Jeremiah 14-17 I am haunted tonight by the face of a woman I saw today.  The temperature outside was 104 degrees according to my car.  As I took my daughter to her ice skating lesson, I saw someone lying on the side of the road in the grass under an oak tree.  Several months ago, my mother-in-law fell on her sidewalk, and several people drove by without stopping to help.  Somehow I felt compelled to check on the welfare of this stranger. I turned the car around and pulled into an adjacent parking lot.  Then I grabbed the cold bottle … Continue reading Courage to do more

Jeremiah 10-13 The best weapon we could ever have is counter-intuitive: praise.  When bad things start to happen, we have a tendency to start whining.  At least I do.  I remember being in trouble as a child because I was whining too much, and in my anguish I wrote a letter to my grandmother (that my mother saved), telling her that I just couldn’t help it.  God must have made me a whiner.  (I think I spelled it winer, which made it even funnier!) I’ve been whining a lot this afternoon because I threw my back out today.  I’ve been … Continue reading Forced to be still

Jeremiah 7-9 “But those who wish to boast, should boast in this alone; that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the LORD, have spoken!” I want to boast in the Lord.  I don’t know that I would say yet that I “truly” know Him…who can really know Him except for the Son? My hold on the scripture that was seared into me last week is still there…although I still continue to experience worrisome thoughts. … Continue reading Slicing up my thoughts

Jeremiah 4-6 “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.  O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord…” Jeremiah begged and pleaded with the people of Israel.  He literally writhed in pain because of the visions he saw of the upcoming destruction at the hands of the invaders from the north. Yet the people did not listen. Stressful situations like this do bring on pain.  I experienced real physical pain when my dog died…I can only imagine what Jeremiah must have been enduring. … Continue reading Letting God

Jeremiah 1-3 Read it tonight.  Felt the Lord’s sorrow at the way his people turned their backs on him.  Wondered what constitutes idol worship in today’s time… My shoulder is hurting tonight making it difficult to sit here and type.  So I’ll make this brief: God wants us to return to him with all our hearts.  I watched the movie Remember Me tonight.  No one told me ahead of time the historical event that would happen at the end of the movie (I won’t spoil it here for those of you who haven’t seen it).  And I was reminded of … Continue reading Brief tonight