Heart Matters Blog

We love our readers... thank you so much! Emilie, LuAnn, Julie and Sally

Many are devastated right now. You are fighting depression. You are fighting feelings of hopelessness. You are fighting fear. I've been listening to you. I get it. I have walked through all those same emotions. I have shed about a year's worth of tears recently. We see any strides to protect the unborn being undone. We know the great strides into child trafficking that occurred at the border are being undone. We see the agenda for youth gender confusion and modification amplified.  Independent journalists are having their jobs rewritten. Some have lost jobs. I've had several conversations with my friends living here from China and Kenya confirming what I see happening here, and it isn't good news. Said one friend, "I was in prison 10 years for speaking against...

More often than not I have started to catch myself using words for situations, feelings, sadness and anger that aren't all together butterflies and rainbows. Then I was gifted with a bible study by Kisha Gallagher who has her own website, Grace in Torah and has done a study called "Taste Your Words." So I want to start by saying that I have been inspired by her teachings and wanted to bring the conversation here to the lovely Heart Matters Publishing readers.  "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer" Psalm 19 v 14 The whole of Psalm 19 gives us the most stunning exploration of God's creational essence and how the heavens declare that which was spoken into being in the first place, by God, back in Genesis...

Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. - Helen Keller Throughout the years, it has been my habit to keep a Faith Journal. I call it a Faith Journal because what I have written on those pages... when my faith is firm and the eyes my heart are open to see the various blessings that God has touched my life with, have been the greatest source of encouragement to me when my faith is especially thin, and my eyes so clouded with tears that I have a hard time seeing God's presence anywhere. As I flip through that journal, I am reminded that yes! God has walked with me through every twist and turn along life's way. He has whispered my name on the wind and touched my innermost being with beauty. He has embraced me through the hugs of friends and spoken dee...

Our Pastor at Genesis East Covenant Church has challenged us to write a Recipe for the New Year. To leave the past behind, one needs to remove something in order to move forward. It as if we crossed the river… never to return to the other side. This is what our Pastor said was the beginning of recipe: The first thing he told us is to remember. In Joshua 4:1-9 they set up a memorial of twelve stones, so they could remember where they been, what they overcame and where they are headed next. The next thing he told is to be still. From Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." The following thing he told us… to be filled with courage. Joshua 1:9, "because God is with you." Let go of your burden. "Come to me when you are weary and I wi...

Writing has been such a huge part in helping me process through some of the darkest parts of my life. Writing has had incredible healing power in my life. It has also been an outlet to express my happiest and most joy filled moments. Today, I am thankful for a whole lot more joy in my life lately. I wrote the following because life might not always look like we want it to. It can feel impossible and hopeless at times. But for me, the darkest times have now made me appreciate the joy filled times 100x more. Freedom is possible. The messy work of healing is worth it, no matter how long it takes or how messy it gets. "…the truth will set you free…" But first it might destroy you, first it might shatter you, first it might break you into so many pieces that you can't ever imagine being put bac...

New Years. A time of year we observe that God did indeed make each of us one-of-a kind. One friend says, "I never make resolutions," and laughs carefree. Another will pull out her latest New Year's Resolutions typed in serious Arial or Calibri on 90 lb. bright white paper from her nicely-labeled folder. This year I observed some cementing their 2020 intentions on Facebook. Others reflected on the woes of the past year. Still others looked forward to the new year with the same excitement they did when pumpkin spice lattes came out in the fall. I love this diversity. But some of you may be feeling New Year's stress or ambivalence; I hope some of the following thoughts are helpful. When is not important. Self-reflection and goal setting are beneficial, but when can be what makes sense for you...

We wish you a blessed Happiest of New Year's!! We truly hope that God gives his guidance this year... and embracing spiritually will create beautiful changes and may the Lord find his way to your heart. Emilie, LuAnn, Julie and Sally 

We want to thank you, dear readers, for following us this year...  We love you!   Emilie, LuAnn, Julie and Sally 

Christmas and children go together like marshmallows and hot chocolate. So when child stories started flying my way, it was well-timed fun and a blessing. Hope you enjoy them as well. My sister-in-law shared a picture of her grandson, completely enraptured with the nativity scene. Another relative sent a video of their four-year-old grandchild praising God at the top of her lungs, her brown curls bouncing as she pounded her fingers across her tiny piano: "We worship God! We worship God! We worship God! The Lord is among us! I love him soooo much! He turns the bad guys into good guys. He protects me, and that's the way it's supposed to be!" And then there was our nephew who was sharing with his nine-year-old daughter about election cheating. She got quiet and somber...

