Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Barbara Harper

It’s time again to count the week’s blessings with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Thanksgiving crafts with Tim. I often have some little crafty thing to do on Thanksgiving to help wile away the long hours of cooking and then the time between the meal and dessert. I got a couple of kits at Hobby Lobby, forgetting Jason, Mittu, and Timothy weren’t going to be with us for Thanksgiving this year. So I got them out when we watched Timothy last Friday.

I started on the little pumpkin house, but it was hard to do! It was made of Styrafoam, with tabs from one piece going into the slots from another–but the tabs wouldn’t slide in. So I passed that on to Jim while Tim and I worked on the other pieces. Jim had to use toothpicks to push the tabs through and tape to hold them down on the inside. But it was cute when done, and everything else went together well.

I liked the little creatures, too, especially the fox.

Then we also had a kit for making fun faces with stickers and googly eyes.

I was thinking afterward that Timothy might think himself too old for these kinds of things before long. But I am glad he enjoyed them this year.

2. A free play. The Christian school associated with our church does a play a couple of times a year, and they invite the church, family, friends, etc. to a free showing of the final dress rehearsal. The kids performed a radio production version of It’s a Wonderful Life, complete with people manufacturing the sound effects. They did a great job. We were sitting near some other couples our age who joked about having a cheap date night. 🙂

3. Dinner out. After the play, Jim and I tossed around various ideas of where to go eat and ended up at Texas Roadhouse again. The food was so good. I had a grilled pork chop, baked potato, and salad, and Jim had grilled steak and shrimp with the same sides (and gave me a few of his shrimp). Plus they have these wonderful fluffy rolls and cinnamon butter. They even brought us some extra rolls and butter, so we had some to take home.

4. Leftovers. Jason and Mittu hosted their small group and had leftover roast, carrots, and potatoes, and apple pie, which they brought over to our house. They ate some with us and left the rest of the roast and vegetables for us.

5. An available appointment. In the not-so-good news department, I’ve been in atrial flutter for the last couple of days. 😦 I called the cardiologist to try to nip this in the bud this time and not let it go on for weeks like last time. At first they were talking about scheduling me for mid-December. I asked if I couldn’t get in the next few days, so they scheduled me for this morning. I’m probably going to end up having to have an ablation, which I really don’t want to do. But neither do I want to have this keep coming up. Thankfully, an ablation for atrial flutter is supposed to be a one-time thing, whereas an ablation for atrial fibrillation might have to be repeated.

I hope those of you in the US have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day next week! I wish you something good to eat, someone you love to eat it with, and much to be thankful for.

Review: A Thousand Voices

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Barbara Harper

A Thousand Voices is the fifth and final novel in Lisa Wingate’s Tending Roses series.

Dell Jordan was a side character in the first couple of books but is the main character in this one. She was Grandma Rose’s neighbor as a child, living with an ailing grandmother. Her father had not been around since her birth. Her mother had been in and out with drug addictions but died a few years before. After she and Grandma Rose became friends, she became an unofficial part of the family until Rose’s granddaughter and her husband, Karen and James, officially adopted Dell.

When Dell was discovered to be something of a musical prodigy, Karen enrolled her in a performing arts magnet school. Dell had trouble adjusting, but eventually found her way.

As this story begins, Dell graduated two years earlier, spent one year touring Europe with an orchestra, and a second year working in a Ukrainian mission orphanage. Her parents and teachers want her to apply to Julliard. But the appeal of music has faded with the pressures of performance and expectations.

She loves her new family, but she still feels “different,” with her brown eyes and hair and “cinnamon” skin amidst everyone else’s fair skin, blue eyes, and blond hair. She grieves over her birth father’s desertion, her birth mother’s neglect, and the derogatory comments from her uncle.

All she knows about her father is his name on her birth certificate and the fact that he was part Choctaw. When she learns about agencies in Oklahoma that help find Choctaw ancestors, she drives there from Kansas City to see if she can find any information about her father. She doesn’t tell her adoptive parents, feeling they wouldn’t understand and might be hurt.

After a series of mishaps in her travels, including losing most of her money, she arrives at a campground and sleeps in her car. A large group of tents and motor homes in the next campsite hold an extended Choctaw family, there for the annual Choctaw festival. They invite Dell into their gathering, where she becomes friends with several of them and feels a sense of belonging that she has never experienced before. A couple of them help her in her search.

