A friend of mine had serious shoulder surgery and has been horizontal on my sofa now for 36 hours. She is far from going home, it seems. Maybe in another 36 hours, when she's due to return to the doctor's office for bandage change and recheck, she'll be ready to go home. I hope so. I am not a very competent nurse. But, in this case, I was all she had at the time. That's a scary thought, to be all that someone has at the moment.

The women's event at the little country church went well. I felt comfortable there among them, a very loving and welcoming group. My cold didn't interfere too much with my efforts to speak. The pastor was very appreciative and complimentary of what I offered to her flock. I may never have another opportunity to do that again, but it was a good exercise. I realized I can do whatever God calls me to do. Public speaking is a scary proposition. But when the Lord gives you information in His Word that you feel Him calling you to share with others, you do it. today  I'm absolutely worn out. God...

In 1997 the first sign of a pending spiritual and emotional battle was a car trip during which I was singing and praising the Lord for the beauty of the early dawning day. As I did so, I said, "Surely the Lord has created the beauty of this earth for His glory and my delight." In a split second the Lord spoke to my heart and said, "Tell others." At the time I wasn't sure what I was to tell or to whom I was to tell it. Saturday I will be the keynote speaker for a women's day at a small church near my home. This is way out of my comfort zone. I've spent countless hours in preparation. I feel...

The last two weeks have been a blur. I worked a men's retreat the weekend of August 26-28. There was a hurricane moving into the Gulf of Mexico so my husband, who works at a TV station, had to stay home to help with the round the clock weather coverage activities at the station. By Sunday night the storm, which had been headed for Panama City, had moved further west and was targeting the Mississippi- Louisiana border area. As it turned out, Hurricane Katrina landed a glancing blow to the New Orleans/ Grand Isle area of New Orleans as she bounded into land at Biloxi. The devastation has been...

I have a friend who is a retired pastor. He was our family pastor for about a year when our children were young. Through the years we've come to realize what a profound impact he had on our spiritual formation during that year that we were under his care. He writes a weekly column on matters of faith for a small city/county daily newspaper. This week's column was on the changing of the seasons in his beloved Alabama home. I, too, am Alabama born and lived there for more years of my life than anywhere else to date. We raised our two children there. I have fond memories of Alabama in my life....

The legendary (?) story of Lady Godiva (whose name means 'gift of God'), the beautiful wife of Leofric III (968 – 1057), Earl of Mercia and lord of Coventry, is an interesting one. The people of Mercia were terribly burdened by the earl's oppressive taxation. Lady Godiva appealed again and again to her husband, who obstinately refused to lower the tax. Finally, weary of her pleas, he said he would grant her request if she would ride naked through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva took him at his word, and after issuing a proclamation for everyone to stay inside and shut their windows, she...

Sometime back I heard a radio preacher comment that satan is not creative. He doesn't need to be. The tools he has he uses very effectively. There is no need for any new ones. This week I was ambushed. Satan used a tool on me that he has used very effectively for quite some- my excessive sensitivity to what my husband and daughter think and my tendency to make quantum leaps from one innocent comment to monumentally extrapolated conclusions that reinforce my exaggerated concerns about what they might think. I was in a fit of anxiety over an issue related to my daughter when my husband...