Why Pruning Sooner is Always Better

Two years ago, my fig harvest dropped to almost nothing. In truth, it had dwindled the last several years, but I was content with the small harvest because I was busy. I consoled myself with the idea that I didn't have time to handle a big yield anyway. 

I knew the tree needed pruning. Radical pruning. 

It seemed like too much trouble. 

When the fig yield essentially stopped, I knew I had no choice. I had to cut the tree down to save it. When I did, I found the trunk was severely diseased.

I cut it down with a nice tall stump. Still diseased. 

Cut again. Still diseased.

Finally, I did what might have been prevented if I'd done it a few years earlier. I cut the tree as close to the ground as I could, below the line of disease.

It took a while to come back. In fact, last year, I wasn't sure it would. I knew I should've pruned it sooner, and regretted my delay. 

This year, the first post-pruning figs have begun to develop. They're still hard and green but, before long, they'll be sweet fruit. There are only a few figs this year, but, next year, the harvest will be better.

That's how growing fruit works. When there's disease, whether in a vine or a branch, that branch must be removed.

For followers of Christ, who is our Vine, we are the branches. The disease that stops fruit-bearing in our branches is sin, and it must be removed before it consumes our fruitfulness entirely. 

The appropriate way to prune is to cut close enough to the vine to remove the diseased part, but far enough out to allow fruit-bearing to continue. The sooner the pruning is done, the less branch has to be removed. 

Lack of fruitfulness is the red flag that signals the need for pruning... both in fig trees and in believers. Are we bearing the fruits of the Spirit? Are our lives distinctive because of the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control we possess?

If not, perhaps that lack is evidence of some sin-damage that needs to be corrected. 

Better sooner than later is my motto.

Let's take a close look at our fruitfulness. Are we bearing fruit of the Spirit? Are we making disciples? Are we sharing the good news of Jesus with those in our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the earth?

If not, why not? Is there hidden sin that needs to be removed? Has busyness marred our relationship with our Father? Has love for this world superseded our love for the next? 

Today, let's ask Our Lord to prune now so that more drastic pruning can be avoided later. Pray that the cutting away of sin will be sufficient to return the sweet fruit God intended in our lives. 

Why wait? In pruning away sin, cutting sooner is always better. 

"But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!" Galatians 5:22 nlt

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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Pigpen Parables: Pigs Just Want to Have Fun

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line

Pigpen Parables: Pigs Just Want to Have Fun

My son, Ryan, showed livestock in 4-H for years. His first show animal was a pig. The livestock advisor suggested we bring a ball for the pigs to play with. Truly, I doubted they would play with a ball and thought it was a silly suggestion. 

Ryan, however, loved the idea, so we bought a big ball. He threw it into the pigpen. In a few minutes, the pigs were flipping the ball with their snouts and tossing it into the air. I was truly surprised at how cute and funny they were.

When I got Andy, that memory came back to me. Yesterday, I gave Andy a big purple ball of his own. He was lying down in his little mud hole when I arrived. He quickly jumped up and ran over to see what I was doing. I tossed the ball into the stall. It landed in the middle of the mud. (Video below)

Andy started oinking like crazy and ran over to the ball. I don't know if he was excited about the new toy or upset about the mud, but he quickly started moving the ball around. If you watch the video, attached below, you can see him playing. It's mighty cute.

I watched Andy flipping the ball around, lying his piggy head on it like it was a pillow, and rolling it around the stall. As he played, he seemed less like a pig and more like a dog. He was so cute, so sweet. He seemed so innocent.

Andy's reality is he's a boar hog and he will never serve the purpose for which he was obtained unless he has a serious change. It's not his heart that needs to be removed; it's a different body part, but it's the part that determines his "nature." 

No matter how cute Andy is, no matter how sweet, he still has a nature problem. He smells like a pig. He acts like a pig. He hasn't been neutered and his boar-ness will taint the meat.

It's a great picture of the world and the sin nature that taints everything. The world can be an enticing place. People trapped in the pigpen of sin can be just as fun and enjoyable as the most devout Christian. When we, as disciples, were in the pigpen of sin, we had fun, too. 

The problem is that, fun or not, our sin nature permeates everything. Only a cutting away of that sin can change us. Only the blood of Jesus can accomplish it. 

Does the "cutting away" end the fun? Not at all. All the "fun" I had before Christ came with a price. It never quite satisfied. Jesus, however, is where all the contentment, all the peace we want can be found.

Jesus doesn't end the fun. He's where it begins. 

When Jesus said He came that we might have abundant life, He was talking about us, too. Are you enjoying the life God has given you? Do you take joy in the little things? If not, why not?  