A few quotes that stood out to me:

It’s a powerful thing to realize you were put in this world on purpose. It changes the way you feel about everything afterward (p. 2, Kindle version).

The past, even if you don’t talk about it, still exists, and no matter how hard you try to turn your back, no matter how dangerous it is to look at, part of you cries out to understand it.

Part of growing up is learning that people can’t give what they don’t have. The rest you have to find in yourself (p. 310).

The plot moves rather slowly until the last couple of chapters. There are some scenes that don’t seem to advance the plot at all, like a lengthy encounter with a skunk at the campground.

I was frustrated with Dell’s lying to her parents concerning her whereabouts, especially since she also lied to them in the previous book about her problems at school.

I wondered if Lisa intended for the series to lead to Dell’s journey from the beginning, or if Dell’s story emerged along the way. Apparently, the latter scenario was the case. Lisa said in the discussion questions at the end that the first book in the series was written with no thought of a sequel. But readers’ questions as well as her own musings about the characters grew into subsequent books. She also says there, “Dell was, in many ways, the catalyst for change in Grandma Rose’s family, and in turn she was changed by Grandma Rose’s family.”

I also wondered if Dell was originally thought of as Native American. She has always been described as having cinnamon-colored skin, but in a previous book, her uncle uses a different racial epithet about her. I wasn’t sure if that was just to show his ignorance, or if Lisa switched gears about what race Dell was part of.

I was dismayed by minced oaths (like “Geez”), language that was not profanity but also was not polite, and especially a bawdy description of an old woman whose robe had come undone. On the one hand, the people involved didn’t profess to be Christians. On the other hand, that was conveyed well enough without those elements. Because of this, the sheen of Wingate’s appeal has been a little tarnished for me.

It was interesting to read of Choctaw history. If this is an accurate representation, it seems that, among modern Choctaw, some are really into their heritage while others are not.

I thought the last couple of chapters were the best in the book. My heart went out to Dell in her struggles.

I know some don’t like neatly-wrapped-up-in-a-bow endings. But this book had more loose threads than I like. I would have enjoyed an epilogue, if not one more chapter.

When Spiritual Disciplines Seem Dull

Posted on November 16, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Some parts of the Old Testament are exciting, but others can be a little tedious to read. Our Bible study group is in the section of Exodus talking about the furniture in the tabernacle and the priest’s garments. Thankfully, the book we’re using as an accompaniment has been helpful in pointing out the symbolism behind each item.

I wondered, though, how much the people in that day understood the symbolism. Some connections might be obvious: the cherubim in the curtain between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place echo the cherubim standing guard at Eden after Adam and Eve sinned. The names of the children of Israel on the high priest’s ephod symbolized his carrying the whole nation into the presence of God to pray for them. The mercy seat situated on top of the ark of the covenant, which contained the tablets on which were written the ten commandments, is a rich picture of God’s mercy and righteousness meeting together.

But Old Testament saints didn’t have the fulfillment of some of those symbols in Jesus or further explanation in the book of Hebrews. So I wondered if sometimes they got lost in the details, or if carrying them out felt as tedious as reading about them. I’m pretty sure they did. Israel had to be called back to true worship of God many times over the centuries. The Pharisees had mastered the letter of the law but missed the point of it all. In Malachi, God rebuked His people for bringing polluted offerings and saying, “What a weariness this is” (Malachi 1:13).

Sadly, we can feel that way in our day, even with all the information and explanations we have. The Bible sometimes seems dull and our spiritual disciplines seem lifeless.

First, we need to ask the Lord to search us and show us whether any sin is interfering. When there is a problem in any of our close relationships, our interaction with that person will be somewhat strained, maybe a little artificial, certainly not as free and natural as usual until we deal with the issue. It’s the same with the Lord. When there’s something wrong between us, things won’t feel right until we clear the air.

Often, though, dullness or tedium in our spiritual routines comes from our flesh, our humanness.

What do we do then?

I appreciated what one lady in our Bible study said. When she read parts that were less than exciting, she reminded herself, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God’s Word doesn’t have to be what we think of as exciting to be profitable.

