Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.” (Luke 11:43-44 ESV) Горе вам, фарисеям, що любите перші лавки в синагогах та привіти на ринках! 44 Горе вам, бо ви як...

YEAR 40 | 2024-09-14 | SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS (SP) BRAZIL Vicki spoke at a regional women’s event in the city of Ribeirão Preto, upstate, on Saturday, Aug. 17. She was one of three speakers. The theme was on Mary as an example for women. Over 100 women were present for the event, many of them from cities in the region....

In the slow process of going through tons of papers, a journal entry appeared from January, 2003. Daughter and I watched a fictionalized account of a spiritual figure (in VHS, of course). Finding mentions of moments like these are good for me, because I often forget the things I did with my kids. I vaguely...

Important things I did today? I checked up on my mom. I went out and came home. I thanked my wife. I called a friend, Sent a writer a reader's praise. These were the things that mattered. Oh, and I did some work as well.

I wrote this 2003-01-10 for my UPLift ezine. You Are Not Alone The last few days I've been corresponding with a lady in Portugal who is undergoing chemotherapy after a mastectomy. She appears to be afraid of opening up to others and feels terribly alone. Today I wrote her again. “I’m glad my words helped to cheer...

Just gimme a box with a blinking cursor for text, And I'll type words and strings for when I'm vexed. Within a rectangle feelings will splash and bounce. Some I will embrace, and some renounce. There's hope for a healthier mind on the other side. Excuse the bumps if you join me for the ride.

Death is nearer, more by day and hour, But Christ has pulled its teeth and drawn its power. Signs it leaves stalking in the thick of weeds, To safe and open meadows the Shepherd leads. This life is full of hardship, pain, and woes; Alone and scorned, the Man of Sorrows knows The full extent of human life on earth....

Is there place for a holy dissatisfaction with the way we’re doing things as God's people? (I refuse to say “doing church”.) More, is there a place for making necessary changes to nudge us closer to the Word and away from the general religious habits we still cling to? Or do we so identify those habits as the...

Just some general thoughts tonight. The legacy you leave may well be different than that you planned for. In less than 24 hours, Brazilian Christians rallied to provide the equivalent of more than eight thousand dollars for the surgery of an evangelist and fine man who has prostate cancer. Actually, well above what...

YEAR 40 | 2024-08-10 | SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS (SP) BRAZIL Note: Consider this something of a follow-up to the newsletter published earlier in the week. We were saddened by the news of the death of 62 passengers of the Voepass flight which fell yesterday in the city of Vinhedo, here in São Paulo state. It was...

YEAR 40 | 2024-08-06 | SÃO JOSÉ DOS CAMPOS (SP) BRAZIL Vicki, according to all reports, had a tremendous message Saturday, July 27, for the ladies meet in São Vicente, just over two hours away from here. Her topic was based on the first part of Hebrews 12. She drove our car, and four ladies went with her: three from...

O man of many words, show me the Lord, And it will be sufficient! I do not care For opinions, theories, or theological spins. Show me the Lord, my need is him and all The grace and love and goodness that are his. At his feet I’d fall, his healing hand I’d feel. Push back the curious crowds, away with self, Draw me...