Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on November 13, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I was sorry to miss last week’s Friday’s Fave Five. I mentioned this earlier, but in case you missed it, I had what was supposed to be outpatient surgery Thursday morning to remove a small growth from my tongue. But I went into afib when they took me off the anesthesia. They ended up keeping me overnight while trying different medications, then doing a cardioversion Friday morning. We got home Friday evening.

Since then I’ve been on soft foods and recovery mode. I’m just about back to regular activities. I should hear back next week about the growth that was removed. The oral surgeon said it was not usually cancerous, but mine looked “different.” They always send it off to be tested anyway just to be sure.

It’s true, as the Bible says, that we never know what a day may bring forth. But I’m glad nothing takes God by surprise. Whatever He allows, He promises to be with us and give us grace.

I’ve got a couple of week’s worth of blessings to share with you all, linking up with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story. But I’ll try to keep it brief. 🙂

1. Surgery over. It’s been on the horizon for over a year. I’ve had to reschedule it a couple of times due to heart rhythm issues, and each time, the next appointment was 4-6 months away. So even with all that happened, it’s a big relief that it’s finally taken care of.

I’m thankful the afib happened while I was in the hospital and they were quick to deal with it. This was a hospital we had not been in before, except when Timothy was in the NICU. Though there were a couple of frustrations (like not getting anything to eat until dinnertime when they were supposed to bring a late lunch tray after the cardioversion), we were mostly pleased with their care.

I also really appreciated nurses who went the extra mile. I’ll spare you the details, but when I was having a particular problem, one nurse just went out of her way and the usual protocol to help me.

And I’m especially thankful for my husband’s love and care.

2. Leftovers. I still pretty much cook the amount I always did, even though it’s just the two of us, because we enjoy the leftovers for lunches. We had enough leftovers in the refrigerator that Jim had plenty to eat while I was on Jello, brothy soups, and mashed potatoes. Graduating to scrambled eggs was a real treat!

3. $3 salads. Our local grocery store has a display case of good-sized salads for $3. Most of them were way above my allowable sodium count (though they’d probably be okay without the bacon bits). But there was a “southwestern” one that was in range. That’s not a flavor I usually go for, but I had it for a couple of meals pre-surgery, and it was really good.

4. A pop-in visit. Some of Jason and Mittu’s friends had a “trunk or treat” event at their house with several families, and adults and children dressed up. Jason, Mittu, and Timothy dropped by our house afterward. Jason was Moses and Mittu was Zipporah. I wish I had a photo of them together–they were so cute. 🙂 Timothy wore his “balloon man” costume from a couple of years ago and helped pass stuff out to the small kids.

5. Pumpkin decorating. We thought we had missed out on this annual tradition since Jim was sick when it was scheduled. But Jason and Mittu invited us over the day after Halloween to do it.

My carving doesn’t usually turn out anything like it’s supposed to, so I went simple with markers. 🙂 Jim always does something political. His is on the right and is supposed to be one of our state politicians that he likes–but it turned out somewhat ghoulish. 🙂 Timothy did the next two. Jason always amazes me with what he does. He used AI to adapt a photo of Timothy to a carveable image (after several prompts). I would never be able to get those small pieces right and would likely have some of them falling off.

What’s something you’re thankful for this week?

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Volume 1

Posted on November 12, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower, Emma is an orphaned young woman who has just returned to London in 1883 with the understanding that she’s to take possession of her inheritance: Lapis Lazuli House, an allowance, and a salary from having been a companion to her cousin Matilde for the last three years.

But the house is occupied by Cousin Archibald, who is “not only thin in person, he’s thin in humour and spirit and character” (p. 6). He consigns Emma to the garret on the fifth floor rather than her usual rooms on the third and avoids her. When they finally do meet, he refuses to give her the promised salary and on the basis of a flimsy accusation by her aunt.

Emma fixes up her garret, reacquaints herself with the neighborhood of St. Crispians, and reads the only novel she can find, Paradise Lost.

Meanwhile, her Aunt Eugenia wants Emma to act as a foil for her cousin Arabella in finding a suitable match, so she promises to send Emma the requisite wardrobe, calling cards, etc.

There’s a touch of the supernatural in the mention of a neighborhood ghost, but I hope that aspect doesn’t get expanded.

The book is written in the form of journal entries and covers about two months. It’s short, about 133 pages. But there are nine volumes published so far, each covering two months, with an ultimate plan of twenty-five.

Brower has been compared to Jane Austen, P. G. Wodehouse, and L. M. Montgomery. The strength of these books is their clever and often humorous writing.