We have the opportunity to welcome the story of Christmas every year with curiosity and intentionality, and today I was drawn to the moments after the birth of Jesus. I know, I know, it feels like I am getting a little ahead of myself here, but something about reading Mary's heart condition resonated in me today. I sense that as we move forward in this season of remembering the birth of Jesus on earth, there is an invitation to learn from her path to pondering. In Luke 2 Mary and Joseph had just had their baby and were receiving their first visitors. Some shepherds who had been grazing their sheep in a local field got the news via heavenly hosts and had hurried to visit the couple and the new baby laying in a feeding trough. They were excited to share all that "…The Lord had made known to ...

These people we once knew are not just echoes of voices that have years since ceased to speak, but saints in the sense that through them something of the power and richness of life itself not only touched us once long ago, but continues to touch us still.—Frederick Buechner It happens every Christmas. I get nostalgic. Perhaps it is the music. Whenever those old familiar carols play, sweet memories come flooding over me...like the year that my family decided to surprise my grams and gramps in Pennsylvania with an unexpected Christmas visit. I can still remember it like it was yesterday. Scurrying around the house like Christmas mice in the darkness of the early morning hours, packing the car with gifts, travel games and suitcases. It was such delicious fun! When the long stretches through I...

Sending you much love at Thanksgiving! We are so thankful for our readers, Emilie, LuAnn, Julie and Sally 

Before you get started, find a comfortable spot where you can sit quietly with your Savior. Spend a few minutes in silence. Ask God to meet you there in the quietness of this moment and to speak His heart to you as you sit with Him. Have a journal and pen/pencil ready to jot down any thoughts that come to you during this experience. Take a moment now to read through the following Scripture passage slowly. You may want to read it out loud. As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border of Galilee and Samaria. As he entered a village there, ten lepers stood at a distance, crying out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" He looked at them and said, "Go show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were healed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed...

I was feeling pretty blue. As I maneuvered my car on the winding road with the wind blowing leaves all around, the tears trickled out.  I knew the country I had grown up in and loved was in a very bad place. I said out loud, "God, will you fight for us? That's the question. Because maybe you're sick of us, and it's time we get what we deserve. I wouldn't blame you at all. Wickedness keeps increasing, and we the church have let it. We have not been the shining lights you called us to be." Immediately the song came through the radio, "You're the God who fights for me, Lord of every victory, Hallelujah, Hallelujah. You have torn apart the sea, You have led me through the deep, Hallelujah, Hallelujah…" (Egypt, Bethel Music & Corey Asbury) My sadness turned to peace and joy a...

"Look up at the heavens and count the stars, If indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be…" This verse can be found in Genesis 15 v 5 and is this amazing moment in time when Abram is in the midst of a penultimate moment with The Lord. In the previous chapter Abram had just been in the throws of battles with a whole bunch of kings, and has an encounter with Melchizedek, The King of Righteousness. As a side note, it's actually the first time in scripture we see a moment of gift giving, shown in the tithe he gives this king. If you look at the language in Genesis 14 I have it on good authority that the language in itself is military and the battles were real. Abram and Sarai, his wife had been on this crazy journey of tests and choices and ultimately lear...

Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have a title until much later. —Bob Goff I was at Mayo recently and the Neurologist told me that I'm in the early stages of Primary Progressive Aphasia. It's progressive and at some point, along the line, I will not be able to speak. I've struggling to find words since early April 2019. I needed a PET Scan when I was at Mayo, but I couldn't find the words. So, Rey stepped in and said the words for me. My speech pathologist said that I need a journal when I make phone calls. I write out the things I need to say, and voila, it works. I wish I had it at Mayo that day. I am powerless against this disease. I can take supplements, but I am still helpless against this disease. It's hard to be powerless.&nbs...

My oldest brother walked up the sidewalk to his car and drove away, leaving my friend and I home alone. Being middle-schoolers, we were excited to have the place to ourselves. But a little later we heard a thump. "What was that?" We looked wide-eyed at each other. The rest of the night, we went back and forth on whether our imaginations had grown the size of the old farmhouse itself, or whether we had every right to have palpitating hearts and frozen limbs. As the night wore on, we became convinced we were not alone. At the pinnacle of our terror, we decided we needed to take some sort of action and face the latest noise head-on. As we cautiously moved towards the noise, my brother jumped out from the shadows, terrifying us. He had indeed not left for a night on the town! After relief...