Then, as she got into the Bible study, she saw things she hadn’t realized before that opened the passage up to her. Bible study aids, commentaries, and even just discussing the passage with others can shed new light for us.

We can pray, asking God to open our minds and hearts to His truths and revive us. Sometimes I remind myself that His Word is true and precious and spiritual disciplines are helpful even if the right feelings aren’t there. The writer of Psalm 80 requests three times, “Turn us again, O God of hosts, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

Sometimes reading through parts of Psalm 119 can reinspire my love and appreciation for God’s Word.

I remind myself as well that God doesn’t adapt Himself to my way of thinking and my ideas of how things should be. He expects me to adapt to His.

And I remind myself to keep reading and obeying. Our spiritual disciplines–prayer, Bible reading, communion, serving, etc.–are valuable even when nothing seems to be coming from them. Sometimes a session with the Bible that starts out feeling dry can suddenly touch my heart in an unexpected way. Even if that doesn’t happen, His Word is still beneficial. I’ve often said that every meal is not a Thanksgiving feast, yet even the peanut butter sandwiches and tuna casserole nourish us, and in the same way, the Bible does good things in our hearts and minds whether the passage is exciting or not.

It’s the same with prayer, communion, and the rest. Sometimes it seems we’re just going through the motions. It helps to stop and remind ourselves why we do what we do and do them in faith even if inspiring feelings aren’t there.

May God give us grace to always see His word and ways as precious and beneficial. When we get weary, may He revive us and open our hearts.

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

Laudable Linkage

Posted on November 15, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good reads found this week:

Can Satan Put Thoughts Into Our Heads? “‘Can Satan himself put thoughts into our heads?’ Yes, he can and he does. And of course, the urgent questions then are, How do we recognize them? And how do we resist them and not get controlled by them?”

10 Things to Pray for Children Who Have Walked Away from Jesus, HT to Challies. “God is never too busy or preoccupied to receive you when you bring your burdens into his presence. God cares for your children. That is such an encouragement when we are struggling to persevere in prayer. But it’s hard to know what to pray sometimes; or we’ve been praying for so many years that we’ve run out of steam and lost momentum. So, to reinvigorate your prayers for your children, here are ten ways you can pray.”

Making Space for Others In Our Conversations. “I walk into church and spot a new person. I know I should go over and engage her, but such actions often end in stilted exchanges or awkward pauses. Making conversational space for people I don’t know well takes much more effort than the comfort of finding my seat or chatting easily with friends. Do I take the path of least resistance and avoid eye contact? Maybe I offer an acknowledging smile, but continue to my familiar chair? Or do I practice Christ-like hospitality and in love, make my way over to her?” The author includes ideas for conversation starters besides the usual “How are you?” and “What do you do?”

To My Almost-Adult Kids: Don’t Be Afraid of These Three Words, HT to Challies. “I try not to tell you about all my worries. But one fear that I want you to know about? I worry you will be afraid to say these three words.”

How to Provoke Your Children to Anger. “Apparently if you want to be a good parent, the thing that Paul is most concerned about is that you not provoke your children to anger. The somewhat frustrating part of this, though, is that he doesn’t stop to explain what he means by this phrase or explain how it should be done! So what does it look like to provoke your children to anger?”

The Cost of Slowing Down. “Recently a friend asked me when we start ‘locking in’ activities for our daughters. ‘When does it become their thing?’ he wondered, meaning when do we encourage them to commit to a single sport and dig in deep.”

How Can We Bless the Lord? “God’s blessings abound, but we can’t return these favors because He needs nothing from us. Yet, Scripture contains the concept of blessing the Lord.”

10 Ways to Pray for Your Pastor. “I’m sure a million requests could be added, but here is a brief post to offer at least 10 ways that you can pray for your pastor, compiled by a pastor.”

Time Is NOT Money: Redeeming the Hours God Gives Us. “While many modern translations have chosen to steer away from the financial metaphor, Paul’s Greek word choice for ‘making the most’ of time is actually a money word, used like our English word ransom or redeem. Thus, we can legitimately make the case that time and money have correlations. But let’s hit pause right there and consider the many contrasts between the two.”

