hard work. I confess, I am not good at this work of waiting. I am impatient. Sometimes my impatience borders on an ugly arrogance – “Why should I have to wait so long for something like this?” Sometimes my impatience is just plain impertinence – I romp, stomp, fidget, complain, whine, and make everyone around me miserable. I have opened Christmas presents early, sneaking in with a sharp knife in the middle of the night and carefully opening my presents just enough to see what they were. This made my Christmas at 11 years of age miserable – I faked being surprised by my Christmas morning gifts. Rather than taking delight at my careful sleight of hand at opening and resealing my gifts so my parents wouldn’t know, I was miserable. No surprises, only fake delight on that Christmas morning. I have left lines, only to stand in longer lines because I was impatient. I have daily checked the mailbox, the front porch, and driven the folks at UPS and FedEx crazy trying to track a package that was not even late yet. When my son was assigned in high school many years ago to spend the day working with me, he reported that, “Dad never wasted any time waiting. He was always doing something on his BlackBerry so he didn’t waste time.” What crushed me is that I realized I had not spent the time talking to him! I apologized after reading his report. However, sometimes my impatience is humbling and eye opening. For four years, my heart has stood on tiptoe waiting, praying, and gently visiting with someone I want to come to Christ. She is precious – not just to me, but to my wife Donna and to several of my friends who know her. She desperately wants some switch to go off in her heart so she knows in that place of her reluctance that this is the right thing for her to do. She is gracious, sweet, smart, kind, and good. But she has not yet fully surrendered her life to Jesus… and this keeps my heart in agony. Her decision is not something I can cajole, pressure, nudge, or push. She has to do this for herself. But waiting for her to do this, to confess Christ and step into a baptistery and go public with her faith, is harder than I have words to describe. This is a person so precious to us that we cannot imagine her not being in our forever family of grace. This is a different kind of impatience. This impatience has been humbling because it has opened my eyes to parents, spouses, grandparents, and friends who have stood on tiptoe until their spiritual legs have gone into full spasm waiting for their loved one, their precious child, their intended spouse, or their precious one to come to Jesus. I have been blessed to have taken the confession and baptized both of my children, now adults and strong disciples. (Thank you God for this gift beyond words given me by both children!) So this four year experience has opened my eyes and my heart to each of you who are waiting… pleading… hoping… that your special person will make that next crucial step toward the Father. So we keep expectantly scanning the horizon hoping that this is the day they make that crucial step toward Jesus and home. This impatience has been humbling because it has given me a glimpse of how our Father feels with those so close, yet so far away, from being His child. It helps me appreciate and understand that it was not strange for the father in Jesus’ parable (Luke 15:11-32) to scan the horizon every single day, and every single opportunity during the day, to catch the glimpse of his prodigal son on the horizon so he could run to that lost son and welcome him home. In some ways, it is even harder when the person for whom we wait is not a prodigal, but a precious person who is hung up on something we can’t remove… or fix… or at times even understand. So like my life right now, these thoughts won’t end with a simple five-step plan to deal with our impatience or three easy ways on how to win the reluctant loved one. This kind of impatience, this kind of waiting, is hard and without a simple Mr. Fixit recipe. All I know to do is to keep loving my precious one and to keep praying for her heart to reach that decision point and to keep living for the day of joy for which I yearn for her. In addition, I feel a deeper bond and commitment to pray for those who are caught in this time of waiting for someone else they love to come home to Jesus. The waiting is the hardest part. Let’s keep trusting that our waiting will one day give way to what Peter describes as being “filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy” because the one we love has come to receive the salvation of our God” (1 Peter 1:8-9). O God, please help your day of salvation come soon in the life of this one so precious to me. While I yearn for Jesus “to come quickly, hallelujah,” I beg You Lord to tarry until I can see this one so precious to me become part of our forever family. Amen. Here’s a late update. At 10:45 Thailand time on Sunday January 26, I was privileged to baptize Melody, also called XiaoKang and Nam Tam, into Christ along with two others who have become so precious to me over the last two weeks. Four years of loving and praying and waiting ended in a celebration of joy with this one I have called Precious from the day I first read the story of Jesus with
Don’t Just Do Something
He was oblivious to the truth that our attempts to live for Jesus will succeed only if we have the power of the Holy Spirit released to us through prayer. The new community of Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem quickly multiplied and faced a series of potentially crippling crises. One of these crises involved widows, especially widows who didn’t speak the local language – Aramaic or Hebrew (Acts 6:1). The early believers from Pentecost had come from many different lands (Acts 2:5-11), and some had not returned home. Among these non-Jewish speaking folks were hungry widows, neglected by their fellow believers in the regular food distribution. People who didn’t speak the local language were upset. More than a few were angry. Many people in the predominant church culture hadn’t even noticed the problem because they spoke the “correct” language, and “their” widows were not being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. Prejudice and neglect threatened the fabric of a fellowship known for sharing life (Acts 2:44, 47, 4:32) and not having a needy person among them (Acts 2:45, 4:32-35). This failure could thwart their witness as followers of Jesus while their neglecting widows, the fatherless, and the foreigner among them was direct disobedience to the will and teaching of God (Deuteronomy 10:18-19; Isaiah 1:23; Psalm 