Kinder than They Deserve

Posted on July 19, 2026 by Barbara Harper

When someone makes a cutting remark to us, we want to slice them back with our words. When they speak unkindly to us, when they are dismissive or make us feel stupid, often our first instinct is to answer them back in like manner. “Oh yeah? Well, you . . . “

I’m not confrontational by nature, so I may not say what comes to mind. But I’ve sure fed retaliatory thoughts for hours after a negative encounter.

Yet I am often convicted by Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (NKJV).

Christians use the word “grace” a lot. There are many ramifications of what grace means in the Bible, but the standard definition of grace is “unmerited favor.” Though the word isn’t used in Romans 5:8-10, the concept is: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

Titus 3 provides another clear illustration. Verse 3 says we “were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” Then there comes a turning point: “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (verses 4-7).

If we understand grace as God’s favor shown to us when we didn’t deserve it, then what does it mean to let our speech be with grace?

Well, the grace that God shows to us, we show to others. We don’t react negatively to negativity. We forgive because He forgives us. We love out of the overflow of His love for us.

I like to think of it as being kinder to other people than we think they deserve. Of course, we should treat every person with the respect of an image-bearer of God.

But when someone isn’t bearing that image well, we don’t respond in kind. The Internet has made harsh speech the norm rather than the exception since we can’t see the hurt in others’ eyes or when we know they can’t hurt us beyond flinging words back at us.

But when we speak with grace, we respond kindly even when others are harsh. We remember God was kind to us when we didn’t deserve it.

Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath.” Responding softly can often disarm a person’s anger and diffuse the tension.

But grace isn’t just about conflict avoidance. Ephesians 4:29 tells us, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” We build others up with our speech instead of tearing them down. We “minister grace to the hearers,” as the KJV puts it. Hopefully, the grace we show others, even when, especially when, they don’t deserve it will point them back to the One who gave grace to us and wants to give it to them as well.

Gracious speech isn’t dull, wishy-washy, Pollyanna-ish, never taking a stand. Colossians 4:6 goes on to say our gracious speech should be “seasoned with salt.” Ephesians 4:15 talks about “speaking the truth in love.” Jesus was full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

We have to share truth, even when it hurts, because it would be even more hurtful to the person not to share it. But we don’t wield truth like a club. We share truth graciously, in love, hoping for their reconciliation.

May God give us the grace to be kind and gracious to others, even when they don’t seem to deserve it, because He was kind and gracious to us when we didn’t deserve it.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on July 18, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the good reads found this week:

A Godly Grief. “Have you ever done something you said you’d never do? If your answer is yes, you aren’t alone.”

Does the Day End in Night, or the Night End in Day? HT to Challies. “Every day ends in night, and every night ends in day. These cycles have been circling for longer than anyone can remember, and they will continue long after our own lives are forgotten—but they cannot continue forever. Someday, the cycles must finish. And will they finish with an everlasting day, or a never-ending night?”

The Real Reasons We Don’t Read the Bible, HT to Knowable Word. “If we’re honest with ourselves, a lot of modern American excuses boil down to one: I’m just too busy right now. Really? Am I really too busy to hear from God? Am I too busy to have my soul revived by his living and active word? Am I too busy to receive the wisdom I desperately need in all of my busyness? Am I too busy to have my dim eyes awakened again to ultimate, spiritual reality? Am I too busy to have my easily distracted mind focused on the most important things? Am I too busy to taste the sweetest honey and receive the finest gold?”

Could Your Devotional Material Be Hindering Your Spiritual Growth? HT to Challies. “The danger is not that Christians read devotionals. The danger is that we begin to treat them as a substitute for reading Scripture itself. The danger is that we slowly become content with someone else’s digested thoughts about the Bible, while rarely learning to feast on the Bible for ourselves.”

What’s Really Holding You Back? A Biblical Look at “Limiting Beliefs.” “In the self-help world, it is common to hear the term “limiting beliefs.” Limiting beliefs are defined as any negative thoughts or assumptions that are holding you back from the life you want. More and more, however, I am hearing this phrase on the lips of Christians. And I have some concerns.”