The Art of Thankfulness. I enjoyed seeing a piece of art here that was discussed in Russ Ramsey’s Rembrandt Is In the Wind: Henry Ossawa Tanner’s The Thankful Poor. This post ties in observations about the painting with Philippians 4: 6-8.

God uses people who are weak and feeble enough to lean on Him.–Hudson Taylor

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on November 14, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a weekly opportunity to record and share blessings. She started this over 16 years ago, and I’ve enjoyed participating for most of that time. Today, though, I almost didn’t join in. It’s not been a bad week, but I just couldn’t think of anything to share. I decided to spend a few minutes thinking, looking through family texts for reminders, and jotting down what came to mind. I ended up with way more than five blessings. That’s one reason this exercise is so valuable. We can let God’s gifts go by unnoticed because we don’t take time to ponder and be thankful for them. So today, I am thankful for Susanne and Friday’s Fave Five. In addition:

1. A fairly easy return. I needed to return an item I had ordered online from a company where I shop once or twice a year. In the past, they included an invoice with the purchase that had a section to fill out for returns and a prepaid label. This time, I was perturbed to see they had outsourced their return procedure. I had to go to a website to initiate the return, get a QR code, and find where to return the item. The closest place was 15 minutes away in an area that was off the beaten path for me. But it wasn’t a bad drive, and the process was relatively painless. There was a long line, but it moved quickly. I didn’t even have to repackage the return–they scanned my QR code, printed off a label, and gave me a receipt.

Then, my GPS took me a different route on the way back to my area, and I discovered the road I was on turned into one road and then another that I was familiar with. I’m directionally challenged, so it was a light bulb moment to realize those connections.

2. Settled plans. Our Connect Four group had planned to meet this weekend to make Christmas cards. But one lady had to go out of town and left it up to the rest of us whether we wanted to reschedule or go ahead. The other ladies had not responded to a series of texts asking what we wanted to do. Since we were supposed to meet at my house, I needed to know what we were doing so I would know how to prepare. Finally I got word this week that one lady was sick and not planning to come, and the other had out-of-town family coming in. So we decided to cancel and regroup when everyone was back together. I was partly relieved, partly disappointed, but mainly glad to know for sure what the plan was.

Also in this category, we got the dates my oldest son is planning to be here in December.

3. Yard and window cleaning. Jim cleared out the dead plants, cut back the roses, and even cleaned some of the outer windows that had a bunch of spider webs in them. It all looks so much better.

4. A successful shopping trip. I got several things accomplished one afternoon. I found everything I needed for my Operation Christmas Child box at the Dollar Tree and spent gift cards at Hobby Lobby and Crumbl cookies. 🙂

5. A light snowfall. I’m very glad it was just that–a light dusting of snow.

Bonuses: I’m thankful for those who serve our country and the opportunity to honor them on Veteran’s Day. The Northern Lights were in our area again this week. It was too cloudy to see them from our house, but I saw many beautiful pictures on Facebook. Timothy got his upper braces this week, and, though they’re uncomfortable, he weathered the experience well.

I hope you’ve had a good week!

Review: Drenched in Light

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Drenched in Light is the fourth novel in Lisa Wingate’s Tending Roses series.

Julia Costell trained all her life as a ballerina, but crashed soon after being accepted into the Kansas City ballet troupe. The emphasis on body line and thinness and the stress of competition led to an eating disorder, which led to a ruptured esophagus and near death.

Now she’s 27, living at home with worried helicopter parents, and working as a guidance counselor at the same performing arts magnet school she attended.

Julia feels lost and without purpose. But then one day a student named Dell Jordan is sent to her office with a troubling essay she had written for English.

Dell was the impoverished neighbor of Grandma Rose in the first book in this series. She started out as a side character, but now has moved to the forefront. The previous book, The Language of Sycamores, ended with Dell being adopted by Karen and James, Karen being Grandma Rose’s granddaughter. Dell is something of a musical prodigy–she has an a beautiful voice and an aptitude for piano even though she had no training.

Her adoptive parents thought the performing arts school would be the best for Dell. But the students there are from well-to-do and high-level families. Some of the administration, as well, as the students, don’t see Dell as the “right kind of student.” Though she excels in music, she’s behind in her other subjects. Furthermore, though she knows her new parents love her, she feels a need to keep everything “perfect” before them. So they don’t know she’s struggling.