[Of a bookshop placard] They sell books of the “New, Slightly Used, & Abominably Treated Yet Resurrected Variety.” I adore this shop, but the price for even a resurrected book can be quite steep (p. 13, Kindle version).

[Of the vicar} It is not that he is a hermit, or narcissistic, or odd—he simply maintains an economy of interaction that is spare in its elegance.

You will look very thoughtful and intelligent. Let us hope you are. Unless you hope to marry soon. Then let us hope you are not. It takes a courageous man to marry a woman with a mind (p. 63).

Emma is a plucky heroine, determined to make the best of things as she navigates her way to adult life despite her quirky family members.

I don’t recall that there’s anything very deep in these books so far, besides some of Emma’s musings. But the book is a light, pleasant read. I hadn’t known there were so many volumes. I have the next one already, and we’ll see how far I get with the rest.

The Missing Element in Our Spiritual Rest

Posted on November 10, 2026 by Barbara Harper

A Sunday School lesson on Jesus’ activities on the Sabbath in the book of Luke led to a discussion afterwards about what Sunday activities were allowed as we were growing up.

I didn’t grow up in a church-going family, so Sunday was like any other day at home. Most stores and restaurants weren’t open on Sundays back then, and those who were had to obey “blue laws” that didn’t allow certain things to be sold on Sunday.

I became a Christian as a teenager and started attending church regularly for the first time. Sundays were pretty busy with Sunday School, church, choir practice, Sunday evening services, and often fellowships afterward. But I didn’t give much thought about what was or wasn’t allowed on Sundays.

As I read the Bible more, learned more, and then went to college and was exposed to a variety of beliefs on the issue, I began to wonder. My beliefs and practices went back and forth over the years.

I don’t remember the progression of what conclusion I came to when. But one point was the realization that Sunday was not the Sabbath. In the Bible, the Sabbath was Saturday, the end of the week. I believe it was marked from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The pattern was based on God’s resting the seventh day after creating the world.

In the book of Acts, Christians began meeting on Sunday. Since the earliest Christians were Jewish, they celebrated both the Sabbath on Saturday and Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday. It took a long while to sort out how to view the OT law in light of Christ’s death and resurrection, and much of the NT discusses these issues.

When Gentiles started believing on Christ, too, more questions arose. Were they required to keep the OT law? A council of Christian leaders met in Acts 15 to discuss the matter. They concluded that they didn’t want to place “a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear” and only required that Gentile believers “abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood.”

Then we have the fact that all of the ten commandments are repeated in the NT except the one concerning the Sabbath. In the gospels, people were still under the OT law, so we have reference to its observance there. But we’re not commanded to keep it like we are the others.

Why might that be? Colossians 2:16 and 17 say, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” These things pictured Christ and were fulfilled in Him.

Romans 14:5-6 goes on to say, “One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord.” The emphasis on things the Bible doesn’t spell out exactly are to do whatever you do as unto the Lord and not judge someone who does something different if the Bible doesn’t forbid it.

There’s so much more that could be said about the Sabbath. Jesus said He is the Lord of the Sabbath. Someone said years ago that Jesus broke the law in the name of love, but that’s false. He never broke His Father’s law. He fulfilled it down to the smallest jot and tittle. He did, however. break the Pharisee’s add-ons.

Hebrews 4 talks about Sabbath as a picture of the rest remaining to the people of God. Verse 9 says, “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.” Because Jesus perfectly fulfilled God’s law, and as an innocent lamb took on our sin and punishment, we have spiritual rest. We don’t work for or earn salvation. It’s a free gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Yet in all the discussions of the Sabbath I’ve heard and read over the years, one element is rarely discussed.

At the end of Isaiah 58, God says, “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.”

Yes, the Sabbath was about rest from labor. But it wasn’t just about a day off or rest as an end in itself. It was a day to delight in the Lord.

How hard it is to be distracted with duties and pleasures and forget to just delight in Him as a person.

Does this mean we should spend all of Sunday reading the Bible and praying? That’s hard to do, especially if you live with other people.

The Bible tells us not to neglect assembling together. So that’s the first priority. When we’re too busy with other things, even good things, and we end up too tired to go to church, we may need to adjust our schedules.

Then Acts 2:42 tells us the early church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” when they met together.

Jesus performed acts of mercy on the Sabbath.

And He also said that, under OT law, if an ox fell into a ditch, it was allowable to get him out on the Sabbath. So some acts that aren’t necessarily spiritual in nature might need to be done

For us personally, as a general rule, we do try to make Sunday a day of rest. Since the principle of God’s resting one day in seven preceded the OT law, we feel it has bearing. We certainly need the rest, and we view it as a gift.