Scattered. “It’s a strange feeling when you shift from having a tight little family unit that moves through the world together to this scattered collection of human beings who wave to one another from a distance. In some ways it feels like I’m picking up pieces of a former life I once knew and trying to make them fit into a new puzzle. Those pieces don’t connect anymore, and my brain is trying to keep up with the change.”

3 Helpful Instructions on Keeping a Journal. “Having written a couple hundred pages of theologically-dense teaching on God’s providence, [John Flavel] closes with a simple plea to Christians to maintain a journal that records specific instances of God’s compassion and care. He does not advocate a tell-all diary, but a prudent, humble, and appropriate record of our experiences and observations of God’s providence. He suggests that keeping this kind of journal can benefit and enrich not only ourselves but also other believers.”

The deepest waters I’ve had to go through have taught me the deepest lessons.–Elisabeth Elliot

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on July 17, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I’m joining Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to pause, share, and be thankful for the blessings of the week.

1. Camp leftovers. Jim had some burgers, potato salad, and baked beans leftover from the guys’ camping trip last week, so we enjoyed those for lunches. Then he also had some teriyaki chicken leftover that he grilled for dinner one night.

2. A light cooking week. Besides the camp leftovers, Jim was away Wednesday night for a men’s get-together at church, so I didn’t have to make dinner. Then another night, I was tired at dinner time and asked if we could get something out.

3. Getting shower curtains and liners cleaned. I saw some time ago either from Martha Stewart or Hints from Heloise (remember her?) that you could wash plastic (or vinyl?) shower curtain liners in the washing machine with towels, and the towels help scrub them plus keep them from bunching up. I usually use rags rather than towels so I can use bleach without messing anything up. We have hard water here with lots of minerals which leaves a white residue on things that’s hard to get off. The spray cleaners only go so far. So every now and then I’ll toss the curtain liners in the wash, and then wash the shower curtains in a separate load. Two of my shower curtains need to be ironed. So all of that, plus stretching to get them all off their hooks and back on again, took a chunk of time. But it was satisfying to get it done.

4. Killing a bug on the first try. That may sound silly. 🙂 But I do count it as a blessing! When I walked into my bedroom last night, I saw a centipede scurrying across the floor. They move really fast, so I didn’t know if I’d have time to grab some tissues and then smash him. I thought about just letting him go, but then I’d wonder where he was and when he was going to come back out. Jim is usually the designated bug killer (it’s a subdivision in our marriage vows under “love and cherish” 🙂 ). But he was asleep. For some reason, the centipede just stopped as I walked past him. So I got a couple of tissues and aimed for him, thinking he’d take off before I reached him (which is what usually happens). But I got him on the first try.

5. Some productive afternoons. I had gotten discouraged after a few days of not getting things done that I needed to. One or two of those days, I was sleepy and took a longer nap than I wanted. But I had several productive spurts this week and got most of my to-do list crossed off.

How was your week?

Assorted Stray Thoughts

Posted on July 15, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Occasionally I’ll assemble some mostly unrelated odds and ends of thoughts to share here.

Do you prefer different genres in what you view versus what you read? I watch shows about space and police or detective work with my husband, or superhero movies with my sons. I enjoy them, but I rarely read books on those topics. I like classics and movies made from them, but I usually indulge in those shows when Jim is not home. But occasionally I’ll ask him to watch one with me.
__________

For years, those who write on the Internet have been advised to use shorter paragraphs and lots of white space. We’re told that those who read online like to be able to skim and find main points. They’re supposedly turned off by dense paragraphs.

But lately I’ve seen examples that seem to take that instruction too far. I’ve seen several posts lately that are made up of one-sentences paragraphs. I find that hard to read. It looks more like a list. Paragraphs group sentences around a single topic. But a list of single sentences looks like random thoughts strung together.