Today, let's do a nature check. Is there a bit of our old sin nature still at work? Do we need to take a step closer to Christ and allow Him to trim away the "piggy-ness" so we can enjoy the abundant life He intended? If so, let's do it, and let the joy begin.

"The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing." Proverbs 10:28 

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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Caregiver Chronicles: When Peppy Music Pepped Sam Right Out of the Bed

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line

Caregiver Chronicles: When Peppy Music Pepped Sam Right Out of the Bed

Tuesday night, we had a senior adult meeting at church. A woman was scheduled to play Southern gospel for the program and Sam wanted to go.

On Saturday, he'd been so weak I'd had to feed him with a spoon. He couldn't even sit up. Tuesday, he felt like he could make the trip. Standing was still a wobbly adventure, though, so we opted for the wheelchair. 

I rolled him into the room, positioned him at a table, and headed to the buffet line to get him a plate. Sam is very particular about what he thinks he can eat, so I filled a plate with the options I thought he was most likely to eat and headed back to the table. To my surprise, he ate almost everything on the plate. 

When the music started, Sam was transfixed. The performer was an excellent pianist with a spirited repertoire. Within a few minutes, he was smiling and tapping his feet. He loved the program. He enjoyed the speaker, Jim Spencer, who gave a devotional on finishing strong.

Sam talked all the way home about the music, and he's still talking about it. "It pepped me up," he keeps telling me, and it seems to have done just that. Yesterday, Sam had a flat tire. He felt so peppy, he went outside, repaired a connection on his air pump, and aired up his tire. 

When we went to church last night, we used the wheelchair, but he thought it was a strong possibility he could've walked. As I helped him into his house, Sam said words I still can't believe:

"That music pepped me up so much that it made me feel a lot better. I believe I'll be able to cut the grass tomorrow. I'm gonna feed the horses for you, too." 

This...from a man who couldn't sit up on Saturday.

Sam's certain the music has done a work in him and brought about his improvement. I'm equally sure it's the result of all the prayers of people around the world who've been praying on his behalf. Regardless, that music pepped Sam out of the bed, out of the wheelchair, and back to his walker. 

"I might just get over this," Sam told me before I left him last night. 

"Sam, you're 87 years old and you have Parkinson's. You don't get well from that."

He just grinned. "You never know."

"...the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." James 5:16b nasb

(Thanks to all who have prayed. Please don't stop!) 
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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Pigpen Parables: The Place of the Piggy Heart

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line

Pigpen Parables: The Place of the Piggy Heart

Andy the Pig lives in my barn's back stall. For now, that's his pigpen. 

The stall was empty for months, so the ground was packed as hard as rock when he first arrived. Andy has rooted out a furrow of dirt to lie down in because that's what pigs in pigpens want to do. They make themselves comfortable in the dirt.

There's actually nothing "wrong" with the place where Andy lives. It's designed to be a horse stall. A wonderful horse lives there in the winter. It's clean and lined with shavings. A mound of sweet-smelling hay rests in the rack. When  Belle, my registered quarter horse, is in residence, that little bit of barn is a beautiful place.

With Andy, it's not quite so beautiful. The ground is rooted and there's a mud puddle by the waterer. It has a new fragrance now, too. The odor of pig.

It's not the location that makes it a pigpen. It's the pig inside. 

The same holds true for the metaphorical pigpen in which we find ourselves. It's not the location that makes it a pigpen to which we, as prodigals run. It's the piggy-heart in us.

When the prodigal in Jesus' story arrived in the literal pigpen, it was easy to see how far he'd fallen. What we don't always recognize is that he was in a pigpen all along. The uncleanness of rebellion in him made everywhere he went a kind of pigpen, because he took his sin with him. 

When he was standing outside his father's house, his rebellion made that dusty lane a kind of pigpen, a home for sin. That sin couldn't co-exist with His Father, so the prodigal took it to the finest places in the far country. Nice restaurants. Fancy dress-up parties. Prince's palaces. Anywhere he went, he took his piggy-heart with him. 

When we see someone who has made terrible life-choices and ended up in a place of devastating loss, we can see they've suffered consequences. They're in a kind of pigpen where, we hope, they can come to their senses.

When we make choices that don't necessarily lead to a place of devastating loss, we can look less "pig-hearted" to ourselves and to others. Beautiful homes, nice restaurants, and big bank accounts don't look much like pigpens, but they can be. It all depends on the pig-heartedness within us. 

