Posts from 2019 (Page 3)
The Fields Are Ripe
“You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripefor harvest.” John 4:35 (NLT) I had been married twenty years before my husband came to the Lord. He’d grown up in the church, his mother was a pastor, but I didn’t even know all that before I married the man. “You need to know people before you marry them,” I tell the girls I counsel.…
Back to Jag
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved…” Acts 16:31 I was born and raised here in Naples in the River Park Projects. My mom was in and out of prison, addicted to crack cocaine and heroin. I didn’t know my dad. My grandmother had to get me at a very young age. I’d never seen anyone be married in my family. No one raised their children with both the mom and the dad. …
Faith in God Sustained Us
“Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there; if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.” Psalm 34:17-18 The Message (MSG) My dad passed away when I turned fifteen. His death was not only a traumatic loss for me as a teenager, but also for my mom and my sister Edna who was six years older than I. Throughout…
Strive to Please God
“Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.” Isaiah 30:21 (NLT) I figured I was an adequate, if conventional, Christian. Church on Sunday. Pledged annually. Ate pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. (Even helped cook them!) No spiritual fireworks, but also no thunderous warnings. I had a satisfactory career in management ending up in the banking business. When the rector…
We Have a Counselor
“I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him; you know him, for he dwells with you, and will be in you.”John 14:16-17 (RSV) My husband’s doctors told him he was not going to survive his latest illness. Despite their dire predictions, Jack did live, and he was gaining strength in rehabilitation…
Richly Blessed to Richly Bless
“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate.” 1 Timothy 6:17-18 (KJV)) Growing up as a child, my family had so very little. I had just one pair of shoes. They were plastic, and every time the…
Tightly-tied Heartstrings
“…My heartstrings throb like harp strings…” Isaiah 16:12 (The Message) As I look back on my life, I can see so clearly how God has pulled the strings of my heart to bring me ever closer to His. Although I had gone to Sunday school at the Christian Science and Congregational churches since I was a child, and continued to participate in young people’s groups, I never thought much about my relationship with God until much later. …
Willing to Stand in the Gap
“I looked for someone… to stand in the gap…” Ezekiel 22:30-31 I believe that the ministries God has given us come in all shapes, sizes…and costumes! Of course, I would, for my name is Sizzle, and I am a clown! My other self is named Daphne Pfaff. For years before she created me, Daphne volunteered as a counselor on a suicide crisis telephone Hotline. As she listened to desperate people at the loneliest, most threatened and…
God Is Ever Present
“If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13 All my life, God has been present. I became a Christian and was baptized in a Baptist church at a very young age partially because I was at the age young people in our congregation were expected to make a statement of faith. But I remember a very important time that I gave my life in its totality to Christ. It was just…
God Sent in the S.W.A.T. Team
“A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 (NIV) Although I’ve always known that God is with me, I admit that at times, I worry. Well… maybe it would be more accurate to say, “I tend to be a worrier.” Even more, it would not be inaccurate to say, “I’m a world class worrier.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read Philippians 4: 6-7. “Be anxious for…