On the other hand, I read several blogs that use long paragraphs, and they have plenty of followers and views. I think content trumps form.
__________

One of those phrases that rubs me the wrong way is, “If I can do it, you can, too.” I know it is meant as an encouragement. It’s saying, “I’m just an ordinary person, and I did it. So go ahead and try–it doesn’t take any special skills.”

But we can’t all do everything everyone else can do. We have different gifts, talents, motivations, personalities, time constraints.

I haven’t come up with an alternative though. Any ideas?
__________

For people who post videos and podcasts, I love when they include the transcripts. I am much more likely to read than watch or listen.
__________

So far, I have not used a Large Language Model AI like Chat GPT. I’ve read some legitimate uses of them, and I may look into them at some point. I don’t have time for the learning curve involved just now. But mostly, I don’t want to outsource my thinking. When I write something and have to revise it several times, my brain is working and I am processing as I go.

I’ve already experienced some thinking damage from that just from spell checkers (which are a smaller form of AI). I used to be a pretty good speller. But I’ve relied on spell check so much that I often don’t recognize misspelled words, can’t think of the right way to spell words I should know, and don’t catch the misuse of homonyms, which spell check also misses.

I also don’t like that AI seems to be pushed on us everywhere. Even Facebook offers to make up an AI-generated comment for us. Pretty soon, we can just let our AI bots do the talking. 🙂
__________

Tim Challies wrote a post a few weeks ago saying that we can often get by with a smaller house than we think we need. He’s right. Thinking about his post inspired mine on No Perfect Homes Here.

But there’s a flip side to that thought.

When my husband was anticipating retirement, I expected that we’d probably have to downsize. Two factors prevented that. One, he took advantage of lower interest rates to refinanced our mortgage a few years earlier. And, two, the housing market went crazy.

Our house now is valued at twice what we bought it for. That sounds nice, except that, if we sold it, we’d have to look for another place that costs just as much.

My youngest son bought his first house a couple of years ago. Though his house is about a third the square footage of ours, his house payment is the same amount.

So financially, it makes more sense for us to stay put for now than to pay as much money for less house.

One advantage, though, is that we bought this house with aging in mind. Our two previous homes were split-levels, and I was beginning to have knee problems then. We specifically looked for a house with no stairs when we moved here.

Another advantage is that when people come from out of town to visit us, we have plenty of space to put them. We have an official guest room, plus futons in two other rooms that make into beds. Visitors save money by not getting hotel rooms, and we have more visiting time with them.
__________

This Facebook post made me laugh:

__________
On a final note, I don’t usually post on Mondays, but I’ll have a special announcement on July 27. 🙂

Aging Is a Series of Relinquishments

Posted on July 12, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Sometime in our thirties, we realize we can’t do everything we did in our teens and twenties. My sons that age have joked about throwing their back out when they sneezed or turned quickly.

In our forties, suddenly our body chemistry changes. I never had problems with dairy products until I was forty. When I asked my doctor why I suddenly did, he just answered “hormones.” I also became allergic to penicillin and sulfa around that time, though I had taken them for years before.

It seems the older we get, the more we lose physically. Our energy diminishes. Our health may go downhill. Our looks melt into wrinkles and greyness. Our vision and hearing may become problematic. Eventually, we might have to give up car keys. Our decreasing mobility may require walkers or canes.

In some ways, we might feel we’ve lost our identity. Women facing the empty nest and men facing retirement may struggle with who they are and what to do with themselves. We may not be able to participate in the ministries or activities we always used to.

We might feel the sting of lost influence as younger people think we’re out of touch and seek their peers’ advice and fellowship instead.

And, if we live long enough, we might lose our homes and end up in a facility. I remember when my mother-in-law moved into assisted living, I was sad that her life was now reduced to one room.

We may lose our privacy and dignity if we can no longer take care of our bathing, dressing, and toileting. And we may lose our memories if we develop dementia.

This all might sound really depressing except for a few factors.

I heard someone on the radio years ago say that one reason our bodies start falling apart as we age is to make us willing to let loose of them. We have such a strong survival instinct, and we often want to stay for our families. But gradually we admit that heaven looks much better than life here.