It’s also an act of faith, just like sleeping at night or giving part of our funds to the Lord. All our time and all our things belong to Him, but we give Him a portion in faith that He will provide what we need.

But we’re not legalistic about it, examining every action as to whether it’s “work” or not. The NT seems to give great freedom as to the particulars of what we do on Sundays, after meeting together for teaching and fellowship and prayer.

Whatever we do, however, let’s not forget above all to delight in the Lord.

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

Laudable Linkage and Update

Posted on November 7, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Hello friends,

I was sorry to miss Friday’s Fave Five yesterday. I had a procedure Thursday morning to remove a squamous papilloma from my tongue. I was supposed to come home later that day, but when they took me off the anesthesia, my heart went into afib, around 150 beats per minute. They spent several hours trying different medications to get me back to a regular rate and rhythm. My heart rate slowed, but still wasn’t regular. They finally decided to admit me. but it took another few hours. So I was in recovery most of the day. Then Friday morning they did a cardioversion. We finally got home around 8:30 last night.

I told one friend that, of all the what-if scenarios my mind kept coming up with, this wasn’t one of them! But some of the other concerns I had didn’t come up. I’m on soft foods for the next few days and hopefully will be enjoying rest in my own bed. For those who knew about the procedure, thanks so much for your prayers! Those and your care have meant so much to me.

I always start my Laudable Linkage post early in the week with whatever post I first find that I want to share and add to it until Saturday. So here’s what I collected this week:

Harvest in Fearful Times. “When we hear murmurings of bad things on the horizon, when the men in pickup trucks start getting us all worked up, when the doomsday preppers get our ear, we must pray with all our hearts that our first thoughts are for the millions of souls in this world who don’t know Jesus, whose best days are right now, with only dread and doom ahead. We should be filled with a sense of urgency for our neighbors to experience true salvation so they have hope for a peace and perfection in eternity with Jesus.”

Knowing God as Father Fights Fear. “God is our heavenly father and in His Word He describes Himself as a father and His love as like that of a mother. In the New Testament, the familiar term “Daddy” or “Papa” is even used. These parental words are used over 250 times in the Bible.”

It All Comes Down to This. “Pine shadows greeted me creekside, and I settled onto a rock with my brand new Bible. It was one made for teenagers like me, in my language, pages of helpful words to introduce the timeless ones. I flipped through it, feeling like I’d come home. Near the front I discovered a reading plan, and I caught my breath. What if I read the whole thing? What would I discover? I had no way of knowing that simple curiosity would launch me on a lifetime habit.”

Feasting. “Hospitality is not really my gifting. Setting a table and planning a meal overwhelms me. That said, my introverted heart is filled with pleasure in the space of time after dinner where everyone lingers at the table. Bellies are full, good drinks are flowing and a peace settles. I long to linger because that is the after. The preparation is done, we’ve hopefully all been satisfied and now we can rest. We sit after the feast together. This is a small picture of what the Lord’s table should be for us.”

The Great Pumpkin and the True Meaning of Christmas. “When it is serving us correctly, fiction serves as a scaffolding for truth. Imagine scaffolding for a moment: it provides a framework for people to get higher. It is not the building itself. Compared to the strength of the building, it’s a temporary structure. But it serves an important purpose.”

Made to Make: Two Books About Creativity in the Midst of Motherhood. I have not read the books mentioned, but I liked what this post had to say about trying to find time for creativity while parenting. I especially like the part about creativity not just being “artsy.” “Motherhood and creativity sometimes seem like paradoxical pursuits. I think any mother with a creative hobby–writing, crocheting, baking, painting–knows that doing their art takes time, and motherhood is a stage of life where schedules are so unfriendly toward the time that creativity takes. And yet, being a mom has given me an urgency to pursue writing–my creative outlet–in a way I have not experienced before.”

What Will You Do with That Degree? “But what is an education for? Do we know what we are trying to achieve? Too often, our assumptions rest on deeper philosophical commitments, each with their own vision of human flourishing.”