Julia sees something of herself in Dell–their circumstances are different, but they both deal with pressure and expectations. So she offers to tutor Dell privately.

Meanwhile, Julia becomes aware of other problems within the student body. But the principal and school board members want to keep up the school’s reputation, so they want problems handled discreetly or swept under the rug. Julia is advised to “play the game.” Yet she sees the kids are hurting. If she pushes the issues, she might lose her job.

There’s a fun side story with Julia’s sister’s upcoming wedding and the wedding dress restorer Julia finds to repair their mother’s wedding dress.

Also, some of the characters from the previous books make appearances here.

I thought the book started a little slowly at first, but gained traction in the last third or so, becoming very exciting towards the end. I enjoyed Julia’s and Dell’s journeys.

I was dismayed by instances of taking God’s name in vain, using “Good God!” and such as expressions.

But otherwise, I thought this was a great story. I listened to the audiobook nicely read by Erin Spencer but also checked out the e-book from the library for the author’s notes.

Review: Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child

Posted on November 11, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Imagine what your reaction would be if you gave birth to a child born without arms or legs. You would likely grieve and then wonder how in the world you would raise him to live any kind of normal life.

Boris and Dushka Vujicic experienced those reactions when their son, Nick, was born. “We were burdened not by Nick but by our doubts and our fear that we were not capable of giving him all he needed to succeed (p. 163).

Nick grew up to become an internally known evangelist and motivational speaker, telling his story in Life Without Limits. But there were many hurdles and trials before that happened.

Boris shares their experience in Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child: Facing Challenges with Strength, Courage, and Hope. The book is part memoir, part encouragement to other parents.

After the Vujicics got over their initial shock at Nick’s condition, they found that, in many ways, he was a baby like any other. He needed love, cuddling, food, and diaper changing. The rest they had to figure out along the way. There weren’t many resources available to help.

Their faith was shaken. As Christians, they wondered why God would allow such a seemingly cruel thing to happen.

With our limited vision, Dushka and I could foresee only struggle and anguish for Nick and for us. We were so wrong, of course. Our son and our experiences with him have enriched our lives beyond measure and taught us many lessons at the heart of this book. Nick gave us a new definition of the ideal child and a deeper appreciation for the complexity of our Father’s divine vision.

Nick taught us to find new meaning in the psalm that says we are “wonderfully made.” We came to see Nick as God’s beautiful creation, lovingly formed in His image. We lacked the wisdom, initially, to understand that. We saw Nick as disabled rather than enabled. We could not grasp that his missing arms and legs were part of God’s unique plan for our son.

Chapters cover accepting and loving your child, giving yourself permission to grieve, allowing friends and family to help, advocating for your child’s medical care, meeting the needs of siblings, education, preparing your child for adulthood, keeping marriage bonds strong, and building a spiritual foundation. Boris encourages taking cues from your unique child as to what he needs and the best way to help him.

It would be easy with a child like Nick to swoop in and do everything for him. But his parents raised him to do as much for himself as possible.

My favorite aspect of his book is that Boris writes humbly and practically. Nowhere does he hint that readers should do everything just like he and his wife did. He just shares insights gleaned along the way.

Some of the quotes that stood out to me:

Nick is proof that none of us are limited by our circumstances and that all of us can create meaningful, fulfilling, and joyful lives if we choose to focus on our gifts rather than on what we may lack. All of us are imperfect. All of us are perfect (p. 10).

All children have strengths and weaknesses, and they can surprise you in so many ways. Our duty is to nurture, encourage, and motivate them, and help them build upon their strengths (p. 11).

Perhaps the greatest gifts we can give our children toward their success in adulthood are a foundation of unconditional love, a sense that they have a purpose in this world, a value system to guide them, and a spiritual base as a perpetual source of hope (p. 157).

Our imperfections have a purpose. We often can’t discover that purpose without first accepting that it exists and then searching to find it (p. 187).

God makes no promises that our lives will be pain free; He promises only that He will always be with us if we believe. We realized that we had to trust in His wisdom and good purposes, in His Word rather than in our feelings, and in His grace, which is sufficient for any trial (p. 191).