Are those homes and bank accounts a result of rebellion? Have we chosen a plethora of "good" activities instead of doing the one thing God has called us to do? Have we ensconced ourselves in beauty and left our neighbor to fend for himself? Are we following our own way instead of God's?

Friends, pig-hearted choices always turn our surroundings into pigpens, where we root around until we make ourselves at home there.

When the pigpen becomes a comfortable place, we can stay there far too long. No matter where we find ourselves today, let's ask God about our own hearts. In what areas do we have piggy hearts of rebellion? In what areas do we want our own way? 

Let's ask God to help us see our hearts, and our "pigpen" as He sees it, then made a new choice. 

Come home, much-loved children. Our Father waits at the end of the road. 

"So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him..." Luke 15:20 nlt

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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Caregiver Chronicles: The Body of Christ at Work

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line

#pigpen #prodigal 

The Caregiver Chronicles: The Body of Christ at Work

I ordered this model to teach kids about how beautifully our bodies are designed. Our hand is an intricate symphony of bones, vessels, tendons, ligaments, and nerves. The design allows us to feel, touch, take, give - to do all the things hands do. 

Today, I'm using the photo to represent the body of Christ. Every part is vital. Every one plays an important role. When the body of Christ works together as Jesus intended, the world stands in awe.

That's what happened with those who were first called Christians. The believers in Antioch demonstrated love for God and love for neighbor in such stunning ways that those around them began to call them "little Christ" people. Those disciples acted so much like the Christ that outsiders could see a clear picture of Jesus in them.

Today, I'm sharing another little piece of the Caregiver Chronicles I seem to be writing. 

I arrived late to the office yesterday because Dale Ruth had come to the farm to fix my truck brakes. I walked in the door and Christian Putt greeted me with the warmest smile ever. She always does that, and, when she does, she's really saying, "Welcome home. We're glad you're here." And it is. And we are. Home. What a sweet place to be, and Christian, as usual, reminded me of that fact. 

Because I was late, I'd missed prayer time. I went in search of prayer cards so I could contact the missionaries we'd prayed for, but Maria Geno had them. "No. I'm emailing the missionaries today," she told me. She was adamant. I had more than enough going on. She'd do that.

Sharon Batley hugged me and offered me gluten-free banana bread. If you've never been gluten-free, you don't know how precious that bread was. It was a HUGE treat.

Allie Nokes had suggestions for how hospice might help and shared her considerable wisdom gained from her experience as a caregiver. She had her daughter bring things  from home she thought might be helpful.

Lyle Rainey had suggestions about my pig and shared some wisdom I desperately needed.

Adrian Green asked questions about my situation until he found a way he could help, then immediately volunteered.

Marla Nunnelee, Rose Rainey, Carolyn Roye, and Evelyn Wages had words of encouragement and love. 

Blake Wages helped me load my pickup with boxes of personal care packs for Calvary Baptist Church to use. (They leave today for a short-term mission trip with Beautiful Feet in Fort Worth so please pray for the people to whom they'll minister and those who will receive packs and the gospel.) 

Rory Tyer shared my joy over having a place for the packs to be used for Jesus so soon. His big smile matched the one in my heart.

When I arrived at Calvary, a church I dearly love, Jim Yates' sons enthusiastically unloaded the boxes in the blazing heat. Sweat beaded on their foreheads, but they never complained. Instead, they talked about how much they loved going on mission trips and sharing Christ. 

People messaged me, prayed for me, emailed me. It all touched my heart. It all helped.

I cried several times yesterday. This time, they were happy tears over the pure sweetness of the body of Christ. No one person did all the work, but everyone did something and, in the doing, they lifted my burden and carried it with me. That's what it means to "bear one another's burdens." We all join together to help with the load. No one person does all the work.

All of can do one small thing. Many small things will add up to a big blessing. 

Today, let's look for at least one small something we can do for someone who's going through a hard time. A word of encouragement. A suggestion from your experience with a similar situation. Weeping with those who weep. Rejoicing with those who rejoice. Hands on help. Wisdom where needed.

Body of Christ, we need each other more than we know. When we love the way Jesus intended, the world will stand in awe. It was that Antioch-style Christlikeness that turned the world right side up. If we do what they did, we could change the world again. So let's get started today. 

See a need and meet it. 

"Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 esv

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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Loving Your Neighbor and Using Interpretive Dance to Do It 

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line

#loveyourneighbor #globaloutreachreachingout

Loving Your Neighbor and Using Interpretive Dance to Do It

When I went to my local box store on Saturday morning, I left Sam in bed, too weak to get up. I dashed in to get what he absolutely needed, then looked for food for myself. I prayed God would help me "find simple." The simplest things I found were peanut butter and a bag of fresh green beans. 