There is no greater mercy that I know of on earth than good health except it be sickness; and that has often been a greater mercy to me than health. It is a good thing to be without a trouble; but it is a better thing to have a trouble, and know how to get grace enough to bear it. C. H. Spurgeon

A Dangerous Legacy

Posted on November 5, 2026 by Barbara Harper

In A Dangerous Legacy by Elizabeth Camden, Lucy and Nick Drake are siblings involved in a 40-year old lawsuit against their uncle in the early 1900s. Their grandfather, Eustace, had developed a valve that enabled water to be pumped through pipes to the upper floors of buildings. He was more interested in tinkering than in business. But while he was away fighting in the Civil War, his brother made a business out of the valve. Then when his brother’s son took over the business, he raised the price of the valve so that owners of tenement building could not afford them. Poor people had to bring their water upstairs in buckets.

Lucy and Nick’s family wanted not only their share of the earnings from the valve, but they wanted the price set more reasonably. But their uncle was wily and could afford the best lawyers, while they couldn’t. So the case had been dragging on for years.

Lucy had a penchant for Morse code and worked as a telegraph operator for the Associated Press news agency. Since Reuters, an English company, had a cable to receive news from some foreign countries that the AP did not have yet, the AP paid them for the use of their cable. But they had been receiving those cables late, and Lucy just knew it was because of the insufferable English head of the New York Reuters’ office two floors above the AP in the Western Union building, Sir Colin Beckworth. She confronted him and disliked him, though she found him charming.

Colin finds Lucy attractive, spirited, and intelligent. But he is looking to marry a rich American heiress because he has a old estate in England that needs repairs. The mansion is not just home to him, with all the memories and heritage involved, but he’s responsible for ninety tenants.

Yet as he and Lucy continue to run into each other, they continue to be attracted, even though they know they could never be together.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit and Lucy’s uncle’s machinations escalate.

I listened to the audiobook but also checked out the Kindle version from Libby to get the author’s notes. I wondered if the situation with the valve was based on a true story, but she didn’t say. The notes went into a little more detail about the controversy of where what became the Panama Canal would be built (which figures into the story) and the nature of the AP and Reuters working together though they were rivals.

I liked both Lucy and Colin. The plot took some odd twists that surprised me, but the end did turn out like I thought it might.

The faith element was pretty mild.

I didn’t realize when I started this book that it was the first of an Empire State Trilogy. I felt Nick’s side of the story was less well-developed, but then I saw the next book focuses on him. This book was enjoyable but didn’t leave me chomping at the bit to get the next book, but I probably will at some point.

Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World

Posted on November 4, 2026 by Barbara Harper

The world tells us older people are irrelevant and out-of-touch, and it’s best to avoid the appearance and effects of aging at all cost.

In Dust to Dust: Aging Wisely in an Anti-Aging World, Jen Wilkin says the Bible tells a different story. Except for the first few books of the Bible, where people lived hundreds of years, people had shorter life spans for much of history. Old age was seen as a gift that not many achieved. The elderly were to be treated with respect and valued for their life experience.

Even as Christians, we’re prone to view aging negatively. It’s hard not to mourn the loss of abilities and possibly influence and importance. But Jen encourages us to embrace greater dependence on the Lord and develop “eulogy virtues” rather than “resume virtues” in our last years.

Jen posits that in Eden, if Adam and Eve had not sinned, they would have continued to age without the negative effects we experience now (something I never considered before). They were told to tend the garden and have children, so it stands to reason that they, their children, and the plants would all have continued to age and develop.

But then sin and its curse entered the world. That doesn’t mean we need to look at the aging process as negative and all downhill. We can see it as a gift and view it as part of God’s purpose to prepare us to live with Him. “If you are in Christ, with an inheritance kept for you in the next life, thinking toward the day of your death can help you live each day with an eternal perspective” (p. 44).

Yet she admits aging is hard: “It’s time to state the issue squarely: Aging is an invitation into suffering and loss. Though we rightly wish to avoid them, suffering and loss are skilled teachers. . . What do they teach? Humility. Patience. Perspective. Holiness. The fruit of the Spirit” (p. 99).

One perspective is that of time and priorities. “The older we grow, the more we recognize the importance of allocating our precious time to the relationships that matter most. Shrinking possibilities bring expanding clarity. They enable us to become thoughtful curators instead of thoughtless consumers of the days on our calendar” (p. 104).

Jen frames her discussion in the form of a literary device used often in the Bible, a chiasm. She describes chasm as a “mirror-image parallelism, using repetition to trace an idea.” In Western thought, we look for the moral or the punch line or the main point at the ending of a discussion. But a chiasm puts the main point in the middle. The first and last points will be parallel, then the second and next-to-last, will be parallel, etc.

At first I thought the explanation of chiasms and trying to fit her points into this structure were going to detract from what she was trying to say. But they didn’t.

