My daughter, Michelle, could be an incredible challenge. She had graduated high school, but with her disability she wasn’t working, so she was home all the time. And she was becoming increasingly difficult to watch. She needed a good amount of supervision because she frequently sought a way to get admitted to the hospital. She always managed to get the police or fire department to our house, and she…
Our pastor down in Georgia used to preach all the time on the brevity of life. Brevity means “short or brief.” At that time, I was in my twenties. I had almost my whole life in front of me. If I live into my 80’s, then I lived another 60 years. To me, that was a long time. But a lot of people die prematurely. Proverbs 27:1 says, “Boast not…
The military transferred our family to Valdosta, Georgia in January, 1982. Our son, Toby, was 21 months old and I was five months pregnant with our daughter. At that time, we bought a double-wide mobile home trailer and rented a space in a trailer park. That Christmas, we moved our trailer onto a piece of property that we had purchased. The land was undeveloped, so we cut down trees, cleared…
Serving in the United States Air Force, Floyd and I were stationed at RAF Alconbury in England for three years. Seven months before we were due to PCS (permanent change of station) back to the States, a house opened up at Upwood Base Housing, so we accepted it. We moved into the house the end of May, 1981. A few short months later, Floyd got orders to Moody AFB in…
In the same way that a mother lovingly protects her toddler from danger that the child is not even aware of, God watches over His children and protects them from unforeseen danger. In 1996, Floyd took a job with Victory Express, driving a tractor trailer rig. He drove over the road for a few months until he landed a dedicated run. With a dedicated run, he drove strictly between two…
Being military, we moved around quite a bit. And the first thing we always did upon relocating to a new area was to find a church home. This was the first time that we were looking for a new church home without moving. The most important thing to both Floyd and me in considering a church home was doctrine. I didn’t look for a place where I could serve Christ,…
Does God have a specific church where we are called to serve Him, or does He allow us to choose from a list of doctrinally-sound churches and still be in His will? And once we’re involved in a good, doctrinally-sound church, is there ever a time when God elects to move us? Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” That means God doesn’t change…
After Mary had lived with us for a year, and she finally got ready to move into her own apartment, I asked her if we could claim her on our taxes since she didn’t file for herself. Her response stunned me. “I can’t allow that. One time my personal information was stolen, and they told me to never give it out. So I can’t give it to you.” She’s lived…
Our church in Georgia met in a big school gymnasium with a beautiful hardwood floor. The school actually belonged to the church, but at that time, we did not have a nice church building in which to hold services. So every Wednesday afternoon and Saturday evening, someone set up chairs for services. Then after services, the chairs were put away again because the gym was used for sporting activities during…
This blog was written by a missionary who requested that I withhold his last name due to the dangerous mission field where he’s serving Christ. But his words are a powerful reminder of our responsibility to share the Gospel with friends, family, and coworkers, to pray for the lost, and to support missionaries (through our finances and our prayers) who take the Gospel to places that we’ll never be able…