Everyone has or has had a mother, even if the people involved had little to do with your delivery. So why do some women shrink, or even get angry with those who wish them a Happy Mothers’ Day? That’s because, as simple as it sounds, the definition of Mother is more complicated than one might think. And yet, for centuries, we in the U. S. have celebrated this mystery as Mother’s Day. Let’s start with the simplest definition of a mother: A female adult who has
Some of the Christmas decorations I see around my neighborhood are truly inspiring. Their symbolism of the reason for the season is quite evident! Others have me scratching my head: elves, snow globes, grinches, and even dinosaurs! The headscratchers will always remain off my personal décor list. But what about the decorations that truly symbolize “God’s love come down” to Earth in the flesh? That’s what this list is. You might even be surprised that you’ve been using these symbols of the faith for quite
“Now it was Chanukah, the feast of Dedication, in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Yeshua walked in the Temple, in Solomon’s porch.” — Yochanan 10:22-23 Whether you say or write Hanukkah or Chanukah, this is the Feast of Dedication; and although it is not one of God’s prescribed feasts, it is one that Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Messiah) attended. Each year, therefore, this Messianic household celebrates Hanukkah. But isn’t Hanukkah a Jewish feast? What does it have to do with Christianity? Great questions. Read on to find
The Magic Flower: 12 Books in One! This is a book of twelve chapters that were written with children and families in mind! Depending on your circumstances and the age of the children enjoying the story, this one book can be treated as 12 separate books! Talk about the Twelve Days of Christmas! But you won’t find any partridges or gold rings here. You will, however, find stories that reveal the true “magic” of Christmas. I call it magic, but it’s really God’s blessings. Parents, you can
In Scripture, faith is defined as follows: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV) Faith involves belief, trust, and follow-through. Assurance comes from God. So if you have real faith, you have a relationship with the Creator of Life, the ultimate One in Charge, the Author of Love and right living, the One who loves you enough to include you in His immediate family. There’s a lot to talk about concerning faith! So I’m definitely going
Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as: “…the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV). In the previous article, we discussed What Faith Is. That article focused on two keywords: assurance and conviction. In this article, What Faith Is Not, we’ll focus on the keyword “things.” Meaning of Things To the modern American audience, the word “things” opens up our imaginations to envision just about any desire we might have. After all, what is a “thing”? Is a “thing” good or is a “thing” bad? Does it matter? Let’s start
Scripture defines faith as: “…the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Let’s talk about faith. I like the ESV translation for this verse because of two keywords that give us an idea what the author of Hebrews 11:1 was writing about: assurance and conviction. The keywords are great, but we also need to use context and the who, what, where, when, why, and how (5W-1H) of reading for meaning. (More on that in a separate post.) Sounds hard, doesn’t it. But if we
There are some life lessons that live with you until you die. In my case, wrestling with God at the ripe old age of 18 was mine. This life lesson spun quickly into additional life-long circumstances that included losing ¼ of my face and being declared dead at age 20. But that’s another story. A Little Background My parents were much older than those of most of my peers. The 1960s and 1970s were enough of a culture shock for the world at large, but for my