There are parallels between our first breath, birth and growth, and then our decline, last breath, and death.Then there are parallels between gaining strength as a child and losing it as an older adult; gaining abilities and possibilities of a young person, then losing them as an older person; caring for children as a young adult, and needing care as an older adult. The midpoint of the chiasm is middle age, which Jen describes as “the place of perspective.”

This book is not primarily comprised of tips for facing old age, though there are a few. And it’s not exclusively for older people. It’s mainly a biblical look at aging and how it differs from the world’s view. We need that biblical view not only for ourselves as we age, but also for how we think about loved ones who are aging.

I love the point she makes that though older people’s “physical needs may revert in many ways to those of a small child, the aged are not children. Their interior lives are shaped by years of experience and learning” (p. 66). When we were taking care of my husband’s mother, I always cringed when someone would say something about us becoming her parents and her becoming our child. No, she was still the parent, deserving of our honor and respect.

A few more quotes that stood out to me:

“I’m also paying attention to how I respond to minor adversity. Am I patient in small afflictions? If so, perhaps I will be better equipped for the bigger ones that come with age” (p. 109).

“The aging process shifts the focus of our joy to the things that matter most: becoming more Christlike and loving God and others with all we have. Yes, old age is not for the faint of heart, but it contains a richness the young don’t even know to hope for. The Lord takes away, but he also gives. We are only old once” (pp. 109-110).

“Godly wisdom views the elderly as people to love, not problems to solve. Worldly wisdom increasingly agrees that the elderly are problems before they are people” (p. 122).

“Middle age grants us a form of invisibility. And much good work can be done when we’re no longer concerned about others finding us attractive” (p. 151).

I only have two complaints about the book. I don’t know what the font size is, but it was a strain to read–which I thought was ironic since the topic was aging.

Secondly, she rightly lays out the biblical directions of families caring for their elderly and shares how that used to be the norm. Families used to live near each other instead of several states away. All that is true. But it is also hard. Since the extended family living near each other is not the usual scenario any more, that means the older ones are usually cared for by one couple: their middle-aged or older children and their spouses. Everyone I have ever talked to who cared for a parent found it difficult, even when the parent was easy to get along with. Add mental issues and combativeness, and the difficulties increase. Also, I’ve never talked to anyone who cared for elderly family members who didn’t wrestle with some degree of guilt. I wouldn’t say Jen was glib about the blessings of taking care of one’s older parents, but I wish she had dealt with the difficulties a little more and encouraged that God will give grace.

Since all of us are getting continually older, aging is a subject we should study to the glory of God rather than dreading it. I’m thankful for Jen’s help in this regard.

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

A Few Thoughts About Politics

Posted on November 3, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Usually I try to keep this blog fairly free of politics. But I’ve been mulling over some thoughts that I decided I’d share. No political incidents or people prompted this post. I’ve been contemplating it for months, if not years.

I’m one of the most unpolitical people on the planet.

One reason is that I didn’t grow up in a politically-minded family. I don’t remember politics ever coming up except for an occasional gripe about something the government was doing. I don’t even know if my parents ever voted when I was a child.

The first election I took part in was the 1980 election between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. And I have noticed, in the 46 years since then, that much of the rhetoric seems the same. Yes, new issues and emphases come and go. But many of the same promises and accusations arise each election cycle.

Often, politics seems to be more about posturing than actually getting anything meaningful done. Or rushing to do something so it looks like a politician is getting things done, without considering the bigger or longer-term picture. Or blaming the other side for not getting anything done or doing the wrong thing.

I wonder, too, how much the American public actually knows about anything going on behind the scenes of our national legislature (and to a degree, state and local legislatures as well). Most news outlets are biased one way or the other. How do we know whom to believe?

I also avoid politics because it is so divisive. It always has been, but it seems exponentially more so now. I don’t want someone to miss what I have to say about the Lord because they’re sidetracked by what candidate I vote for.

Ultimately, I don’t believe the answer to our country’s (and the world’s) problems are political, but spiritual. We can make laws to rein in evil, but laws can’t change people’s hearts. If we make disciples, as Jesus told us to, they are changed from the inside out. Even if we had the most perfect government (and there will always be a debate about what that would look like), if people are not saved, they’ll still be in bad shape when they die.

However. . .

All of that said, that doesn’t mean politics doesn’t have its place. We have a hard-won voice in this country and the responsibility to steward it wisely. So it behooves us to be as informed as we can about issues and candidates and vote our conscience.

Some people are called to be more involved in politics than others. And that’s okay. Some might run for office themselves or help finance or promote particular candidates.