They'd moved the gluten-free products again, and all I could find was frozen bread. Time was short, so I went home with no healthy snacks and nothing that would make a simple meal without cooking everything from scratch. 

I was kinda surprised I didn't get a better answer to my prayer, but decided to be grateful for what I had.

Since the bread was still frozen, I couldn't make a peanut butter sandwich without stopping to thaw the bread. For lunch that day, I squirted mustard on sandwich meat and hoped I could find something better for dinner without having to cook. I didn't. 

Usually, I use the weekend to prepare enough for several days, but I hadn't gotten to that yet. It wasn't that I didn't have food. I just didn't have easy food.

I haven't asked permission to tell this next part, but I'm doing it anyway, and hoping for forgiveness. I had plans for lunch, but had cancelled them because Sam wasn't physically up to going to eat after church. 

I had just cancelled my plans when my friend, Kandy Walker, texted me. She wanted to come visit for a little bit and maybe do some interpretive dance. I was intrigued.

When she arrived after church, she jumped out, arms flung wide, and gave me a huge hug, then broke out into her interpretive dance routine. It was simply marvelous. She frolicked about on my front lawn and we laughed at the outrageousness.

My spirit lifted with that laughter, just as Kandy knew it would.

"I brought simple," she announced and began to unload her car. I blinked back tears. God had heard my prayer and answered it in an unexpected way.

"You were on my mind this morning and, as I was praying, I kept thinking, 'What would I need if I were Leanna?'" 

Kandy brought paper goods, including paper plates and napkins. "Eat off paper plates for a while." I embraced her suggestion.

She brought frozen gluten-free dinners. (Ones she knows are both tasty and organic.) Fruit. Pre-washed, cut up vegetables. Gluten-free snacks. Gluten-free soups. The array of gifts was enormous and healthy.

She prepared a simple lunch and we ate together. I asked about her needs once, and she cut me off. "Nope. Today is not about me. Today is about helping Leanna keep taking care of Sam." 

She let me ramble, and listened as I talked. She went with me to feed the farm animals. Later, she suggested I make a list of all the things I'm doing, divide them into things someone else could do, and consider where I might find help. "If Sam wants you to do everything for him, let's figure out how that can be possible." We did.

Instead of merely responding to one urgent need after another, I have a plan that's workable. It's a great relief. 

Instead of cooking from scratch, I have easy (and healthy) meals that don't require much preparation. 

Kandy took the time to consider the life she knows I live and find ways to make it easier for this season. 

She loved her neighbor as she loved herself. Literally.

I don't know if Kandy has ever met Sam, but she's made his life much better by making my life easier. 

Kandy's gift to me was one of the sweetest and most helpful anyone has given. I'll treasure it for years to come.

What made her gift so great?

1) She used a moment of silliness to intentionally make me laugh.
2) She listened to me vent and didn't judge.
3) She considered my needs and dietary requirements, then acted accordingly.
4) She brought a few simple frozen meals I could pull out when I need something healthy and quick on a hard day.
5) She gave me permission to use disposable plates and napkins.
6) She asked about what else I needed to do that afternoon and left in time to allow me to do it.
7) She helped me examine all I'm doing and make a plan to find help where needed.
8) She gave lots of hugs.

Somewhere near each of us, there's a Sam or a Leanna, a care-receiver or a care-giver, who is struggling. We want caregivers to go the distance, right? Let's help them do it.

Take a hint from Kandy and consider what would make life simpler, easier. 

Going out to eat isn't alway easier. Take a meal, then sit and eat it together. 

Instead of taking a huge basket of fruit, take a few bananas or a couple of pears. 

Fresh baked goods are nice, but not necessary. I could never eat an entire cake or pie by myself. The box of gluten-free snack bars Kandy brought were a much better alternative.

What about paper plates and napkins? I'd never even considered using paper products for a while.

If everyone did a little bit, it would make more of a difference than you can imagine. Who in your world needs a visit from you? Interpretive dance isn't required, but a listening ear and a loving heart are. 

Today, make a start. Be present. Love your neighbor the way you love yourself. It's okay to start small as long as you do something. 

According to Jesus, doing nothing is never an option, so let's start loving. 

"Jesus replied, 'The most important commandment is this...Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No there commandment is greater than these." Mark 12:29-31 nlt

(Sam's walking with his walker again, thanks to the prayers of thousands of people. Thank you!) 
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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Where We Are Now 

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line

#loveyourneighbor

Where We Are Now

Today, I'm not writing a theological treatise or telling a touching story. I'm acknowledging that all of you who follow my blog have become family to me. Today, I'm sharing the hard part of my life with you. 