God is gracious to make us aware of our mortality in increments. As we face each relinquishment, we’re geared a little more toward eternity.

I like to think of it something like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis. It doesn’t need its caterpillar appearance any more. It doesn’t need the chrysalis. It would look absurd if it tried to hold on to its old “house” while flying around with its beautiful new wings. Whatever we relinquish here, we won’t need in heaven. As C. S. Lewis wrote in Letters to an American Lady, “There are better things ahead than any we leave behind.”

And those who know God have his promises in our old age:

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).
“Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).
“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand” (Psalm 31:14-15a)
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26).
“They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him (Psalm 92:14-15).

When we took care of my husband’s mother, she slept most of her last two years. I wondered how this verse played out in her life–how was she still bearing fruit in that condition? Part of it was her testimony all her life until that time. Part of it was her lack of complaining and her willingness to undergo whatever she had to. And part of it was the peace that hospice workers and caregivers sensed when they came to see her.

I’ve often been inspired by the poem from William Newton Clarke:

Gone, they tell me, is youth.
Gone is the strength of my life:
Nothing remains but decline,
Nothing but age and decay.

Not so, I’m God’s little child,
Only beginning to live;
Coming the years of my prime,
Coming the strength of my life;
Coming the vision of God,
Coming my bloom and my power.

To be sure, I still don’t look forward to the process of death or the decline that leads to it. The Bible calls death the last enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), so it’s right to think of it as such.

And I don’t mean to give the impression that aging is all negative. There is a settledness that comes with aging. We don’t know everything, of course, but some of the issues we wrestled with in younger years are no longer a problem. Our limitations make it clearer what we can and can’t do, so it’s easier to make choices and to say no when we need to. We’ve developed some degree of wisdom by walking with the Lord for so many decades. We don’t need to go at the driven pace we used to.

We’ve experienced a few of these relinquishments. We hope to escape some of them and we hope that others are two or three decades away. We’ve talked about various scenarios that might play out in our final years–if he should go first, if I should, if one or the other of us needs more care than the other can give. We’ve shared our preferences, but, truly, we may not have any control when the time comes.

But whatever happens when, God promises His grace through it. We don’t have grace for it now because we don’t need it yet. Until then, each reminder that I have an expiration date spurs me to make the most of the time I have left. I pray along with the psalmist, “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come” (Psalm 71:18).

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on July 11, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good reads found this week:

The Best Man in Hell, HT to Challies. “John is known all around town as an upstanding citizen. As we look into the future, John lives a long and happy life. And when John dies, he’ll be the best man in hell.”

“I’m Not Feeling It Today”: Bad Reasons We Neglect the Bible, HT to Challies. “By nature, I’m not someone who values discipline and routine. I despise dead ritual and lifeless liturgy. But my love for spontaneity has steadily drawn me over time to recognize, and appreciate, how the power of habit can serve spontaneous joy rather than replace or suffocate it.”

Rugged Love and Your Prodigal, HT to Challies. “Most of our wandering is routine, even predictable. We envy. We lust. We overeat. We nurse resentment. We grow impatient when life doesn’t unfold according to our plans. Then we confess, receive forgiveness, recalibrate, and move forward. This is ordinary sanctification. But there are times when ‘prone to wander’ takes a particularly obstinate and destructive turn.”

Mothers. Let Your Tears Water the Seeds Planted, HT to Challies. “Monica is the kind of mother that I have ministered to on a great many occasions. You know your God loves you. You know God loves your child. You see every sin. You see the pain caused by their actions. Augustine writes openly and honestly as a broken, lustful, and prideful man. Yet time and time again he returns to his mother’s heart and concern for him.”

Hope and Lament in Suffering. “A true biblical position on suffering is not binary; it upholds both hope and lament.”