Once when we were asked to share prayer requests in a small group meeting at a former church, my husband asked prayer for a particular candidate and expressed the need to try to get good people in office. Another man in the group immediately ranted about how as Christians we don’t need to be involved in things like that. Then he continued his rant in his prayer. And to top it all off, ever afterwards, when he and my husband passed each other in the hallway, this man wouldn’t look at him or greet him.

That’s an extreme example. But it’s certainly not wrong to try to get good people in office. I’ve often lamented that none of the choices for some offices are ones that I would want. It makes sense to support the candidates you’d like to vote for rather than just waiting to see who ends up on the ballot.

A friend who is active in the pro-life movement told me about being in a meeting where she asked prayer for a certain piece of legislation that would affect the unborn. Someone said to her, “That’s just politics.” Perhaps that person felt like we should only pray and not be involved in legislation.

Certainly prayer is the first priority. The Bible tells us that “that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

But it’s not wrong or faithless or trusting in man instead of God to let our voices be heard on issues, especially in this country, where the government is supposed to be representative of what the people believe. Romans 13:1-5 says God put government authorities in place to do good and punish evildoers. Encouraging them and informing them of the needs of people for protection is not faithless.

The defeat of slavery in England was largely a political victory. William Wilberforce spent most of his career fighting this issue. Yes, he and Hannah More and others prayed and raised awareness. But slavery likely would not have stopped without legislation.

Do we have examples of people trying to influence government authorities in the Bible? Yes, even those under a dictatorship. Here are a few:

Joseph advised Pharaoh about the best way to manage the coming famine. His governmental service was primarily secular, yet he did it in a way that pointed to the one true God.
Moses confronted Pharaoh to let Israel leave Egypt.
Nathan confronted King David with his sin.
Elijah confronted King Ahab with his sin.
Esther intervened for her people with the king, at great risk to herself, and revealed Haman’s wicked conspiracy.
Daniel was in governmental service to Nebuchadnezzar but also counseled him spiritually.
John the Baptist spoke out about Herod’s wrongdoing in having his brother’s wife.

These days, people are so afraid of Christian nationalism, or being accused of it, that they stay as far away from it as possible. One problem is that there are so many different thoughts about what Christian nationalism even is. Sometimes people discussing it will have totally different concepts in mind.

If Christian nationalism means striving to turn the country into a church with the president as its pastor, that’s going too far. God never told us to establish Christian countries. He told us to make disciples.

All Christians are called to pray, respect, and obey authorities unless they tell us to do or not to do something against God’s word. Some are called to write letters, raise awareness, campaign, donate, even run for office. None of us can be involved in everything, so I am thankful for those who know more about issues than I do so I can consult with them.

Christians also need to maintain spiritual unity even when they differ politically. I was recently struck anew by the fact that Jesus chose two men of opposite politics as His disciples. Before he followed Jesus, Matthew was a tax collector, a Jewish man who taxed his own people for Rome and then charged more for his own pockets. Simon the Zealot wanted to overthrow Rome. I would love to have more information about how they adapted to each other and what kind of conversations they had. Evidently God didn’t deem that we know any more about them. Perhaps after the both became Christ-followers, they were able to put aside their political differences to work together for His kingdom.

We each need to steward the voice and influence we have as we feel led by God. Praying for a political outcome is not wrong. It’s the very thing we should do. We shouldn’t trust politics in place of God, but God can work through politics.

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

It Depends on How You Look at It

Posted on November 1, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I once saw a cartoonish drawing of two men sitting on prison cots, each looking at a window while holding a paper with pictures they had evidently drawn. One had drawn a picture of the window with bars. The other had drawn a picture of the trees outside the window (1).

I don’t remember if there was a caption, but the implication was clear. Two men in the exact same space and circumstances had vastly different viewpoints. One saw the bars that kept him imprisoned. One saw past the bars to see the beauty beyond.

There’s an incident in the Bible where people had different outlooks.When God led the children of Israel out of Egypt to Canaan, He told them to send ten men to spy out the land (Numbers 13). The men spent forty days in the land. They came back with a mixed report. The land was fruitful, “flowing with milk and honey.” But the people were strong, the cities large and fortified, and there were even giants that made the men feel like grasshoppers in comparison.

God had told the people in Exodus 23:20-33 that He would send an angel to go before them and bring them to the place He prepared for them. He said He would give them victory over the people of the land “little by little” (verse 30).

Caleb quieted the people and encouraged them that they could take the land (Numbers 13:30). He and Joshua reminded the people that God was with them and would give them the victory (Numbers 14:6-10).

