“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you shall answer me.” Job 38:2-3 Playing “Simon Says” with my eight-year-old grandson, Titus, proved to be more than I could measure up to. He was overjoyed when it was his turn to give the commands and watch Nana and his older sister move at his voice. Of course, his little brother just thought it was all fun and ran around like a wind up toy. For a brief mom

“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6:11-12 It is always both encouraging and inspiring to bump into familiar characters in the Bible that are so much like yourself. Gideon has always been one of those inspirations for me.

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 A recent heart episode stopped me in my tracks and had me at attention. Because of family heart history, every little flutter can bring sudden fear. I had done my yearly examination which included all of the important heart tests. All came back normal and I felt great relief. But a few weeks later I was awakened from a deep sleep with a pounding heartbeat. My body was sweating and I had an

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 As summer comes to a close, I reflect on all the lessons learned from time with my grandchildren. My three-year-old grandson, River wasn’t really sure about the ocean. He was definitely mesmerized by the big water, but wasn’t so sure he wanted to get too close to the crashing waves. There was an automatic respect of this powerful body of water that continuously