The Discipline of Darkness. This was a message by Adrian Rogers that I heard part of on the radio one day. I thought it was so good that I looked it up online to read the rest. The link goes to an overview page, but there is a place to click to listen to it or to read the outline and transcript. “Sometimes, I think, we over-promise in order to somehow get people to come to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a distorted idea that if you become a Christian, it will be all joy and all light and all sweetness, and just roses all through life. There’ll be no sickness; there’ll be no sorrow. We’re just going to go through life in an ever-ascending scale of health and success. And then, we’re going to die at a serene old age, and then have a glorious exit and go to Heaven. It would be nice if it happens that way; but, folks, it generally does not.”

Why Did God Give Us Mosaics? “If I were to hand you a box filled with shattered glass, another filled with shards of pottery, and a third filled with broken seashells, and then tell you to create something beautiful, you might scoff at me and doubt that it could ever be possible. You might laugh at the absurdity of it. Yet these mosaics prove that in the hands of a great artist, incredible beauty can arise from what appears to be little more than chaos, waste, and fragments.”

Cultural Enemies, HT to Challies. “Many Christians seem more intent on fitting into culture, or at least getting its affirmation, than opposing it. And the entire idea of being an enemy, or having one, seems out of sync with the Christ life.But it isn’t. Jesus made it very clear that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. Little wonder His own life did not end with a coronation but rather a crucifixion.”

Encouragement for Heading Off to College, HT to Challies. “If you are heading to university in the fall or if you love someone who is, I want to offer you a handful of lessons I have watched unfold in higher ed for decades. These lessons relate to a young person’s pursuit of wisdom, growth, community, and rest. These are the rails that keep life steady in this new season and beyond.”

Never doubt in the darkness what God has told you in the light.—Warren W. Wiersbe

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on July 10, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Another week has gone by in a blur, but I like to pause for a few minutes to remember God’s blessings of the week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Independence Day. We always enjoy having the family over for grilled burgers and hot dogs on the 4th of July. Jason and Mittu bring over some “pop-its” (they make a popping sound when you throw them to the ground) and some little devices that shoot confetti in the air when you pull a string. We’re not supposed to have fireworks where we live, so these are a fun substitute. I saw just a little of the coverage on TV about some of the big doings for America’s 250th birthday in New York.

2. Guys’ camping trip. Jim thought he was taking advantage of cooler temperatures this week to go camping, but the weather ended up being really humid. I think they had a good time anyway. When he first booked the camp site, the weather apps showed little rain. When the time came closer, the apps showed rain every day. But I don’t think they got any.

3. Good sleep. I often wake up after three to four hours of sleep, and then it takes me a while to get back to sleep. But I had several nights this week of sleeping five hours straight. It’s amazing what a difference that makes.

4. Air conditioning and ceiling fans. We were under a “heat dome” last week, and then, as I mentioned, it’s been really humid this week even though the temperatures have been a little lower.

5. Gas company relighting. The gas company was doing some work in our area and said when they were done, they would put a lock on our connection, and we needed to make an appointment so they could turn it back on and come in to relight whatever we had that used gas. I was envisioning not having hot water or being able to use the stove for a day or so. But the gas was only off briefly while they came out. And the relighting was more a matter of turning on the appliances til the air bubble in the lines seeped out. The guy said the hot water heater would relight itself, and it didn’t. Jim was miffed at that, especially since he had driven in from the camp site to be here when the utility guy was here. He called the gas company to ask them to send someone back out. But in the meantime, he found the manual for the water heater and restarted it, and that took care of the problem. But even with that, the whole thing was much less of an ordeal than I thought it would be.

I hope you’re staying cool in this muggy weather! Any special blessings this week?

Theo of Golden

Posted on July 8, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In Allen Levi’s debut novel, Theo of Golden, Theo is a man in his 80s, originally from Portugal, who comes to visit to the small town of Golden, Georgia. He only gives his name as Theo, saying his last name is difficult to pronounce. When asked what brings him to town, he vaguely says he has some properties to attend to.