Here we are again, the trees turning and dropping their leaves, the strong and living frame unveiled again having beautifully hosted so much growth, so much of itself. Trees so perfectly testify to life, their seeds, and fruit now making their way towards the earth to nurture all that's to come. It's a grateful fall. A pay-it-forward even. The cycle so inviting, to experience the tree in its most vulnerable transition. For everything to be removed and yet somehow it stands there naked and completely unashamed. That final transition full of golden leaves, as they truly are. This cycle we call life seems to roll around again, and I get this sense that we are being invited to take so much of it with us into what is next. The river is flowing in the most strangest of years and the new beginnin...

Ray Dirks

I’ve been inspired by Christine Sine’s Facebook columns on Christian Poets and Writers page. Her actual website is www.godspacelight.com  Tom and I have just returned from a very wet neighbourhood walk – such a contrast from a week ago when the dry smoke-filled air carried toxic chemicals and was hazardous to breathe. It is so good to breathe fresh air again and be able to enjoy our beautiful neighbourhood walks. I have found myself gasping in awe at the patterns of raindrops on flowers, leaves and even spiderwebs. The rain has invigorated me, and, not surprisingly, had me searching for my post on rain walking from last year where I talked about how good rain is for us in body, mind and spirit. This year, however, my daily rain walks have made me hyper aware of tho...

For everything there is a season... Ecclesiastes 3:1 We have left summer behind and now it is autumn. The yellow of the birch trees, the different shades of red and orange of the maples, and the green of the willows is startling. My orange maple is shedding its leaves on this late September day. Sorry to see them drop to the ground. But it is the fragility of passing beauty… from summer to autumn, from autumn to winter. Repeating itself all over again next year, and the next. It is hard to confront winter again. I love spring, summer, and autumn. But winter, it's so cold here. It feels like it’s never ending… But that's where faith comes in. Knowing that spring may be just around the corner. Faith is not an effort, a striving, a ceaseless seeking as so may earnest souls suppose. ...

His weathered hands, watery blue eyes and salmon-colored lips poured out stories; then a pause came in the outpour, like a thermos pouring coffee, interrupted. His look pierced me across the table and he said, "You have the gift of encouragement." After initial surprised silence, I tumbled out messily, "Ah, yes... I believe I do... How did you know?" I had just met this precious elderly couple about 15 minutes ago and had only gotten in a few sentences. (Yes, I had injured my foot. Yes, I was familiar with and loved staying at the Wilderness Prayer Cabins where his son managed…) My question was just out of my mouth when he replied, smiling confidently. "Holy Spirit told me. Praise the Lord. Thank you Jesus. He is good." Then he went back to his story as if nothing of significance had ...

To our precious readers, we wish you a blessed Labor Day...  Love to you,  Emilie, LuAnn, Julie and Sally

Poem by Helen Steiner Rice Our Father knows what's best for us, So why should we complain We always want the sunshine, But He knows there must be rain We love the sound of laughter And the merriment of cheer, But our hearts would lose their tenderness If we never shed a tear... Our Father tests us often With suffering and with sorrow, He tests us, not to punish us, But to help us meet tomorrow... For growing trees are strengthened When they withstand the storm, And the sharp cut of a chisel Gives the marble grace and form... God never hurts us needlessly, And He never wastes our pain For every loss He send to us Is followed by rich gain... And when we count the blessings That God has so freely sent, We will find no cause for murmuring And no time to lament... For our Father loves His child...

"No matter how much we may love the melody of a bygone day or imagine the song of a future one, we must dance within the music of today, or we will always be out of step, stumbling around..." May Crandall, Before We Were Yours The new slalom ski sliced through the water spraying water all over my face. I laughed and vigorously shook my soaked head to see better. It was fast and it was fun. Little did I know that in a few minutes, my summer would be flipped upside down. My daughter continued to give me the thumbs up as I cut back and forth, seeing what this new ski would do. My hubby moved his arm up and down to warn me of big waves coming. I wasn't worried. I had hit plenty of those doing water sports through the years. The waves hit. My ski pushed right and forward but the stiff new boot ...