Chosen Reflections: “I Have Called You By Name” Hey, you! Yes, I’m talking to you! Not a very appealing summons. Which would you rather answer to: “Hey, you!” or “Hey, [your name]”? Names are important. Knowing someone’s name is the first step to connecting...
How Do You Approach Waiting? Have you ever drawn the proverbial line in the sand and said, “I’m done waiting. No more!” We wait in lines at the grocery store. We wait on hold for customer service reps to take our call. And we wait for trains and buses to take...
Right and Wrong Choices A friend likes to post inspirational quotes on her social media. I usually enjoy reading them (and love staying connected with her and others), but I couldn’t get past one particular quote. It was from a self-help guru who said, “There...
A New Perspective Vision problems can be scary. One friend’s husband may be facing a diagnosis of macular degeneration. Another friend had cataract surgery. Yet another friend’s son experienced scratched corneas in both eyes. Although his eyes are now healed,...
Paper Cuts, Band-aids, & People It was just a paper cut. And boy, did it hurt. Not a huge problem, though. Compared to other injuries I’ve suffered over the years, on a scale of one to ten, this didn’t even make it onto the scale. I covered the cut with...
Dry Clouds Thunder rumbled in the distance. Dark clouds floated along the horizon, inching toward me. Someone was getting rain. An hour later, the sky cleared. Someone did receive rain, but it wasn’t me. After a prolonged dry season, sunny south Florida needs...
My Name is Barabbas He was a rebel and a murderer. Condemned to die without any chance of appeal. He was guilty and he knew it. Then when it appeared all hope was gone, reprieve arrived in the form of another chosen to die in his place (Luke 23). I have been a...
National I Am in Control Day Church tradition commemorates the Thursday before Easter as “Maundy Thursday”—the day of Jesus’ last supper with His disciples. It was the evening before His crucifixion, when He spent time in the Garden of Gethsemane with His...
Odor or Aroma? My backyard finally smells good again. For the past two months, an odd odor has emanated from three trees and lingered all around the outside of my house. Others across south Florida have described the smell as a musky combination of sweet...
Meet the Tate Family Been thinking about organizations that depend on volunteers. Whether it’s your church, Bible study, non-profit agency, or even your workplace, you may have met one or more members of the Tate family. They can be found in almost every organization…...
How Do You Respond to Adversity? There’s something refined about a tea party, isn’t there? Perhaps we enjoy tea...
Planting and Growing in God’s Garden Confession time: I’ve killed more plants than I’ve actually grown. Because...
Aging Gracefully Is it possible to age gracefully? What does that even mean? Facebook is great about reminding...