Devotional Day 29 Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? The he must call the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of…
Devotional Day 28 As an example, brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcomes of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and…
Devotional Day 8 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. No one is to say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by…
I recently came across some old films from two decades ago. These are not pictures of my family making memories or reminders of my youth. They are images of my brain, MRI films from an era when hard copies were mounted on a lit background for evaluation. 2002 was the first time I got an…
In much of the northern hemisphere, spring has arrived. The seasonal change is certainly evident here in the Middle East. Last month, when we took a picnic up to a lone tree on a hill, its March branches were still barren. It was that week that we celebrated “Nawruz,” the “new year celebration” that coincided…
Teaching about trauma makes me think about what that day after Christ’s death was like for His followers and family. The emotions of grief, anger, and fear must have been overwhelming. Perhaps they wondered if they too were in danger. Suddenly, the call to “take up your cross and follow Me” was not just metaphorical….
It was 2001. My family had arrived in Kazakhstan in 1996, the first American family in our town, and been joined by other Americans and Aussies over the next several years. It was a fairly isolated place, and we certainly didn’t have Facebook and Zoom to remain connected to friends and family in our sending…
Recently, my husband and I took a hike near Joshua Tree National Park, intentionally staying away from the popular trails to make “social distancing” easier. Indeed, we encountered no one else along the way, and felt safe from any COVID-19 contamination. The downside of avoiding trails is that the terrain is not well-worn and rocks…
Over the last two months our perception of COVID-19 has been constantly changing, and with it, our internal and external reactions. When mostly isolated in China, it was something foreign, distant, and therefore not very threatening. But as its territory gradually started to expand, infecting people of our nationality, then appearing on our soil, then…