DAILY READING Psalm 125 Ephesians 6:10-17 FIELD NOTES When my children left to go to college and were no longer safe and sound in our family home, I prayed this scripture passage every day for them. I imagined that they were putting on each piece of the armor that Paul describes in this passage —…

DAILY READING Psalm 77 FIELD NOTES Pain always seems worst in the middle of the night — when the house is silent; when darkness shrouds our vision and the outside world seems to have disappeared; when we feel alone — so very alone. It’s during the middle of the night, when sleep escapes us and…

DAILY READING Psalm 22:23-31 Mark 8:27-30 FIELD NOTES As today’s text opens, Jesus and his disciples are walking along the path to visit several villages around the pagan city Caesarea Philippi. Out of the blue, Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” That was an easy question for the disciples to…

DAILY READING Psalm 22:23-31 FIELD NOTES My mother-in-law was a talented seamstress. She began sewing at an early age, and by the time she had her first child, she was proficient at French hand sewing. For her daughter’s baptism she stitched a white cotton batiste gown with pin tucks, delicate lace, and intricate smocking.  Through…

DAILY READING Psalm 22:23-31 Genesis 15:1-6, 12-18 FIELD NOTES Several years ago my husband and I vacationed in Maine. One cold, clear evening we drove to the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park to look at the stars. From the pinnacle of the mountain we had a 360-degree view of the inky black…

DAILY READING Psalm 77 Proverbs 30:1-9 FIELD NOTES Do you remember fairy tales in which the main character would be granted “three wishes” by a genie and she would agonize over which wishes she should choose? It makes us think, if we had three wishes, what would WE choose? The wealth of Bill Gates? The…

DAILY READING Psalm 77 Ephesians 2:1-10 FIELD NOTES I am a sucker for a good “before and after” story. It doesn’t matter what it is. It might be photos of a run-down, dilapidated house which is turned into a show-house; or a person’s “extreme makeover” where they lose a lot of weight, get fit, and…

DAILY READING Psalm 105:1-6, 37-45 Exodus 16:22-30 Matthew 19:23-30 FIELD NOTES William Barclay writes regarding these verses in Matthew,  “Riches have three main effects on a [person’s] outlook: Riches encourage a false independence. Riches shackle a [person] to this earth. Riches tend to make a [person] selfish. … It is not that riches are a…