-
“He has destroyed it by enduring it …”
(HT to Jill Carattini. Again!) “Let no one grieve at his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed. Let no one mourn that he has fallen again and again; for forgiveness has risen from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Death of our Savior has set us free. He has destroyed it by enduring it.“ (John Chrysostom’s Easter homily)
-
“Roughing It”
Our time in Hawaii is almost over–we’ve had a “tough time” roughing it for Jesus. 🙂 Note to self–no matter how cool your South Carolina dvd haircut is–don’t bother with the HAIR STRAIGHTENER when you take a trip to Hawaii. A very nice way to start the day … Fred tells me that he has to fight a LOT of “Y-Chromosome tendencies” every time he has to drive his ‘Stang over the marine base RUNWAY to get to our cabin … the laws & signs & strong men with big guns are PERFECTLY CLEAR that we are to simply CROSS THE RUNWAY without slowing down or stopping. But apparently my…
-
Hello to Char Binkley’s listeners!
Just a quick note to say hello to any of Char Binkley’s listeners who might be visiting after our radio interview this morning … Hi & Aloha! I’m still awake (even though it’s like 4AM here) because it was so much FUN to get to be with you all. I hope you won a copy of our book, Peacemaking Women, in Char’s giveaway! How about a giveaway of our own? The first three women who heard the interview this morning and email me to let me know will win a free copy of my 5-CD Women’s Retreat series. (Oh–and I’ll NEVER give your contact information to ANYONE! I hate it…
-
Grandparents are here!
THANK YOU for all of the amazingly kind and encouraging notes! You are a true blessing to me and I’m sure that just as soon as I can sit for more than five minutes, I’ll probably have another good ol’ cry. BUT … right now I’m in “get packed / make sure Granma & Grandpa have what they need to keep the kid alive for a week” Momma Mode. So, you know … we just do the next thing, right? A fun part of our day today was getting pictures taken and I thought you might enjoy ’em. So here you are … Thanks again and Aloha! (We leave for…
-
“Worship Wars”
My husband Fred was quoted in our local newspaper this morning and I thought you might enjoy reading the article. Hope you’re all having a great Easter! We’ve had a relaxing day here. Yours, Tara B.
-
Please pray for me.
When you serve as a Christian arbitrator, you sit in the seat of both jury as judge. You hear evidence and decide what happened (facts). You apply biblical law, statutory civil law, and case law to the facts (rulings). You require people to take certain actions (orders). This is a heavy burden! A load of responsibility. Before God. The parties. The Case Administrator. I’m sitting here at 9:00 at night and my heart is heavy. Having labored for hours and hours, days and days … I am tempted to give up. “It’s too hard!” “I can’t do it!” “I want to quit. Back out of my commitment.” (But not really.)…
-
But even if you DO sin …
“My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1, ESV).
-
Look for …
At my “ladies gathering just to be friends and to pray for one another” group yesterday, one of my friends said this in response to our shared struggles with life and responsibility during a typical day: “Look for the humor! Look for the hope.” So today? I’m looking for the humor. And the hope. Because of The Hope. Happy Thursday, friends! Yours, Tara B.
-
Don’t be afraid …
I was SO SICK in the night. I almost called for Fred to have him take me to the hospital … gastrointestinal distress with such an EXTREMELY HIGH level of pain that I thought, “This can’t be good for the baby.” But thankfully, after an hour or so writhing in pain with the window open in the bathroom (even with the snow! but I was SO nauseas I couldn’t bear it), things calmed down enough for me to get a little more sleep. Until I got up an hour or so again, sick some more, but without the distress. So why am I telling you all this (icky) stuff? Two…
-
Don’t be discouraged!
(Again drinking from the wellspring of Puritan Richard Sibbes’ The Bruised Reed …) “Let us not therefore be discouraged at the small beginnings of grace, but look on ourselves as elected to be ‘holy and without blame’ (Ephesians 1:4) … The pupil of the eye is very little, yet sees a great part of the heaven at once. A pearl, though little, yet is of much esteem. Nothing in the world is of so good use as the least grain of grace.”