He enters a local coffee shop one day to find its walls lined with nicely-drawn portraits. When he asks about them, he learns they were made by a local artist and the subjects were all local people. Theo studies them intently. Then he decided to buy them, one at a time, and give them to the subjects in them. He gets a little help finding the right names and addresses and writes an elegant letter asking the subject to meet him at a public place, the town fountain. There he gives them the portrait of themselves, asks for their story, and tells what he sees in their portrait.

Theo is warned that some people might react negatively to such a request for a meeting with a stranger. But for the most part, the meetings go well and the recipients feel honored–not just to receive a portrait of themselves, but to hear Theo’s assessment. Most approach the meetings with curiosity, some with skepticism.

Along the way, we learn bits and pieces of Theo’s backstory. He’s cultured, well-traveled, and apparently has a seemingly endless supply of money. He has known tragedy that still haunts him.

We also learn about the townspeople. Though Golden, Georgia is very different from Jan Karon’s Mitford, NC, I get the same kind of feeling from them. There are some good-hearted, salt-of-the-earth types as well as quirky characters and a few villains.

Some of my favorite quotes:

How is it, Theo wondered, that a piece of paper – a letter, a photo, a ticket stub, a sketch, a painting – is suddenly transformed by placing it in four bits of wood beneath a pane of glass? What does it mean that we place permanent boundaries around transient moments? What does it say of humankind that we take such trouble to freeze specific memories, that we devote such energy to capturing and preserving the “minute particulars” of our lives?

It’s hard enough to define what art is, much less ‘good art.’ I wonder if there is such a thing. Maybe there are just good responses. But I guess if a work of art makes us see something familiar in a new way or makes us feel something we ought to have felt all along or shows us our place in the world more clearly, maybe then it qualifies as ‘good.’ If it makes us better somehow, maybe that’s what gives it value.

It was better to see one thing well than many poorly.

Music was a microcosm. It was portraiture in sound.

It is another of life’s great mysteries that sadness and joy can coexist.

Beauty, throughout my life, has always seemed to hint at something more.

When I first heard of Theo of Golden, I didn’t think the premise sounded very interesting. But I saw so many people just raving about this book, I decided to look into it. As I read, I thought it was . . . nice. At first I was afraid it was an “angel in disguise” story, but I was glad to see Theo was very human. He was a good example of putting interest in others before himself, showing kindness and generosity, seeing below the surface. Yet, I still didn’t quite see what all the fuss was about.

Then a little past the 80% mark, there was a gut-punch of a plot twist. As we learn who Theo really is in later pages, that changes everything about some of the relationships in the story.

Sometimes after I finish a book, I’ll look back at the first pages in light of what I know from the ending. I was astonished to find all sorts of little clues about what would come later. Some scenes were so much more poignant now. I decided to get the audiobook and listen through the whole book. I am so glad I did. It’s nicely read by David Morse. One thing I like about audiobooks is that I don’t usually think in the accents of the characters as I read, but hearing them greatly enhances the story.

One remarkable thing about this book is that the author did not write it with publication in mind. He’s had a checkered career as a lawyer, judge, musician, and songwriter. He wanted to challenge himself to see if he could write a complete novel. When he showed it to a few friends, they urged him to publish it.

Since he was almost 70, he didn’t want to go through the two-year process of traditional publishing. He asked his niece to look into self-publishing and handle that aspect of it. And that led to another remarkable happening: the book became a bestseller, largely by word of mouth. (A good article about its publishing journey is here, but it’s behind a paywall). Later, it was acquired by Simon and Schuster.

Some articles and interviews with Levi about the book:

The author did not want to publish the book as Christian fiction, but his faith informs his writing. There are some concise but clear references to the gospel and allusions to Bible passages. One of my favorite scenes is when a homeless woman with some possible mental issues tried to bring her bicycle into an upscale church. Some in the congregation called 911. Others were “curious and even amused that an actual sinner had entered the elegant premises of James, the saint. The biblically literate among them might have expected a finger to start writing on the wall.” The church’s name was St. James–interesting since the book of James has verses about not showing favoritism to the rich. After Theo and an older woman diffuse the situation, “One could almost hear the sound of stones dropping to the ground.”

