One-A-Day...For The Heart: Who Cooks For You?

Back by popular demand--a One-A-Day classic...

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Who Cooks for You?

     My brother John isn't just the well-loved pastor he has been for more than forty years. He was a brother to my sisters and me long before he even opened a Bible or preached a sermon. From his boyhood days, he was fascinated with birds, and he and his best friend, Dick, spent many hours watching and studying them in the woods of Western Pennsylvania surrounding our home.      He

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One-A-Day...For The Heart: Freaked Out!

Some of our foolish childhood fiascos haunt us forever, I remember this one like it happened yesterday. 😩

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Freaked Out!

     It started as a carefree, fun shopping excursion. My mom and I went to a favorite department store when I was twelve or thirteen. She headed to the ladies' department, and I went to the teens’ section. When my shopping was completed, I searched the store for Mom and spotted her looking at a rack of ladies’ pantsuits. She had s...

One-A-Day...For The Heart: Never Alone

God's wrap=around Presence...there's nothing like it.  May it be yours today.❤️

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Never Alone

     Most of us have felt alone at some time. Jesus experienced loneliness, especially as He was dying on the cross, and sensed utter separation from Father God. Emptiness creeps over the soul when we are separated from family, friends, and familiar settings. Parting goodbyes are not easy; separation through death is even more difficult. Sadly, some people n...

One-A-Day...For The Heart: I Will

I need this reminder today.  I'm guessing maybe some of you do, too. ❤️

One-a-Day...for the Heart: I Will

     When we love the Lord and are determined to live a God-honoring life, there is no predicament we can get ourselves into that the Lord cannot get us through. If we mock God and turn to our own ways, the dynamic changes, and we suffer the consequences of sin.      The Lord is not a fair-weather friend who stays by our side until problems arise. He has promised never t...

One-A-Day...For The Heart: Spirit Led

This was fun to write, as I thought of my very limited art skills and how ridiculous they must have appeared to my teachers.  The Lord used my meager attempt at drawing to teach me a valuable skill in praying.  All was not lost!

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Spirit Led

     I drew the same blank screen in my mind every year in music class when the teacher challenged us to paint or draw what we “saw” as we listened to a piece of music. I never “saw” anything! Whether we listened...

One-A-Day...For The Heart: Whiter Than Snow

It's hard to imagine anything whiter than this beautiful blanket of fresh, white snow this morning. And yet there is...

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Whiter Than Snow

     "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." In Psalm 51:7, David expressed the anguish of knowing that his sins of committing adultery with Bathsheba then plotting the murder of her husband, had surely separated him from God. He looked to God to “fix it,” for he knew that within himself he could not hide the ...

One-A-Day...For The Heart: Entirely Faithful

Our Great God has proven this again and again. Count the times when the Lord has turned things around for you, or shown up when things were at their darkest...He is Faithful and True.  Hold on tight to Him!

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Entirely Faithful

     "All heaven will praise Your great wonders, Lord; myriads of angels will praise You for Your faithfulness. For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord? What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord? The highest ang...

One-A-Day...For The Heart: Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum

What "finest gift" might we bring to Christ at this blessed season of hope?

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Pa Rum Pum Pum Pum

     The Little Drummer Boy gave his finest gift to the infant Jesus—a steady, sure drumbeat that, as the song goes, made the baby Jesus smile. "I played my best for Him," the lyrics proclaim, and in that fictional setting, the songwriters expressed a simple truth: God smiles when we give Him our best.      Drumbeats are powerful, and when they are rhythm...

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Point of No Return

It starts ever so gradually. We hardly notice the slowing down and dullness that begins to creep over our hearts as we lose the joy and intensity of loving and serving the One who died for us.      Life happens, and with all its ups and downs, the leash of loyalty and commitment to our Master grows longer and longer as we wander further and further from His presence. Before too long, we cannot feel His nearness or hear His encouragement and guidance.      God’s lovingkindn...

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (from "One a Day for the Heart")

“Fifteen fights!!” the cheerleaders would yell at the pep rallies in school, back in the dark ages of the 60’s. “Fight, fight…fight, fight, fight! Fight, fight…fight, fight, fight! Fight, fight…fight, fight, fight!” Hopefully, after several more cheers, the school spirit was bolstered enough to ensure victory on the football field. Then, when we were done yelling and carrying on, we went back to reality—a trigonometry test, a discussion of Hamlet, a biology lab, etc. We ha...

"Seppatary"

My sisters are both retired nurses who have served the profession faithfully for over 40 years. They are kind, compassionate, brilliant women, and I esteem them highly. They assumed nurse manager roles over time in their careers and, among other responsibilities, interviewed and hired prospective employees to ensure a smoothly functioning healthcare facility.     One such interview was especially interesting, and without paraphrasing too much, the following conversation tr...

A Mighty Fortress is Our God!

David sang this song to the Lord on the day the Lord rescued him from all his enemies and from Saul: "The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my Savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my Savior, the one who saves me from violence," 2 Samuel 22:2 (NLT).      David’s not the only one who declared the Lord as his fortress. We do every time we sing the beloved hymn, "A Mighty Fortre...

Bush-Burning Faith (from One-a-Day for the Heart)

Sometimes the Lord speaks to us in the most boring, mundane, hardly noticeable places. He does not need the voice of a great orator and a stadium full of 10,000 people to talk to us. His still, small voice can drop a bombshell comment into our hearts while brushing our teeth or driving to the post office, scrubbing a floor, or waiting in line at McDonald’s. He often speaks to us during our regular daily routine, and so it was with Moses…During the monotonous daily grind of...

Those Who Are Asleep (from "One-a-Day for the Heart")

Our Christian brother, Charlie Kirk, loved ones who have passed away believing in Jesus, ancestors, Bible saints, and fathers of the faith--all have "fallen asleep" in Christ, for now. But not for long...If you are one who eagerly looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ, you will not be disappointed with the most extraordinary, spectacular event the world has ever known. Nothing imaginable will compare to the moment we believers in Christ hear the trumpet call of God, ...

One-A-Day...For The Heart: Those Who Are Asleep

To quote an old hymn, "What a Day That Will Be!: (Jim Hill, 1955)...get excited and get ready, dear friends!

One-a-Day...for the Heart: Those Who Are Asleep

     If you eagerly look forward to the return of Jesus Christ, you will not be disappointed with the most extraordinary, spectacular event the world has ever known. Nothing imaginable will compare to the moment we believers in Christ hear the trumpet call of God, the voice of an archangel, and the shout of Jesus as He d...