I'm trusting you to handle it gently.

For those who don't know, I bought my farm in 1989. Sam Wiley had worked there for two decades and he didn't want to move. He loved farm work and he loved the farm. The woman who sold the farm to me didn't exactly make keeping Sam on a condition of the sale, but it was strongly encouraged.

I agreed to let Sam live on the farm for the rest of his life and to look after him. 

I was much younger then, and I didn't know what that would mean for me, personally, over the years, but I'm living it today. When you give your word, you keep it. If you don't, it says a lot about your integrity. It you keep your word, it does, too. 

Sam is now 87. He's a widower with no children. He has one living sibling who's in a nursing home. He has no family that's involved in his life to any significant degree. I'm his caregiver, and happy to be so.

He has Parkinson's Disease. He's increasingly frail and, in the way of people who are chronically ill, has mostly lost his appetite. He's said for years that he doesn't want to have life-sustaining treatments in an impossible situation. Really, who does want that?

Sam understands eternity and he knows where he's headed. It's a much better place than where we are now. He doesn't begrudge the passing, but he'd like to have a lot fewer symptoms than he does. We're learning to cope. He's on hospice at home, and they've been wonderful.

Yesterday was our hardest day yet. He awakened so dizzy he couldn't sit up and so weak he couldn't feed himself. I spent most of the day taking care of him.

That doesn't make me a hero or anyone special. Sam's not a hero, either. Many of the people I know are either the one who needs care or the one who gives care. We're just two people going through life the best way we can. The difference is that we're doing it "out loud" in a way that allows people to know. 

Late yesterday, I posted a request for prayer on Facebook. The outpouring of love and prayers was incredible. Within two hours, Sam was enough better that he ventured over to my house. His "misery" was much lessened, and we're both grateful. 

Sam loves a crowd. He's energized by a lot of people. He loves the crowd of people at church, even when he can't remember names and can't always remember faces. This morning, after our very hard day yesterday, we'll load up the walker and go to church again. I desperately need the fellowship, in my way, and Sam needs it in his.

I'm a bit of a loner and a very private person (believe it or not) and "out loud" living is terrible to me, but I know that I'm called to this life of "modeling" the life of a disciple. I'm doing it because I want to be obedient, so I share my life and my challenges. 

This is what it means to live your faith as a disciple: 

- You love God enough to do what is impossibly hard just because He asks it.

- You love your neighbor as yourself, even if it's difficult.

That's what I'm doing. It's nothing special. It's what we're ALL called to do. 

People always ask what they can do to help. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1)  Pray. The best thing you can do is pray that Sam's suffering will be limited and that we'll both have the strength to persevere to the end. 

2) Visit Sam. If you live in Blue Springs and Sam has known you for years, stop and visit. Strangers confuse him, but he welcomes people he knows. Brief visits are best. Share a Scripture. Read a few verses to him. Pray with him. His stamina is not good, so he can't visit long at a time, but he enjoys a brief visit. 

3) Be patient with me. If I don't answer your messages, texts, or calls, please understand. If I don't respond to birthdays or offers of help, please know that I'm not intentionally rude. If a blog is "late," please check back. I have an overwhelming load right now, but it won't last forever and God will bring me through, just like he always has. 

I'm literally doing the best I can. 

4) Get involved. If you're not involved in the life of at least one person who needs what you can give, (other than family) you should be. Loving your neighbor as yourself might be hard, but it's an act of obedience, and it will be worth it. Nothing thrills me more than to see others doing what God has called us all to do. 

I know that, when I write about Sam, I make him "alive" in the hearts of people who read what I've written. That's what writers do. Bring characters to life. If I'm successful as a writer, you will want to respond to Sam, but what you need to realize is that there are "Sams" living near you. God has placed people who need you just as much as Sam needs me. 

Don't cross a city limit to love on Sam when you're supposed to go down the street and love on your own "Sam". 

Today, start loving your neighbor as yourself. It's okay to start small, but it's not okay to refuse to make a start. 

"Jesus replied, 'The most important commandment is this...Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself. No there commandment is greater than these." Mark 12:29-31 nlt

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Please like and share if this blog post has touched your heart. It extends our digital reach in significant ways. Thank you.

In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: When the Light is Out but You're too Stressed to Notice

If you feel led to partner with this ministry (US, Jordan, the digital world), here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841 

Or you can mail your check or money order to: Global Outreach/ PO Box 1, Tupelo MS 38802. Be sure to put Account 4841 in the "for" line

#loveyourneighbor