At the end of December a phrase kept coming to mind; “And great was the fall.” I knew this to be scripture so I hunted it down. It’s found in Matthew 7:21-27. Jesus is talking about a person who builds his house on the sand. This person hears the sayings of Jesus but doesn’t DO what He says. These people will hear Him say, “Depart from me you who practice lawlessness.” They build their lives and play by their own…
Our pastor, Jim West, challenged us to set aside the next thirty days to make a time every day to praise the Lord. He also encouraged us to journal the things God does in that time. When we praise the Lord our eyes are no longer on a problem or a puzzling situation–they are on our all-powerful God who changes things. We praise Him for who He is, and that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those…
Christmas is over, the guests have gone home, and we have a refrigerator full of odd bowls of leftovers. The weather has turned cold and rainy—a good day for soup. I pulled out those snippets and went to work. I took the bowl full of carrot and celery sticks from the relish tray, chopped them with some onions and leftover ham and threw them together in the skillet and added a little butter. While those things simmered, I added a…
Twenty-four of us gathered in the new kitchen to celebrate Jesus’ birth on Christmas Day this year. How fortunate we are to be able to meet together and enjoy one another as a family. May you have a wonderful new year, filled with God’s blessings. God’s Little Miracle Book is now available in audio at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sally-jadlow/1303687606 for iTunes and at Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007F5H0H4
This week at church we were given journals to record God’s blessings, the way He moves, and the way He uses us to be the Light of Christ to those around us. Journaling serves many purposes. It reminds us how God intervenes in our lives, how He caused circumstances to allow us to bless others, and to not forget the instances of those blessings. I’ve journaled for years, but this journal will be for the specific ways Jesus has operated…
As a writer, do you ever despair, wondering if anyone will ever read your work? You never know who or when those words you so diligently planned, typed and edited will ever be seen. This past month Neoma Foreman a writing friend of mine who lives in Walker, MO, sent me a page from a 1950 cookbook from her town’s Baptist Church. Neoma’s daughter-in-law recently bought the book in an auction and gave it to her. Although I wondered why…
Time to get out the Christmas decorations in preparation for the celebration of our savior’s birth. So many times the preparation for the celebration takes precedence over the real reason for the holiday. In a blue funk after cleaning the house, top to bottom several years ago, I wrote this poem. Now, I have learned to stay calm and let dust bunnies multiply under the bed while I enjoy the time with family and friends as we celebrate the real…
In the November Poem a Day Challenge yesterday’s prompt was to write an ambitious poem. This is my offering to that prompt. Ambition Snow sparkles like a million diamonds across the frigid landscape after yesterday’s blizzard. I sit inside sipping hot chocolate. Try to gather ambition to hunt the snow shovel, dress in several warm layers, and address the mounds of moisture nature blew onto the drive. Or perhaps I’ll wait until it all melts and clean the basement instead. …
As I thought about the things I’m grateful for, the usual came to mind–family, friends, home, freedom and faith. Another word keeps coming to mind also. Redeemed. It’s a word often used but perhaps very misunderstood. In the 60s when you purchased items you received green stamps. When you got a book full, you redeemed them at a redemption center for anything from a coffee pot to cigarettes. The real meaning of that word is so much greater that a…
Suddenly it’s winter in Kansas. I wrote this poem after the recent snow storm. Winter Sneaks In shrouded with darkness when no one is looking with a blast of frigid air followed by snowflakes blown sideways into unsuspecting mid-November night screaming, “I’m here whether you like it or not!” My titles are available on Amazon.com here. God’s Little Miracle Book is now available in audio at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/sally-jadlow/1303687606 for iTunes and at Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B007F5H0H4