Emily Parke Chase
Spring is arriving late in the northeast this year. As our local weatherman said halfway through April, “Today is tax day and Old Man Winter has filed for an extension!” How appropriate that I have been studying the book of Ruth and the story of how this brave young woman went out to glean during …
Read More Hope is alive!A frigid wind is blowing outside. It’s a good day to stay indoors and meditate on John 3:8: “Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” As I look out my window and …
Read More WindblownWatch out! I am grouchy today. Normally I don’t mind doing my daily exercises and walking for recovery from my spinal surgery, but today I had to force myself to do these. On ordinary days, I don’t mind fixing meals and doing laundry, but today I found them exhausting. I even got annoyed waiting five …
Read More Grouchy GrinchMy friend Bill is undergoing surgery today to remove a cancerous growth. He has struggled with cancer for years and this is just one more round in an on-going battle. In John’s gospel, chapter 5, Jesus meets a man who has been struggling with health problems for 38 years. They meet at the side of …
Read More Healing WaterWaiting is never easy or fun as we have seen throughout this period of Advent. But Christmas is here at last! May God bless you. My gift to you today is to pass along a favorite poem, author unknown but appreciated. Read it aloud and enjoy its words of wisdom as God explains the benefits …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 24The malls are full of last-minute shoppers racing hither and yon, trying to find just the right gifts – or any gift! – for a boss or a friend or family member. Do you ever feel like you are the only one waiting, while the rest of the world rushes on past you? Scripture assures …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 23We are almost through Advent and anxious for Christmas to arrive! Our period of waiting will soon be over! Yet Advent has been a good time to slow down and remember all God’s blessings When Saul traveled on the road to Damascus, he was in a hurry. He had a full agenda of things he …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 22Every year, Christmas arrives predictably on December 25th, a fact which makes our holiday waiting a bit more bearable. At least we know when the waiting period will end. However, when I submit a book proposal, I have no idea when a publisher will get back to me. When you pray for a neighbor to …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 21If you took that man-on-the-street survey of key characters in the Christmas story, one name at the top of your list would be that of Mary. She too learned to wait. Just as Zechariah sat on the sidelines for nine long months throughout his wife’s pregnancy, Mary waited through nine long months of her own …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 19If you did a survey on the street about key characters in the Christmas story, the name Zachariah would not likely rise to the top of the list, yet in Luke’s account, his story fills almost half of the first chapter! An angel appeared to Zechariah and told him that he would have a baby …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 18