WOMEN'S MINISTRIES BLOG

Silence. 

My house sits between two schools and for years on the first day of summer vacation a transformation has taken place in front of my house.

As we sit on the precipice of a new year, it’s okay to admit that we have hopes for something new to emerge. It feels a bit like we are insecurely staring at the calendar as it flips. What would we say if we could look 2021 in the eye and make it answer a few questions to satisfy our curiosity?

Waiting. More often than not, it’s a negative thing. It’s hard. It’s uncomfortable. Think about the sayings:

“The wait is finally over.” (Waiting must be excruciating.)
“What are you waiting for?” (Waiting is cowardly.)
“Good things come to those who wait.” (Your discomfort will eventually pay off.)

The season of Advent is something I look forward to every year. I love the idea of a seemingly overwhelming celebration being broken into weekly or daily contemplation.

Gratitude is pretty en vogue these days. Whether it comes up during a podcast, is mentioned at the end of an exercise class or engraved on a bracelet, the word itself is even hard to avoid!

I was supposed to be in New Zealand today. Well . . . “supposed to be.” Clearly when I bought the ticket I had plans that look very different from the current state of affairs.

“For 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.” (Ephesians 6:12) Sick again?! Another Sunday rolled around in Romania. Another day headed to the village to play the guitar in the unventilated, tiny church plant filled with old women and small children and a few…

I learned a new word this spring. Not part of the novel Coronavirus vocabulary we’ve all acquired and not a word that I’ve heard before and never bothered to look up.

Does it seem like you could use a rollicking family reunion about now?? My husband Larry and I have boatloads of family on either side and our own four kids and their families flung far and wide.

As we flipped the calendar into 2020, the church was thriving with new faces each week and great worship services drawing all of us closer to the Lord.