SINGING FOR JOY

I get daily news from the southern African countries in my inbox. I communicate on a daily basis with ministry partners in countries like Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, eSwatini, South Africa, Malawi, Namibia, Kenya, and Madagascar. We discuss ministry things, prayer requests, thanksgivings for what God is doing in our lives, and news of families. Since I know these dear brothers and sisters and have cherished relationships with them, what happens in their part of the world is very important to me. My heart breaks when I see headlines such as the one this morning, “Catastrophic Hunger Descending On Southern Madagascar” because I also hear their personal stories about such real suffering. https://allafrica.com/stories/202106230111.html?utm_campaign=daily-headlines&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=aans-view-link  Yet here I am in America, perhaps living frugally but still with more than enough to eat. We Americans focus intently on our bodies, our healt...

I recently had the most amazing dream. I was in Heaven. The colors were dazzling all around, but the focus was on the radiant bright light that was the Lord Himself. We were a sea of faces surrounding Him, joyfully worshipping our King. Simultaneous to our rapturous adoration, we’d greet each new arrival with exuberant joy. Not only that, but in perfect harmonious order, at the same time as these other activities, each tribe and nation was announced and celebrated with exhilarated delight. It was the party to end all parties! This dream has stuck with me for weeks now, and I’ve even shared it with a few others. But it’s impossible to describe the glorious wonderment, hope, and comfort that vision brings to me every time I recall it. I’m sharing this with you now in the hopes that it will encourage you to also be filled with eager anticipation as you ponder our sublime future with the Lord, available for all those who call upon His Name now in our earthly existence. I’m not saying my ...

My husband spoils me rotten. There, I’ve publicly confessed it, so now may I move on with this post? 😅 This morning, he was cutting up a mango for my breakfast, and was disgruntled to discover that it had ugly brown spots on the inside. Out of curiosity, I Googled for information about why fruit that looks perfectly good on the outside turns out to be brown on the inside. I won’t bore you with the scientific reasons, but please feel free to do research on your own if you’re interested. Of course, I was also disappointed along with John. But you know what? I choose to be thankful that more often than not, I get to eat wonderful, unblemished mangos! Many times in life we find people or situations like that. They look so beautiful and appealing on the surface, but when we look deeper, we find rottenness. Or we believe ourselves to be “good” people, but bad things happen in our lives. Death and decay are part of our reality. I don’t have to use Google to understand this kind of corruption...