Tattoo It On Your Heart

The Greatest Gift

“Happy birthday, Jesus. But Lord, as the song says, ‘I have no gift to bring, pa-rum-pa-pum-pum.’”

There’s no greater gift to give or receive than the message of Truth wrapped in Love. The babe born in a stable, laid in a manger, who later lay down His life to save us as the perfect sacrificial Lamb of God. Jesus. King of kings, God incarnate—the most priceless gift offers Himself, new life and eternal life, free to all. He is the Prince of Peace and His peace is not contingent on circumstance. Jesus binds up the broken-hearted. He gives help to the helpless, hope to the hopeless. He is the Good Shepherd and the Way home for wayward. Come, let us adore Him.

A Time to Disobey

“God, please don’t take Grandma from me yet,” I frequently prayed. Though I’d moved to the USA and Grandma remained in Jamaica, the world felt a little less scary and lonely because she was in it. “But when you take her home, Lord, I promise I’ll give her eulogy and tell those in attendance about her and how she pointed me to You.”

One day God whispered to my heart, “It’s time to let her go.”

Grit & Grace: Michael Duncan ~ Author, Pastor, Master of the One-Line Sermon Returns

Feast on a banquet of truth from one who greets life’s challenges with grit & grace. Michael Duncan: author, pastor, master of the one-line sermon returns as my guest interviewee. Undeterred by threats, he shares wit, wisdom, and some wild stories including the unlikely setting in which Jesus saved him.

The Futile Pursuit of Worry

Jesus told us not to worry because he knew we would and thus need this counsel. God gave us His Word not for us to use it to bludgeon ourselves or each other, but to instruct, encourage, correct, redirect our missteps, and draw us to Himself.

Unconscionable Delay

Delay. Sometimes it’s divinely ordained, but most times it’s due to our negligence or obstinance. There are sins of commission (those we do) and sins of omission (when we fail to do as we ought).

Some delays are unconscionable. A heinous example of this is the slow enactment and delivery of the Emancipation Proclamation message that declared freedom for slaves in America.
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Saving the Sabbath

I hate being hurried but struggle to be still. “The Sabbath feels more like a day of stress than a day of rest,” I’ve said. “How do you cease from work, as God says in His Word, when you’re a woman, especially when you have young children? Where is the rest in the rush to ready your little ones to get to church, then home to feed the family, clean up, and barely make it back in time for evening service?”

Empty Arms to Full Heart: One Mom’s Story

This particular Mother’s Day is perfect. For the first time in two decades, it doesn’t break my heart. Twenty years ago, Mother’s Day was far from perfect. Fifteen years ago, it was difficult. Ten years ago—you get the idea…

Let’s Hate Hate—Not Each Other

Let’s hate hate—not each other.

Have we forgotten that the difference between America and dictatorships is we have the freedom to think and feel differently and choose accordingly? And we don’t have to cancel or kill each other because our opinions contradict.

Windsong

I needed to return and see if it was true. My sudden departure and extended absence left me longing for closure. I hadn’t said goodbye to my childhood home in Jamaica. Up the winding mountain route with its lush tropical vistas, past the vendors of fruit and roadside roasted corn. Over Flat Bridge edged with inches-high stone hemispheres and hung just over the troubled Rio Cobre River. In heavy rains, the waters cover the bridge, but not on this day. Through the cool shade of the bamboo arched Fern Gully roadway to Windsong, Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Ocho Rios, where I grew up. I prayed the new owners would let me on the grounds and was grateful when they welcomed me.