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All God’s creatures . . .
One evening as Gary and I were sitting on the patio a little owl showed his presence (maybe her presence). We were pleased and started talking to the owl in low, inviting tones. With big eyes he slowly stepped toward us, stopping every few steps. We kept sending “sweet nothings” READ MORE
Is there an unforgiveable sin?
By Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC Phil, 14 was just a kid. He was quiet, polite and a good student. No one could know what was ahead or how he would change lives—until the day the call came. “Hello, Joy. Have you heard about Janet?” “What do you mean?” READ MORE
Have I commited the unforgiveable sin?
Scripture indicates there is an unforgiveable sin. But, only one. Mark 3:28-29, “Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation”— 30 because they said, “He READ MORE
A lollipop?
Last Sunday First Communion was celebrated at church. We watched as these little darlings were called up to the altar, two girls and two boys. The children were dressed “to the tee,” with the little girls wearing beautiful white gowns. They were followed to the altar by parents and grandparents. READ MORE
The decision has been made!
We are going back to church. Our ages see us “stepping toward the top rung on the ladder of life,” yet, both of us took the best possible care of our health. We did put off getting the COVID vaccine for many months after it became available. Neither of us READ MORE
What is the purpose of life?
We arrive on earth as a small tenuous life force. We grow, develop and learn. We experience. We laugh. We cry. And, eventually we die. How long we get to be here is undeterminable which makes life all the more valuable. It is a mystery, one we cannot solve on READ MORE
Is there life after death?
Who has ever lived without this question arising from one’s consciousness from time to time? This little story titled, “Twins in the womb” by an anonymous author that prompts further thought. One day a mother conceived twins. One child was a girl; the other a boy. Months passed, and they READ MORE
Talk about a transplant
Vacation. What has happened? Has this word lost its health? There used to be a time when we made plans for leaving cares at home to find some scenic hideaway for refreshing the soul, a “vacation.” Now it seems more like a spending spree—seeing and doing as much as possible READ MORE
Back to School – no matter the age
School has started once again. Do you ever stop to savor those early memories—especially from grade school—noticing again the ones that make you smile, and those that still bring a twinge of pain? My most vivid school memory, while in the third grade, has nothing to do with what happened READ MORE
Prayer, a wondrous mystery
By Joy Le Page Smith, M.A., BCC www.healinglifespain.com While attempting to learn more about prayer, I have made a concerted effort to draw from others their perceptions of prayer. I am receiving three types of comments: 1) those claiming prayer to be a challenging, yet rewarding experience; 2) those stating READ MORE
Let’s face it
By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC wwww.healinglifespain.com It took this pandemic for us to get a grasp of what it means to see a full face. Clearly, we know half-a-face is not enough. We feel cheated in only seeing the eyes of the person coming toward us. When READ MORE
What Bangs your Shutters?
By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA, BCC We want extraordinary things to happen in life. Sometimes these come through a quick story or a timely joke. Truth be known, when our emotions move into that sweet range of joy, hope, even surprise it changes our body chemistry. For READ MORE
Salty people—our unsung heroes?
While working in a big city, a good option came for taking a bus. This bus was crowded. I observed a well-dressed woman who I would guess to be between 40 and 50 years old. She also stood, along with many of us, for several miles on this overcrowded bus. READ MORE
Being free and fully ‘me’
Have you ever felt there were invisible boundaries around you? Limits that would allow you to go so far in achievements and risk taking, but no further? I call this the “confidence barrier” and believe once we can break through we can find our full potential, while also realizing who READ MORE
Flying low and flying high
Nature speaks, when we listen. Perhaps birds can be the most frequent bearers of messages. While in Idaho, walking along a hillside, I met with an Evening Grosbeak. The breeze blew the feathers of his head straight up as he lingered on a bush. But the remarkable moments came while READ MORE
What bangs your shutters?
We want extraordinary things to happen in life. Sometimes it just takes a quick story or a joke to give us that chemical change we need. And, “yes” when our emotions move into that sweet range of joy, hope, even surprise (which excites us) our physiology changes.[1] The other READ MORE
Back to school with the greatest of teachers
Do you ever feel dumb—unable to think as fast as you would like? Or unable to accomplish things as quickly as circumstances seem to demand? Maybe feeling “less than” at times? I have and frequently do. A parent’s early messages such as “Come down off your high horse,” and “Don’t READ MORE
Do we have to ‘see’ to believe?
I have thought myself to be a woman of faith. But in some situations anxiety has been a frequent companion. In those instances, my mind never seems to stop its efforts to “work it out,” meaning, I feel sure I can do something that will be more helpful, thus put READ MORE
Faith can change a child’s life
Some individuals have never known or attempted to understand how God can help them in their lives. I’ve known those who haven’t even tried to find out. Recently, a friend came to me after church and said, “Sometime, let’s talk. I have something to share with you. It’s about what READ MORE
‘Even the smallest words’ hold great power
Words heard as a girl changed my life. I was eight years old, when I first went away to summer girl’s camp in Mc Call, Idaho. It was a Quaker girl’s camp with a tabernacle made of logs and a sawdust floor. We girls had great times of swimming in READ MORE
Broken, but beautiful
The Japanese art form called Kintsugi is one in which “the breaks and repairs of a vessel are treated as a part of the object’s history.” The artist uses a mixture of resin infused with powdered gold to repair a piece, resulting in far greater beauty. Often in life wounds READ MORE
Feeling lonely, or that “something is missing?”
In 1662, Basil Pascal, a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, theologian, wrote, “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing, but only by God the Creator made known through Jesus Christ.” Forget all you have ever heard about Jesus Christ. READ MORE
We had best speak up!
Could it be we are on very dangerous ground with God—at least on a slippery slope? Wherever a pregnant woman is mentioned in the Bible, she is spoken of as being “with child.” Isaiah 49:1, gives a word picture for this, “The Lord called me from the womb, from the READ MORE
The ‘Setting’ of the Soul
A showcase of opals lay before my eyes—any one of them could be mine. My father stood watching as I studied them. After Dad retired he learned, through a lapidary shop in Scottsdale how to cut, polish and facet stones. And, here was Dad’s treasure stash, fresh work of his READ MORE
Prayer – a wondrous mystery
Prayer – a wondrous mystery While attempting to learn more about prayer, I have made a concerted effort to draw from others their perceptions of prayer. I am receiving three types of comments: 1) those claiming prayer to be a challenging yet rewarding experience; 2) those stating prayer to be READ MORE
Categories
- Aging-Later Years Benefits and Helps
- An Essential Element For Raising a Child
- Building Faith
- Does God Answer Prayer?
- Facing Eternity
- faith building
- Finding One's True Self
- Handling Life's Pain
- healing a child's pain
- helping others
- Learning to Hear God's Voice
- Life Adjustments After Loss
- Meaning of life
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