Articles on Sister to Sister
A Wee Little Prayer
My new job had more things for me to learn than I could count. I absorbed directions and techniques as fast as my co-workers gave them, but I still couldn’t catch up. My brain was overloaded. One day my actions betrayed my bursting brain. It was early evening at the bulk food store, and we had almost an hour until closing time. The store was filled with the usual…
Opening Our Doors
This article is compiled from notes I took at a Sisters’ Meeting. One of the earliest recorded examples of hospitality took place under a tree. Abraham urged three strangers to stay with him and graciously prepared a labor-intensive meal for them. With no travel plazas or fast food options near Mamre, these probably weren’t the first strangers Abraham hosted. Hospitality…
Joy in the Crevices
A few years ago, I was wallowing in emotional and physical burn out, trying to adjust to life outside of the African village we had called home for eight years. Depression and fear were a regular part of my life. As I slowly crawled out of the hole I was in (a hole I never realized I had fallen into until it was too late for an easy remedy), I began to notice beauty. In…
Building Up Relationships
Friendship is a beautiful thing. Meaningful, heart-to-heart friendships influence us greatly and bring stability into our lives, especially if they are grounded in Christ. True friends encourage us when we’re hurting or discouraged, and they rebuke us when we sin, yet they always care for us. Building relationships is hard. It takes a lot of time to build meaningful…
When Mothers Concede
“What are plain mothers of today telling their daughters about the carousel of cosmetics proffered for women?” This is a question I have pondered many times as I observe the girls in the church benches grow into womanhood. My wonder is weighted with concern. Listen in with me as two sisters talk about this topic. “What do you do about things like a touch of acne cover-up…
Psalm 46: When Mothers Pray
Sometimes, Lord, I come before You with a weary mind. The morning has been long… loud with teasing and tension… trampled on and trodden over. Or maybe I am the trampled one. I feel spent already. I don’t have the quiet mind with which one ought to approach the Most High God, but I come anyway. I must. I need You. Today, I heard again the dismal headlines from this…
Mothers and Prayer
It was 2:30 PM, Tuesday afternoon. “Señora!” a chorus of voices hollered from outside our property hedge. “Open the gate!” “Just wait,” I called back. “It’s not three o’clock yet.” Disgruntled murmurings sounded from the other side of the hedge. I turned to my wailing baby. Sinking into the rocker to feed her, I closed my eyes to relish each quiet moment before the coming…
Genuine Relationships
“I wish I could ask other sisters at church advice on things I face with my teenage girls. But I’m scared to open my heart to the sisters here anymore; it doesn’t feel safe…” Veronica’s voice trailed off wistfully. *************************************************************** Washing and cooking for a dozen relief workers was strenuous work for Edna. And now…
Inspirations in Cooking
Gleanings from an inspirational sister’s meeting Thou preparest a table before me… Psalm 23:5 O taste and see that the Lord is good… Psalm 34:8 Eating is such a basic thing. God made food and created us with a need to eat. Like my husband says, God could have made us with a hatch to simply open up and dump in the food! Less than five minutes…