Author: Sharon

We are gardeners. You can always tell a true gardener by their hands and our hands are no exception. A gardener’s hands are rough with callus, stained, full of cuts and abrasions and all knobby with arthritis. This is expected for we live to garden. Of late, we have been caring for some neglected olive…
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At Trafalgar Square in the city of London stands a statue of Lord Nelson. Resting atop a tall pillar, it towers too high for passersby to distinguish his features. For this reason, about forty years ago a new statue – an exact replica of the original – was erected at eye level so that everyone…
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Today we light the Advent candle of peace. In honor of the day, God brought an early, morning visitor. While drinking coffee in front of a roaring fire, sleepily staring out our picture window at the misty mountain engulfed in clouds, a dove lit on the rail inside our porch terrace. A dove! He flew…
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Having a heart of Advent means preparing for the Lord’s return. A big part of preparing for the second coming of Christ involves waiting. As His people, we must wait. In faith, we “wait for the Lord, and in His word we hope” (Psalms 130:5). Even when “God hides His face, we wait with hope”…
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Excerpts from my favorite prayer book… “We die; indeed we have to die in order to be resurrected, restored, [transformed], and renewed. We die and we die and we die in this life, not only physically-within seven years every cell in your body is renewed-but emotionally and spiritually as change seizes us by the scruff…
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Today would have been my brothers’ 56th birthday… and I miss him. We were only 14 months apart. Where Mark went, I went. Where I went, Mark went. As Forest Gump would have said, “we were like peas and carrots”. My brother was not only brilliant, but Mark was such a fun-loving, energetic, and insightful…
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“Thus says the Lord, ‘Stand by the ways and see, and ask for the ancient, [eternal, everlasting] paths, where the good [best] way is; and walk in it; and ye shall find rest for your souls,’” Jeremiah 6:16a. Today the Lord led me to this passage of scripture. It spoke volumes to me. The word…
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The other day I ran across the most interesting confession written by Mike Yaconelli.  His words describe my thoughts and feelings exactly…with a large dash of hope. So here I stand, looking at the ground, smelling the faint fragrance of God. Never once did it occur to me that when I found God’s trail again,…
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And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Luke 21:29-31…
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My spouse and I moved recently. It wasn’t an easy move, such as across town or to another state in the US, but to another country…the Middle East, Israel no less. God called. We answered. Possessions given away, lent out, or stored. Beloved pets now in the hands of new people. All gone. With suitcases…
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