68:5, 82:3). Women worthy of respect and needing care were forgotten and hungry. The neglect of these needy women undermined the disciples’ claim to live in harmony with a heart for the things of God (James 1:27; Deuteronomy 27:19). What did the apostles, Jesus’ hand-selected leaders for his new church, do in response to this crisis? They continued to devote themselves to a higher priority, “the word of God and prayer” (Acts 6:4). What? You read it correctly. Before doing something, the apostles reminded the people of their highest priorities as leaders: kneeling in prayer and sharing the good news of Jesus. In the face of a fellowship-threatening crisis, they prayed! More than three decades ago, as a young minister, I answered the knock on the door of the church leadership’s meeting room. When I stepped outside, I discovered a red-faced, angry, long-time friend of my parents – he knew them before I was born. He verbally pressed me to let him into that meeting. As firmly, but also with as much calm as I could muster under attack from a long-time family friend and someone twice my age, I refused. “It’s prayer night,” I reminded him. “The elders and ministry team are gathered for prayer. That is our only agenda. Our prayer time will take several hours. There is no other plan tonight other than prayer. No intrusions are allowed except in the direst of emergencies.” “I wish I had time just to sit around and pray,” my friend said impatiently. “This was an important matter about our missions program that I needed to get approved. Tonight!” He stormed away in an angry huff. Several weeks later, in one of his mission meetings, a fellow mission committee member quoted this frustrated brother’s hero when my friend recounted what he considered a waste of time by the church leadership. What was that significant quote my friend needed to hear? “I only get done what I pray for!” Over time, this family friend mellowed. He became a man of prayer. Our congregation raised up seventeen long-term missionaries that we supported in world missions, and over 600 of our members went on international mission trips. His zeal for mission work never dimmed, but he also learned that many missions missteps could have been prevented through prayer and waiting on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. He experienced the power of prayer, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and a clear sense of our specific call to world missions, which were essential. He realized he needed a new commitment to guide his life: “Don’t just do something; kneel and pray!” Today, many Christians fret, complain, post on social media, and stomp around, worried about what is happening in the world, their churches, and the dominant culture. They sense a decline in faith and righteous living. Most of all, they worry about the decrease in the number of people at their church services. These worried churchgoers press their church leaders to “do something” to fix the problems. They want something done immediately! “Don’t just sit there, do something!” they demand. All too often, desperate leaders respond in one of two ways: they either “just sit there” frozen and fearful or “they do something” to try to make things better. Those who “just do something” start trying all sorts of things they’ve heard about in other congregations. They reach for the latest fad. They push the newest quick fix. They copy other churches or follow the advice of the latest “how-to” article from a so-called expert. After several decades of oscillating between doing nothing (“just sit there”) and trying quick fixes (“do something”), most Christian groups find themselves in worse shape than when they started. Their churches have a much higher percentage of gray hair than ever and less patience for the slower-paced transformation based on a commitment to prayer and a focus on living on mission rather than trying new things for the sake of doing something. “Don’t just sit there, do something!” is not the answer. It wasn’t the answer to the problem of the neglected widows in the early days of the growing new Jesus movement. It certainly is not the answer to today’s congregation with genuine challenges. But, just sitting there while things continue to fall apart is not an answer. In reality, our problems today don’t approach the challenges of those first-century believers. Their politics were more brutal. Their culture was more extreme. Their travel, communication, and opposition were all much more problematic. Opposition and persecution were more pervasive. But, the commitment of their leaders was different. They chose to live by the value, “Don’t just do something; kneel and pray!” In the crisis
Dared to Hope
If only we would trust that the Lord can make us all grow! We paused to visit a tiny railway station that used to be a busy place on the southern line. It was now all but deserted. The Station Master’s office and the parcels’ office were silent. They were clothed in a dull brown that has become the mourning color of dying railway stations. We wandered along the tiny platform and saw the remnants of a garden outside the Station Master’s office. Now there was no running water, but there used to be competitions up and down the line for the best-kept garden. On this day, the old garden was just a dead square inside crumbling railway sleepers. Over in one corner stood a rusty drum, and barely alive in it was the commonest form of geranium. It was stunted and tired – nearly dead. I took a piece about as long as one finger. When we returned home, I dared to hope it would grow. So for old time’s sake, I planted it in the best pot in the best location. Feeling terribly foolish for even hoping for growth, I even said a prayer for the unknown hands that planted it long years ago. Today, this finger of planting is now a meter wide and half as tall. It is a joyful and lush plant, but too common to be prized by anyone else. It is valuable only to me because I sense its history in a harsh world where only hardy plants can grow. Do you sometimes feel like a common plant where only hardy plants can grow? God has a word for you. He says that He chose the foolish ones of us in this world, the most common of us, to shame those who are worldly-wise. (1 Corinthians 1:26-28) So say a prayer some time for the ones who planted you! Give thanks that they dared to hope that you would grow! While you’re at it, take a risk on plain ol’ common folks who seem tired, stunted, and nearly dead spiritually, and dare believe that the Lord can help them grow, too! About the author: Elizabeth is a team writer for “Just a Minute” e-zine.