But the people only saw the problems. They wept. They grumbled. They blamed Moses. They blamed God. They wished they had died in the wilderness. They wanted to go back to Egypt. They wanted to stone Caleb and Joshua.

People in the same situation, with the same promises of God, saw the situation completely differently.

There are other incidents as well. In 2 Kings 6, the king of Syria sent horses and soldiers to surround the city where Elijah was staying. Elijah’s servant panicked, but Elijah said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then he prayed and asked God to open the servant’s eyes. “So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” God’s protection was there, though at first it was unseen.

When Saul’s armies quaked before the giant Goliath, David stood up for God’s honor, believed God, and defeated Goliath in the name of the Lord (1 Samuel 17). All of those trained soldiers, all people who supposedly believe in the one true God, yet none among them but a boy believed God could defeat the giant.

When we’re in the middle of major problems–and sometimes even minor ones–the problem itself looms large until it’s all we can see. Everything else is colored by that issue.

Recently I saw a quote that said something like, “You can look at God through the lens of your problem, or you can look at your problem through the lens of God” (2).

When we view God through our problem, the problem looks big, even insurmountable. But if we look at the problem in light of God’s character and truth, our perspective changes and the problem is reduced to its proper size.

I don’t know why the Lord allowed an illness that took up a large part of last month (forgive me for talking about it so much, but I am still processing it). I admit to feeling down while in the hospital, especially when it looked like there was no improvement for a few days. The whole thing seemed like a big waste of time, keeping me from doing anything more useful. But as I’ve thought about the situation in the following days, I found many things to be thankful for:

Doctors, nurses, medicine, and treatments. Many ailments today are treatable that would have been a death sentence or had an even longer recovery period a hundred years ago.
My husband being retired so he didn’t have to stress about taking time off from work.
Being able to watch live-streamed church services. No, it’s not the same as being there in person, but it’s good when you can’t be there. I remember the days when that wasn’t an option: one had to wait a week or more to get a cassette tape of a service. And before that, you were just out of luck if you missed a service unless you had a friend who took good notes and would share them.
Texts and emails helped alleviate the feeling of isolation and made me feel cared for. That isolation made me appreciate time with friends and loved ones even more.
Even though it was the worst case of cellulitis I’ve ever had, it could have been even worse. Infections can go rogue suddenly and quickly. Our pastor emeritus caught Covid during the pandemic, was in isolation in the hospital for months, and ended up with a lung transplant. Jonah Scott had a strep infection that went toxic, causing much of his skin and tissue to be removed from his arm and side and requiring skin grafts afterward. Ciara Dierking went into the hospital almost three years ago with strep, the flu, and pneumonia which went septic. The treatments to save her life led to gangrene in all four limbs, which all had to be amputated. She had so many health challenges and nearly died, but God kept her alive, and a thriving ministry arose as she recovered. Though my infection was serious, it seems much lighter considering what these folks went through.
God used the situation to stir up a desire to take a more active role in doing what I can to take care of my health.

Looking at trials from a different perspective doesn’t mean we minimize sorrow and loss and just “look on the bright side.” The psalms give us examples of lament in trouble that helps our own hearts today.

But it’s a deliberate looking for God’s hand in our troubles. Jesus said we would have tribulations in this life, but He also promised:

to be with us: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2).
to give us grace: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
to use our trials to help us grow: “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).
to use them to work “an exceeding and eternal weight of glory” on our behalf: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NKJV).

Concentration camp survivor Corrie ten Boom has said, “There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans.” We may not see His plans. We may never know why He allows certain things in our lives. But we know He is wise, kind, good, and loving, and we can trust Him.

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

_____

(1) I’ve searched online to try to find the cartoon again. I’ve found some with a similar idea, but none exactly like the first one I saw.

(2) I’ve searched for this online but haven’t found it.

Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 31, 2026 by Barbara Harper

Some of the thought-provoking reads found this week:

Euthanizing a Toddler Is Not Compassionate, HT to Challies. “A couple in the Netherlands euthanized their toddler. I read the headline again, sure I’d missed a keyword. I had not. A child with the same diagnosis (and similar disabilities) as my own daughter, Eliza, had died—not from natural causes or a horrific accident but by choice. Her parents, surely overwhelmed by fear and exhaustion, chose euthanasia to end their child’s life. Since 2024, children in the Netherlands ages 1 to 11 who have medical needs ‘without prospect of improvement’ have been legally permitted to have their lives ‘terminated.’ This little one was the first.”

