The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 (NIV) “Christmas will be here soon,” my first-grade teacher said. “In a couple weeks you kids will fly back to your parents on their mission stations for the holidays. Today you’ll make a Christmas craft to take home.” Twenty happy faces beamed around the sunlit classroom at the boarding school for missionary children in…
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:1,4 (NIV) “We hope you like it here at Kent Academy and soon feel at home,” the dorm auntie said with a welcoming smile the day I arrived for first grade at the boarding school for missionary kids in…
“What are you doing?” The auntie’s dark, wavy hair appeared above my Curious George book, and her voice tugged my mind back from the jungle to the girls’ dormitory at our boarding school in Nigeria. “You shouldn’t be reading here in the lobby, slouched in that chair on this sunny afternoon.” At her brusque tone, I snapped my book closed and sat up straight. “I found this funny story about a friendly monkey,” I said. “Here at K.A., everything seems…
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22 “My tummy hurts!” I said to my classmates, as three of us first-graders sat cross-legged, playing jacks on the front steps of the girls’ dorm. I rubbed the loose waistband of my shorts. One girl counted out ten tiny metal jacks and glanced up at me, squinting in the bright, African sunlight. “What’s the matter?” she asked. “I don’t…
“Good morning! Rise and shine!” The sing-song voice in the hallway tugged me awake from dreamland, and my eyes peeked open. “Morning! Time to get up!” Repeating the perky chant, a dorm auntie marched down the first-grade hall. “Rise and shine.” She paused in our bedroom doorway and flipped on the light switch. My eyes clamped shut like a mousetrap, at the brightness of the bare, overhead bulb. Yawning, I raised my arms overhead and stretched from the tips of…
Many of you celebrated with me when the Upper Room announced they had selected my devotional for publication. Thank you! Today’s the day it appears in print and online, and I’m sharing the link with you here. Photo courtesy of The Upper Room
But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy … so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. Titus 3:4-8a (NIV) “It’s time for lunch, and I’m hungry as a lion,” said my roommate as four of us first graders stood in front of a row of sinks in the large bathroom of the girls’ dorm…
On my first night in the dormitory at Kent Academy, the auntie on duty pointed toward the tall bunk bed against the right-hand wall of Room 15. “You’re in the top bunk,” she said. In my unfamiliar bedroom at the end of the first-grade hall, my stomach tightened, and my six-year-old voice squeaked like a mouse. “Do I have to sleep way up there? But how do I get up so high?” I’ve never slept so high off the ground….
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18 (NIV) The tall, harried woman loomed in our doorway, hands on her hips. “Debbie! What on earth are you doing?” Stretched out on my bed in the dormitory for missionaries’ children in Nigeria, my body stiffened. I knew I was in trouble. Earlier in the…
Photo courtesy of Simroots Archives The setting sun cast a long shadow behind me as I walked across the playground toward the dining hall. There’s my big brother Larry! Running over, I threw my arms around his waist. “Did you find your room?” he asked in his grown-up, seven-year-old voice. “The auntie showed me the way. Are you unpacked?” I replied. “Yes. But I’m sad. D’you like it here?” Larry asked. The sorrow in his voice touched my soul. “I…