I was sharing holiday greetings and sentiments with my friend the other day. She is an amazing person who has overcome many health and medical obstacles in the past couple years, including visual impairment due to diabetes and a broken hip from a hit and run driver as she was crossing the street. We were…
“Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” Can you hear that song in your head? Of course, it’s from an old Disney cartoon — the three little pigs are arrogantly singing about how brave they are until the Big Bad Wolf actually shows up at their door. Yikes! Do you have a big bad wolf…
“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” Little Wife whispered to herself. With just two days left before Christmas, Little Wife was in a terrible bind. She wanted to buy the perfect gift for Big Man, but the stores were all out of the popular tech gifts, the 3X buffalo plaid flannels, his favorite vinyls and vintage whiskey. Little…
It has taken me a lifetime to finally be broken and humbled to the fact that I am not the author of my life story. I am not the one who controls all life circumstances. In my shame and insecurity I had used the defense “I can just handle things my way, especially with…
Mary and Joseph were expecting. Maybe they weren’t exactly sure of the full implications of the baby she carried in her womb, but they had the word of God, the promises of God that this Son would be the Messiah who would save all mankind. They expected that God would keep His promises to them: …
Little Wife truly didn’t intend to cause so much embarrassment and discomfort to Big Man. She had a good heart and was only trying to be as helpful and loving as possible. But sometimes things happen…. It was a sunny morning and Little Wife was preparing the breakfast for Big Man. He enjoyed his handheld…
Just thinking about life as I made some turkey vegetable soup. Funny that soup would remind me of the years I’ve been blessed with. My life has had a delicious flavor; there have been so many components or ingredients that have been added as with all of our lives and so each pot is unique. …
I’ve been thinking much about justice this week. I’ve encountered the justice system in two separate counties of Illinois and found great differences in how abused women were heard and helped. There does not seem to be a standard of justice when it comes to domestic abuse. Often it comes down to “he said, she…
We have all asked the questions. Those hard questions. “Where was God when my husband hit me?” “Where were you, God, when I was all alone and nobody believed what was going on in my home?” “God, do you even know what he’s doing to our family?” “Does God even care?” I asked those questions…
FOCUS Ministries is blessed to announce Chaplain Natalie Frame has joined the staff. I am honored to be the first FOCUS Ministries chaplain, and it is truly a joy and a privilege to serve in this way. Please allow me to introduce myself and answer a few FAQ’s. First of all, I am so thankful…