There’s a theme of gold running through the book. Not only is the town named golden, but gold is pointed out in sign lettering, people’s clothes, a chalice, a river, jewelry, even leaves. It shows up so often that I am sure it’s meant to symbolize something, but I don’t know what. Maybe the image of God in flawed people, maybe looking for the good in them and in circumstances.

There’s also a theme of gifts. Theo tells people their portraits are a gift for which they don’t don’t have to do anything–a picture of grace. But gifts of various types, including kindness, are mentioned throughout the book.

There are a few language issues in the book, mostly from one or two characters. There are also some information dumps, a lot of unnecessary detail on certain points.

But overall, though the book was a slow burn at first, ultimately I ended up loving it.

(Sharing with Between the Bookends)

The Danger of Blessings

Posted on July 5, 2026 by Barbara Harper

When we assess what gives us the most trouble in life, we usually point to trials or problems. It can be hard to trust the Lord or have a good attitude in the midst of them. We feel life would be so much easier, and we’d be much more useful to God and others, without these issues that cost us so much time and effort and emotion.

Yet, it’s often those trials that strengthen our faith and give us a platform to show God’s grace and faithfulness to others.

We don’t suspect our blessings, the good things in our lives, of causing us any harm. But God gives a warning to Israel that is just as applicable to us today.

In Deuteronomy, Moses was preparing the people for the new land and life they were about to enter. He reiterated God’s commands and warnings. He reminded them of how God cared for them in the wilderness for forty years. He gave a brief preview in Deuteronomy 8 of the blessings to come. But those blessings came with a couple of unexpected warnings.

“Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today, lest, when you have eaten and are full and have built good houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks multiply and your silver and gold is multiplied and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrifying wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna that your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in the end. Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the Lord your God, for ^rit is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day’ ( Deuteronomy 8:11-18).

Don’t forget God. Moses warned the people that when they experienced the long-awaited blessings of the promised land, they’d be tempted to forget God. And that’s true for us, too, isn’t it? When life is easy, we often grow complacent and then independent. We forget everything we have is from God. We forget the lessons we learned through the trials. We need God just as much as we ever did, but we don’t feel that need as much in the good times.

Don’t be proud. Moses warns that after blessings, then our hearts can be “lifted up.” Centuries later, King Uzziah demonstrated this very thing. After listing his accomplishments, the Bible says, “He was marvelously helped, till he was strong. But when he was strong, he grew proud, to his destruction. For he was unfaithful to the Lord his God” (2 Chronicles 26:15-16).

Back to Deuteronomy 8, Moses goes on to say, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” (verse 17). Chapter 9:4 repeats, “Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land.” The point is made further in 9:6: “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.”

It’s an odd thing that we can become proud when God is the one who gave us whatever we have. But I have experienced that, and I imagine you have, too.

How can we combat these temptations?

Remember whose we are. Back in Deuteronomy 7:6, Moses reminds the people, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.” When we remember we are not our own, but we are bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus, we are motivated to yield to His will and not our own.

Do God’s will. “Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his rules and his statutes, which I command you today” (Deuteronomy 8:11). His commandments are not grievous, John says, but are for our good.

Remember how God has led you. Deuteronomy 7 and 8 recount how God led His people. Chapter 7, verse 2 says, “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you.” When we look back at God’s leading and provision in our lives, trust and praise to Him bubbles up within us.

Remember everything comes from Him. “You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18). Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells us “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.’”1 Corinthians 4:7 reminds us, “What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”

Remember His past mercies. Moses reminds the people, “Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness” (9:7). When we think we “deserve” blessing, we need a quick reality check. If we got what we deserved, we’d be in big trouble. But God deals with us in mercy and grace.

Be thankful. The downward trajectory of mankind detailed in Romans 1 says, among other things, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (verse 21). We need to thank God not only because He deserves it, but we need the reminder to acknowledge His gifts with thanksgiving.

