Hearts in Service

Acts 2:1-4 ~ When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. And tongues, like flames of fire that were divided, appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability for speech. Today is Pentecost Sunday and in this passage in Acts we see that the disciples are gathered in Jerusalem and united in prayer. The Holy Spirit which had been promised to them came down upon each one. And there were flames of fire resting on each one. They had received the power of the Holy Spirit. As I read this passage today, this idea of flames brought to mind another picture. The flames of buildings being burned down during rioting. One is produced by the Holy Spirit who endowed the disciples with God’s power to go out...

On May 27, 2020 at 4:33 p.m. this beautiful lady passed away. My grandmother lived a long full life and was 96 years old. She was a gifted carpenter, artist, seamstress and could do almost anything she set her mind to do. She died peacefully in the nursing home where she had resided for the past couple of years with my mother by her side.  I was never close to my grandmother and only saw her once or twice a year. For most of her life, s he did not have a relationship with God. We often walked on eggshells around her because we never knew what would upset her. She was always happy to see us when we visited, but children were not her thing. So as I grew and went off to college, the relationship which was distant grew farther apart. However, in her later years, there was a definite change in her. She became kinder and was sweet to everyone she met. She would compliment everyone. When she saw me she would tell me how proud she was of me, how much she loved me and how beautiful ...

  Meditate, think, delight, remember. Psalm 119:15-16 gives us these four verbs as ways to handle God's word. I wonder how often we open our Bible and pick a verse or two, read it, maybe read a devotional that tells us what that person think it says, and then throw up a quick prayer. If that is all our interaction with God's word is then our spiritual depth will be lacking. We will only have scratched the surface. We are satisfied with sipping from a trickle when there is a gushing stream of water available.   It's easy to read a few words and check that "task" off your to-do list. Digging in and taking time to listen to what God wants to say is hard work, but the results are sweet.  I want to go deeper this year. I want to meditate on His precepts, think about His ways, delight in His statutes and not forget His word. I want to soar higher than I have before in my spiritual walk. There is something within me that is not ...

It's 6 a.m. and I'm sitting on my back patio and soaking in the peace. Birds chirping, chipmunks chasing one another, and every so often the sweet scent of lilacs ripples past my nose.  As I open my Bible my eyes fall on the passage in Acts 15 where Paul and Barnabas bring words of encouragement to the Gentile believers in Antioch. The passage tells us that the believers were strengthened by their encouragement and message. How often do my words bring encouragement and strength to another? This weekend my careless words caused a family member to spiral down into self-loathing and depression. That was not my intent, but because I didn't choose my words carefully that was the result and it took an entire day for the effects of my thoughtless words to wear off. It took a day for the sick feeling to leave the pit of my stomach.  How many times do we spew words that bring discouragement and weakness to another? We spout off flippant words without thinking of t...

  Every now and then I look around and realize how blessed I am. I love our life together. I enjoy being in ministry with my husband. I also like being able to run my own business which brings in a bit of money for some of the extras. I wake up each day and look forward to what that day will bring. It's a good life. Today was spent working on business things. I will be participating in the local farmer's market here which begins on June 13th.  One of the things I make each year is dandelion jelly. However, they spray the lawns here so there was no way I was going to be able to use any I found around town. However, a friend who lives outside of town, offered to let me come and pick on her property. It was a beautiful day today so I headed out with my basket and my camera. It's late in the season so there weren't a ton but I was able to get enough for two batches of jelly. The petals are steeping overnight and then tomorrow I w...

Bleary-eyed I stumble to the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. As I look across the counter, I see the sun casting light on the corner of the room and in an instant I sense God's presence in the splash of sunrise. "Wake up, Terri." "You are going to miss it." In that silent holy moment, I'm aware of Him nudging me to sit a while with Him. I take my coffee and Bible and camera and head out to the back patio. As my eyes take in all the sights and sounds of early morning, I open up the Bible to the book of Acts where I left off. Acts 2:28 is part of an Old Testament passage that Paul quotes and the words leap out at me. "Y ou have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence." I'm constantly on the lookout for joy and contentment and here I find the secret. In His presence is where I find it. As I spend time in God's presence and soaking in His word, I find the joy I so despar...

Chirping birds were my companions as I spent time reading and praying this morning. I'm thankful that I choose to start off each day this way because it's the fortification I need to get through each day. I never know what the day will bring and there are many stresses that happen in any given day. And yet, when I begin with prayer and time in the Word, I'm ready to face each new challenge. Emily was able to transfer to the grocery store chain here and starts today. So of course, I had to encourage her by making her favorite meal of eggplant parmigiana and Italian bread. Dan and I have been trying to get some things to spruce up our back patio and while it has a ways to go, I'm thankful it's starting to come together. I'm still trying to get used to having neighbors right on top of me on all sides. After living in the country for the past 18 years it's definitely a different experience to have no privacy. I cut and colored my own hair yesterd...

The other day I was digging in the dirt and feeling the warm sunshine on my head and shoulders as I planted flowers. As I was mechanically putting the flowers into the ground the thought occurred to me that I better open my eyes before I miss the moment. Creativity ~ beauty ~ wonder ~ watchfulness have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and yet for the past few months it seems as if I've had my eyes closed. It feels like I have a cloud surrounding me.  I've forgotten to look for the beauty around me. As I keep my eyes open and stay alert that I see God's hand in the small moments that I might otherwise miss.  I see his hand in the bee buzzing on a blossom. It's in the satisfaction that comes from making beautiful landscape. It's in the joy that happens when I make special moments for my family. His hand is in the mundane, the insignificant, and the small. I want to keep my eyes open and full of the wonder that unfolds before me each day....