Niccolò Paganini was a virtuoso violinist and composer who lived in Europe in the early 1800s and was thought to be the greatest violinist of all time. His technique while playing was unparalleled. His compositions, unique and of vanguard style. His playing of gentle passages was so beautiful that his audiences often burst into tears, and yet, he would perform some pieces with such vigor and velocity that one listener at a concert in Vienna became half-crazed and declared for days that he had Continue Reading
Mary’s Christmas Story {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
Do you love to hear a good story? I enjoy stories passed down through generations and in literature. And I’m especially fond of stories told as first-hand accounts of actual events. But what about the Christmas story? Have you read the Christmas story in the Bible? How have others told the story? I wonder how Mary, the earthly mother of Jesus, felt and experienced the birth of the Christ child. Or, what it was like to see Jesus grow into a man and fulfill His Continue Reading
Thinking on What We Already Have {Recharge Wednesday}
'Tis the season for writing out wishlists, filling the calendar, and stuffing our stomachs! Our to-do lists our longer than usual. At this time of year, we tend to spend more time thinking about we need, want, or plan on than usual. Sometimes it's refreshing and helpful to remember what we already have. What We Have as God’s Children The Spirit “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” –Romans 8:6 God’s Own Word “All Continue Reading
Your Life is Not a Cosmic Accident {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
“Deep within the universe, inside a large spiral galaxy, hidden among its billions stars, there exists a dwarf star named ‘Sol’. It is a fiery furnace in the center of a beautiful solar system… a Solar System with 8 amazing planets, 5 dwarf planets, 176 moons and billions of comets and asteroids. A place where a small blue planet may be the most special world in all universe.” These words accompanied the most compelling four-minute video that I have watched in a long, long Continue Reading
Shifting the Praise Paradigm {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
The CD played my new favorite song as I drove to work that morning. It was the end of winter and the damp air outside kept the windshield misty with rain. Tears fell down my face as I worshiped Him through song. Just a couple of days before, I had been diagnosed with kidney cancer. Surgery had been scheduled for a few weeks away. Life as I knew it had changed with a doctor’s visit. Yet, as the song “Behold the Lamb” played on, my heart was filled with peace, gratitude and Continue Reading
The Security of a Good Father {Recharge Wednesday LINKUP}
I woke up at 4 a.m. questioning a decision I’d made. I’d told the designer who’d drawn out a closet plan we wanted to work with her. In my sleep, I had second thoughts. “Lord, I’m too tired to figure this out. I don’t know if we made the right decision.” With that prayer, an Old Testament passage came to mind. If a young woman makes a vow…and her father hears of the vow or pledge and does not object to it, then all her vows and pledges will stand. But if her father refuses to let her fulfill Continue Reading
