The days after Christmas are the days I love most. All our preparation, all our late nights, early mornings, baking and secret keeping have found their purpose – we feasted, gifted, communed, worshipped, played. Now the hustle and bustle – the silver bells and corner Santa Clauses – tuck away, and the children quiet themselves to work out the projects found under […]
A Brave Thing vs. A Great Thing
It is a brave thing to die for one’s fellow-men; it is also brave, and often far harder, to live for them. Livingstone did both. Indeed, the humble Blantyre mill-boy had done the noblest and highest thing that man can do; he had given his whole life to help God’s less happy creatures. And this […]
You Are Not Alone (survivor songs #34 – final post!)
And we’re done. The inadequacy I felt as I faced the task of writing this series has been – well, not replaced exactly, but joined by a sense of tear-springing surprise. “Who am I?” was the question hanging over my heart as I first put my fingers to the keys. What grief have I known that could qualify me […]
Mourn With Those Who Mourn (survivor songs #33)
Mourn With Those Who Mourn by Ramone Romero “Remember those who are imprisoned, as if you are imprisoned with them. Call those to mind who are afflicted, as if you are the people who wear their bodies.“ Hebrews 13:3 Harmony asked me to share five paintings for this series Survivor Songs, the theme of which has […]
Mourning The Missing Pieces – guest post by Heather Way (survivor songs #32)
When kids come to The Children’s Home it is because they were taken out of their own home…for one reason or another. They have loss and deep sadness. And they usually embody fear. These kids have so much to mourn, yet I often see them mourning nothing. They are numbed to the losses in their […]
Comfort Others (survivor songs #31)
We made it to the end of the month – but things aren’t completely finished here! We’ll wrap up for good on November 1st, and before we do I have two guest posts to share with you. The first post is by my sister Heather Way, and the second by the artist you’ve seen each Saturday, Ramone Romero. […]
Becoming Abundant (survivor songs #30)
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (shall be comforted – paraklethesontai – God will come right alongside and will be with us.) _______________ _______________ The demands our griefs place on God will be satisfied. This is what strikes me as I consider the audacious phrase shall be comforted and the fullness […]
Tearing Down The Fence: the grief and healing of re-entry – a guest post by Hallie Ziebart (survivor songs #29)
Tearing Down The Fence by Hallie Ziebart __________________ __________________ I mourn. Oh, have I learned how to mourn! My life became not what I expected, or hoped for, or thought I was promised. Life unfolded, joys and sorrows have come and gone. Sometimes I feel bewildered. Sometimes angry. Sometimes thankful. And sometimes I feel nothing […]
What “Comforted” Really Means (survivor songs #28)
We’ve looked at Mourn, and we’ve looked at Blessed. Here’s a magnifying lens on Comfort. ___________________ ___________________ “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” ___________________ In our English there’s no word to adequately convey the concept of comfort about which Jesus speaks in Matthew 5. The very word in Greek is a […]
“Where Do We Go From Here? God Have Mercy” – a Marriage Startup Podcast with Leslie and Laura Camacho (survivor songs #27)
Today Laura Camacho joins up with her husband Leslie to offer a follow up to yesterday’s post (When Does Comfort Come, survivor songs #26). Leslie and Laura host a weekly broadcast called The Marriage Startup Podcast and today they are sharing a special edition of the podcast put together specifically for Survivor Songs. It is such an honor to host […]