Repentance: Recognizing How It All Went Wrong. “Biblical repentance is also a seismic shift in one’s entire worldview that begins in a moment of honest introspection: How did I get here? Where have I gone wrong? We must stop defending ourselves, recognize our need, and turn whole-heartedly back to God.”

Finding Hope at Life’s Dead Ends. “Have you ever reached a dead end — a situation beyond your control, when your dreams crumble, hopes fade, and others tell you to give up? Sometimes it takes one word to bring everything to a halt. Words like cancer, divorce, bankruptcy, infertility, and unemployment can make the future seem impossible. There is no such thing as hopelessness when Jesus is present and has the last word!”

Biblical Wisdom on When to Say Yes. “Whatever the season of life we are in, we most likely say life is busy. It moves fast, it’s full of demands, and time is often spread thin. The world around us tells us how to spend our time; the culture we live in pulls us in different directions. Work, volunteer opportunities, hobbies, kids’ activities, social media, and more encourage us to say yes to many things. The opportunities can feel endless, and the challenging part is that many of these yesses are for good things. For each of us, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to navigate what is pulling at us and ask what is best for the season of life God has called us to.”

When We Face a Relational Conflict. “It should be simple, but we all know how hard it is to talk directly to the person we should be talking to. When a situation goes sideways, the anxiety can feel like water bubbling up in a boiling hot pot—it needs somewhere to go, and fast.”

How to Forgive a Loved One After Their Death. “When someone we love passes away, we expect to feel sadness over our loss. But as we move further along in our grief, we may not anticipate the anger some memories trigger. Those who faced their disappointments while the person was alive may not feel this as much. But those who tried to ‘believe the best’ or covered their hurts with excuses may find themselves wrestling with the pain of past wrongs.”

Three Ways to Walk with Those Who Grieve, HT to Challies. “Often, we do not know how to step into spaces of loss. There is a beautiful and godly desire to bring comfort, yet when facing the reality of walking with the grieving, we are also confronted with the limits of the comfort we can actually offer. This holy work often brings with it an acute awareness of how easy it is to say the wrong thing and unintentionally add more pain to the one who is already suffering.”

A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work.
–Liz Curtis Higgs in Mine is the Night

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on October 30, 2026 by Barbara Harper

I hope you’ll forgive me if some of this post overlaps with my end-of-October reflections in yesterday’s post. Some readers come for one or the other. 🙂

I’m linking with Susanne at at Living to Tell the Story to share some of the week’s blessings.

1. Fall color. I think the peak of fall color in the trees usually comes in a little earlier in the month. On the way to church last Sunday, I purposely kept my eyes on the landscape to watch for fall leaves, and saw some. Then Tuesday, we had to go to an area of town where we’d never been. We passed through some woodsy sections that were just gorgeous with a variety of colors. It always does my heart good to drink in some of that beauty before the trees shed their leaves.

2. Early voting. We went to a different place than usual, thinking it would be less busy than our usual place. And it was. We got in and out very quickly.

3. Meals out. Tuesday afternoon involved a long pre-op visit for oral surgery next week. I had one appointment with the oral surgeon, one with patient registration, and one with pre-anesthesia testing. Then we decided to go vote since we were out. By that time it was almost five, and Jim suggested dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I was happy to oblige. Finding low sodium options at restaurants has been a challenge, but they have at least one entree I can eat with confidence.

Then my friend Melanie and I met up for lunch one day. We were going to Red Lobster, and I looked online for some low sodium options there. But when we got to the restaurant, they didn’t have any of those entrees. I chose the one item that sounded the least salty and only ate half of it, and that seemed to work okay. But mostly we enjoyed catching up–it had been a while since we had gotten together.

4. Pain relief. I mentioned yesterday that my dear husband has had what seemed like a sinus infection for over a week. Antibiotics weren’t helping, so he went to see the doctor, thinking to get a stronger antibiotic. She said it wouldn’t help, but suggested a couple of over-the-counter products to try. Those gave him the first relief he’s had in days. He also tested positive for Covid while there. We’re not sure that’s accurate, since his symptoms line up more with a sinus infection. But at least he’s on the mend now.

5. Low sodium convenience food. It hasn’t been too hard to adapt to low sodium cooking at home (making it, anyway–I’m still getting used to eating it). At first I kept running tallies of how much sodium was in every item. It doesn’t take long, though, to learn what items are high sodium and and what’s not. We do like to keep a few convenience foods on hand, but most of those are off the charts in sodium content. I stopped in the store one afternoon and took time to explore. I found a couple of canned soups and frozen entrees that were within the range I was aiming for. I haven’t tried them yet, but I was encouraged that there were choices!

Happy last week of October!