Today’s Verse – Ephesians 6:12-13
Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. —Ephesians 6:12-13 Thoughts on Today’s Verse… How often do you forget that we are in a spiritual war? Our enemy is deceptively cunning. If we lose the sense of immediacy to his threats, the danger appears gone. But he’s always there, lurking in the shadows. Remember that Jesus’ battle with the evil one during his temptations was only the beginning of his spiritual battles. Luke ends his account of the LORD’s temptations with these ominous words: When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time (Luke 4:13). We never know when the evil one’s “opportune time” will come for us. So rather than trying to guess when, Paul reminds us to take up the tools God has given us, NOW. These tools are the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-19). They enable us to stand against the evil one. We ARE in a war against evil, the evil one, and his minions. But the Spirit of God in us is greater than those who are allied with evil (1 John 4:4), and the armor of God equips us to defeat the enemy whenever he comes against us. So, no matter when, where, or how the evil one comes against us, we have the power to stand! My Prayer… LORD of Hosts, my Great Deliverer, protect me from the evil one by your great power. Please give me a sense of urgency as I face Satan and his schemes daily, and lift my confidence knowing that Jesus has already defeated my foe. Oh LORD, I am committed to stand against the evil enemies and show myself faithful to you. Through Jesus my LORD and Savior, 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.
Do More than Roll Your Eyes!
Note from Jesus Dear Beloved, Some of you roll your eyes or quickly speed-read past any biblical discussion of demons because you think that this kind of thing doesn’t apply to your “modern and enlightened” world today. But please do more than roll your eyes at the talk about demons below. Remember what the apostle Paul said: Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places. And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. (Ephesians 6:10-13) I came to defeat the evil one and his “wicked spiritual armies” of dark demonic forces. I want to free you from their influence and lead you past their temptations. So rather than ignoring or fearing these powers, please understand what I said to my disciples when I was on earth. I have power over demons because I am superior to them in every way — holiness, power, and authority (Luke 11:17-22; Colossians 1:15-20). I am in no way subject to these evil powers. I do not get my power from them. I am not helped by them. I am even hated by them. They oppose Me and all who belong to Me, but they do not have the final word or authority over Me or those who follow Me! I AM the true “man of power” like I talk about in the story below. I am “stronger and better” than the prince of demons and all his powers arrayed against me. So you need to choose which side of this holy war you are going to take: My side or the side of evil. There is really no middle ground or no other choice. You need to be very clear about this. Following Me is not just about ridding yourself of what is bad in your life — it is not merely adhering to a good list of “DOs and DON’Ts”! A good, clean, and ordered life sounds very good to most religionists, even to a lot of do-gooders and humanists. Yet notice what can happen to this kind of person in the scripture below: the demonic influence can slip back in and greatly corrupt the life of such a person who is not filled with My Spirit. I AM challenging you to do more than just trying to be a good person. I want you to be My person. I call you to follow Me and let Me be your Lord. Yes, you will do good things. More than that, you will bring God’s kingdom to earth. You will bring God’s goodness, justice, and mercy to a world corrupted by human ego, self-will, arrogance, and other evil influences of the devil (Ephesians 2:1-7). Your world is in a spiritual war. You have to choose a side. Despite all the talk in your world about being nice, the real question is whether or not you are My disciple. I endured the cross for you. I left the tomb in triumph despite all the forces of hell wanting to keep me captive. Therefore, I remind you of two truths: I conquered death to give you life — unlike Satan who wants to deceive, manipulate, and destroy you. If you follow Me, you will share in My victory over sin, death, evil, and hell! So do more than roll your eyes at the talk about the devil and demons: choose to follow Me and find life and victory! Verses to Live Talking about demons is always challenging. Having authority over them makes people afraid. But make no mistake about the truth: I have defeated the power of demons. I have the authority to defeat evil, demonic forces, and Satan, and I did! I demonstrated this victory when I walked on earth as God in human