I might not be the target audience for this book since my children are grown now, and none of them had physical disabilities. But I enjoyed reading it and learned from it all the same.

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

Inconvenient Holiness

Posted on November 9, 2025 by Barbara Harper

It’s one thing to minister to people when you’ve got the occasion on the calendar and have time to prepare, spiritually, mentally, and physically: working in the nursery, sharing a testimony, hosting a family or group in your home, helping someone after surgery, etc.

It’s another thing when a need arises totally unexpectedly. It doesn’t usually happen when life is peaceful and we’re all caught up with our to-do list.

I think of the man Jesus spoke of called the Good Samaritan. He was traveling for business one day when he found a man on the roadside, beaten and left for dead. He could have gone on his way and not gotten involved. Two other men in the story did. Plus, the Samaritans and Jews were enemies. But he went out of his way to help. With a great expenditure of time, effort, and money, the Samaritan put the injured man on his own donkey, took him to an inn, cared for him, and paid the innkeeper for the man’s expenses, promising to reimburse him for any additional costs.

Or Abraham’s three unusual and unexpected visitors in Genesis 18. He encouraged them to rest, brought water for them to wash their feet, picked out one of his calves, and had one of his men butcher and cook it. That must have taken hours. Yet he was glad to do it.

I’m afraid I am not always so gracious when a need arises out of the blue. I try to remember to ask for God’s guidance and direction at the beginning of the day. So I like to think the plans I make are directed by Him. Then when those plans are overturned or something unexpected comes up, it’s easy for me to get frustrated at the interruption. Yet He is in charge even of the interruptions. He knew what would be coming that day. I often wish He’d let me know. 🙂 But He wants me to trust Him with all circumstances.

Recently I was arrested by the phrase “Holy Inconvenience” in a spoken-word poem titled “a blessing.” It often is an inconvenience to serve in any way, isn’t it?

Even when a ministry is planned, it often takes more time and thought and energy than anticipated. Or someone gets sick or the roof starts leaking or some ingredient is missing.

But think how greatly Jesus was inconvenienced for us. He “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). He left heaven’s glory to be born in a manger, live on a sinful earth, to teach people who didn’t understand Him, to share truth with those who opposed Him, to work whole days healing and ministering, going without food, having to get up early or stay up late to spend time with His Father. He touched those who were considered unclean. Then He suffered betrayal, ridicule, persecution, beating, and finally death . . . for us.

That makes an afternoon of cooking for company or a few hours studying to share a lesson seem paltry by comparison.

He doesn’t count it as paltry, though. He rewards giving a cup of water in His name (Mark 9:41). He won’t “overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do” (Hebrews 6:10).

This doesn’t mean we can never say no to an opportunity. Jesus did sometimes.

But it does mean going out of our way to minister to others should be a normal event, not a rare occasion.

In fact, Jesus didn’t consider that He was going “out of His way” for us. In John 4:4, He “had to pass through Samaria” specifically to talk to the woman at the well. In Luke 9:51, He “set his face to go to Jerusalem.” His way was planned before the world began. He traveled the path He did on purpose.

He has a path and a ministry for us as well. He doesn’t always show us what they are ahead of time. But we’re to be ready “in season and out of season,” whether it’s convenient or not, to share the gifts He’s given us, to share Him and show His love to others. He has done so much for us. By His grace, let’s seek His help to minister to each other no matter the obstacles.

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

Laudable Linkage

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Some of the posts that spoke to my heart this week:

Trust and Delight. “Trusting God doesn’t mean we stop working; it means we stop worrying about outcomes beyond our control. When you trust God, you trade anxious striving for patient obedience.”

Noisy World, Quiet Heart. “It can be hard to have a moment’s peace amidst the noise of the world. Constantly bombarded with notifications, updates, emails, texts, podcasts, and videos, we often allow all the ‘noise’ to take over our thoughts and hearts. As a result, we’re anxious, sleep-deprived, nervous, and sinfully angry. God is not the author of noisome, disquieted hearts. He is the God of peace.”