Don’t trust in your blessings. Paul instructed Pastor Timothy, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). We’re prone to find our security in our “stuff,” our tangible blessings. But those can be taken away. Our only security is in God.

Use blessings to help others. Paul further instructs those with much, “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:18-19). God blesses us that we may in turn bless others, not hoard our blessings for ourselves.

It’s not that anything is wrong with the blessings God gives us. Rather, our hearts are “prone to wander,” as the old hymn says–prone to look to ourselves instead of God, prone to trust in the gift rather than the Giver, prone to forget who gives us our blessings in the first place.

May God give us grace to always look to Him, love Him, lean on Him, and use the resources He gives us for His honor and glory.

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on July 4, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Happy 250th birthday to America! Our country, like all others, is not perfect. But we have much to be thankful for and to appreciate about our nation. The first few posts I’m sharing today touch on that theme.

America at 250: Teaching with Honesty and Gratitude, HT to the Story Warren. I don’t usually share blog posts about books I have not personally read. I don’t want to promote something I am unsure of. But I appreciated what was said in the first paragraphs of this post. “Young people are reportedly less patriotic, less involved in community issues and organizations, less likely to say they are proud or grateful to be Americans, than they were fifty years ago. Most of our readers would agree that their greatest love and loyalty are owed to God, but that doesn’t mean their country isn’t owed its rightful share.”

A Wholesome Patriotism Is Full of Gratitude to God. “A typical way to define patriotism is ‘having or expressing devotion to and vigorous support for one’s country.’ As a Christian, should you feel guilty for being patriotic? No.”

Our Hope, Our Home. “Like every nation in human history, ours bears the marks of both God’s common grace and humanity’s sin. . . . The church need not ignore either reality. Instead, we come today to thank God — not for a perfect nation — but for His undeserved kindness within an imperfect one.”

How Writers Helped Shape America: Lessons from the Declaration of Independence. “How did a squabble with the king over personal liberties grow into a movement uniting thirteen unique colonies into birthing a single democratic union? When we look back, we see that much of the breakup with Britain was due to one source: writers and speakers with a mission.”

Childhood Memories of the Bicentennial. This was a fun look back at America’s 200th birthday fifty years ago. I was a college student at that time, but I don’t remember anything about the Bicentennial other than that it happened.

The Jewish Curse. Biblical reasons against antisemitism.

A Different Kind of Influencer, HT to Challies. “Influencers are everywhere on social media. They make it their business to sell others whatever they love. But I’m thinking there’s another kind of influencer that Christians must be.”

What to Do When They Walk Away, HT to Challies. “Scripture never promised us that men and women would receive the gospel with open arms. I think we all know this. Jesus sent out the seventy-two and told them that some towns would refuse them and when that happened, they were to shake the dust from their feet and keep moving (Luke 10:10–11). Paul preached in Athens and some mocked him while others believed (Acts 17:32–34). The pattern has always been that the gospel divides, and that division is normal. Indeed the division isn’t a sign that something is wrong with you or even your method. Instead it shows that God is truthful. We should prepare for it and we should even expect it.”

Wives, Let Him Go to the Gate. “When some of these opportunities first presented themselves over the last few years, I read Proverbs 31:23 with fresh eyes. ‘Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.‘ And it hit me in a new way: she let him go to the gates. The gates were a place of business, law, and civic decisions, and being known in the gates and sitting among the elders indicates great leadership and influence. Part of me hates this verse because I love my husband’s company and metaphorically wilt when he is gone.”

The Phoebe Hoax, HT to Challies. “Never has more been made of so little than what egalitarians make of Paul’s mention of Phoebe in Romans 16:1-2. This is no disrespect to Phoebe, who clearly was a faithful Christian woman from the environs of Corinth. But egalitarians have fabricated an entire mythology around this woman that is not justified by what Paul actually says about her.”

The 50-Year Payoff: When Photo Albums Become Memorial Stones, HT to Challies. “As I went through the albums, I thought: This is why we did the work all those years ago, so that now, as an older man, I can look back over my life and see how richly God has blessed me.”