flesh and then overcame the worst that Satan could do to Me. Picture this: Jesus is exorcising a demon that has long kept a man from speaking. When the demon is expelled, the man starts talking and the people are amazed. But then controversy erupts. Some People: Do you know why He can cast out demons? It’s because He’s in league with the demon prince, Beelzebul. Other people want to see more, so they challenge Jesus to give them another miraculous sign. Jesus knows what they’re thinking. Jesus: People, be logical. If a kingdom is divided against itself, it will collapse. If a ruling family is divided against itself, it will fall apart. So if Satan’s kingdom is divided against itself, won’t his whole enterprise collapse? Does it make any sense to say I’m casting out demons by Beelzebul? Besides, if you’re saying it takes satanic power to cast out Satan, by whose power do your own exorcists work? If you condemn Me for an exorcism, you’ll have to condemn them. But if I by the power of God cast out demonic spirits, then face this fact: the kingdom of God is here, just as I’ve been saying. When a man of power with his full array of weapons guards his own palace, everything inside is secure. But when a new man who is stronger and better armed attacks the palace, the old ruler will be overcome, his weapons and trusted defenses will be removed, and his treasures will be plundered. Can you see that I’m asking you to choose whose side you’re on — working with Me or fighting against Me. When a demonic spirit is expelled from someone, he wanders through waterless wastelands seeking rest. But there is no rest for
27 Jan 2026
As we journey through life let us be encouraged by the holy scriptures. The word of God was written to give us hope and teach us countless lessons. May we never tire reading and meditating on it. May our hope not be futile. May the Lord guide us and may we behold the promises shared in His word. Romans 15 verse 4 & 13
Finding Beauty
So where can you go to find beautiful things? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning (John 1:1-2 NIV). Poetry. The book of John is pure poetry, especially the prologue (John 1:1-18). It’s one place I like to go when I need a dose of beauty. In a world of pop-culture, I need those doses regularly. Over the summer, my twenty-year-old daughter, Maddie, was lamenting all the pop-culture I was responsible for making her miss during her childhood. “Mom,” she said, “when people my age talk about ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ or ‘Strawberry Shortcake,’ I’m lost.” This made me laugh. “What was so bad about ‘Strawberry Shortcake’?” she asked. “What’s so bad about (fill in the blank)?” This is a question my children have asked me and I have asked myself hundreds of times over the years. We’ve asked it about all sorts of books, movies, and activities. It seems to me, we only have so much free time – time set up for no purpose other than enjoyment and we can choose things that are “not bad,” or we can choose things of value. Early in parenting I wanted to give my kids only value. So while other children were reading books about a babysitting club, mine were reading the “Wind in the Willows” and “Misty of Chincoteague.” I softened my stance somewhat as the years unfolded, so by the time my son was old enough, he saw all the “Star Wars” movies (I only liked the original three). Maddie laments this, too – how Spencer had it better. I try not to laugh. One of my favorite verses of the Bible was written by Paul in a very intimate portion of his letter to the Philippians as he seeks to instruct them how to live: Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things (Philippians 4:8 NIV). I’m not immune to pop-culture and I admit to watching things that are “not bad” and sometimes, even things I know veer straight into “bad.” These things don’t edify me in any way; in fact, if I’m not careful, they erode my convictions. But sometimes I watch them. That’s when I need a dose of “pure” or “lovely” or “admirable.” That’s when my husband and I trek to some beautiful part of God’s world, or I listen to “Pachebelle’s Cannon” or I read the poetry of the book of John. The other day, Maddie called to say she was tired of seeing little girls who dress too old for their age – that when she has children, she is going to pick “nice, age-appropriate clothes.” I was glad we were on the phone and she couldn’t see me smiling. Maybe I’ll surprise her the next time she comes home. I’ll put together a “Strawberry Shortcake Fest” complete with videos, shortcake, and balloons. Time spent with her laughing – that’s worthwhile. About the author: Lisa is a Christian, a wife and a mother of three. Lisa shares, “I know how my story began and Christ divulged the ending, so now I’m concentrating on developing the middle. May the setting, characterization and plot twists all work to His glory.” You can email Lisa using this link!