Comfort for the Heart that Can’t Pray. “I knew I needed to pray, but the only words I could muster were, ‘Jesus, help!’—followed by a crushing silence. My heart was numb, my head was swimming, and, on top of it all, I was frustrated with my own inability. Why couldn’t I figure out how to pray in such a dire situation? What was wrong with me?“

Praying for Help When You Are Helpless. “When Jehoshaphat was told that a “great multitude” was at Engedi (only about 25 miles from Jerusalem), he was afraid. What did Jehoshaphat do in his fear? He prayed.”

Don’t Wait for Tragedy Before You Talk to Your Kids About Death, HT to Challies. “Our children know that our world is broken. And if we want to teach the whole witness of Scripture and speak precisely about the gospel, we’re going to have to talk about death with the children in our homes and churches. Talking to kids about death gives them an opportunity to worship God in light of Christ’s sacrifice and to seek comfort in him as they live in our broken world.”

Losing Our Words: The Decline of Reading and the Rise of Reels, HT to Challies. “It’s not just that people don’t read books anymore; it’s that we don’t know how to read deeply. We skim, we scroll, we glance. Our minds, constantly fed on instant content, become restless and impatient with slow thought. The result is a generation that finds reading effortful—and reflection uncomfortable..”

The Antidote to Unmet Expectations this Thanksgiving. “It isn’t always easy to go from what our minds thought it would or should be like to what God has in mind instead. Unmet expectations (even ones we didn’t realize we created!) can be crushing and draining.”

Give Your Best Away, HT to Challies. “Quality matters, especially when giving to others. Surprisingly, I have been critiqued for this.”

Announcing the 2026 Bible Reading Challenge. “The challenge is to read the entire Bible within 90 days. If you wish, you may begin today. Regardless of when you begin, your 90-day period must end no later than March 31, 2026. Once you complete your reading, you may submit an entry form (see post) to enter a prize drawing.”

The best way of increasing our knowledge of God s infinite nature, is by the reverent study of His Word. It is a flimsy religion which discounts doctrine. What the bones are to the body, doctrine is to our moral and spiritual life. F. B. Meyer, from the August 4 reading in Our Daily Walk

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on November 7, 2025 by Barbara Harper

As we end the first week of November, I’m stopping for a moment to count the blessings of the week and sharing them with you all and Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Family costume party. Back during the pandemic, when all the regular avenues of dressing up and getting candy were closed, Jason and Mittu proposed having our own family costume party on Halloween. We’ve done so ever since. It’s always fun to see what everyone comes up with.

Jesse’s is some kind of medieval outfit–I told him he looked like a blacksmith. Jim’s is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. I’m Rosie the Riveter. 🙂 Mittu is Hot Sauce. (Jason bought the costume. 🙂 ) And Jason is a Starbucks drink.

Timothy is kind of hidden in that picture–he dressed as Granddad!

Jim usually wears a polo shirt with a pen in the pocket, and he usually has his glasses on. So this is spot on. They even sprayed Timothy’s hair with grey highlights. 🙂

I was supposed to bring dessert but didn’t want to do ghosts or mummies or that kind of thing. So I made the easiest-ever peanut butter cookies (one cup of sugar, one cup of peanut butter, and one egg) and tried to decorate them as owls.

You see why I usually leave the food decorating to Mittu. 🙂

We had a really fun time with dinner, dessert, and games.

2. An extra hour Saturday night. It takes me a while to get adjusted to the time change, but I do love the extra hour that day. I really wouldn’t mind if they left Daylight Savings Time in place, except that school kids end up waiting for the bus in the dark around this time of year if we don’t change back to regular time.

3. A change of doctor but not of time. I got a call from the doctor’s office that the person I was supposed to see for back-to-back appointments in February (yearly physical and yearly Medicare wellness visit) was not going to be in the office that day. But, thankfully, someone else was free for both appointments.

4. Yard clean-up. Our wildflowers have been past their prime for a while now, and Jim was able to cut them down and clean out the flower beds this week. He didn’t plant tomatoes this year, but he found some unripe ones growing among the flowers. It’s odd they didn’t ripen over the summer–I guess the tall wildflowers blocked the sunlight from them. The yard looks immensely better.

5. New game. My oldest son told me about an online word game called Raddle that has been fun.

Bonus: When my husband says, “Do you want me to pick up some dinner, or do you have plans?” Even if I have plans, I won’t turn down take-out. 🙂

And that wraps up another week. How was yours?