Black-eyed Susan, native to North America, had its beginning on the Great Plains from Eastern Colorado to the Mississippi River, from Oklahoma into the Canadian provinces.

Aren’t you glad that we as followers of Christ don’t have to worry about our spiritual well running dry?

It is especially gratifying to hear readers of my newspaper articles express excitement about discovering a new wildflower.

Recently several of us from our church took a road trip. 

First, in the aftermath of these horrific shootings, finger-pointing is not helpful and only more divisive.

I wonder if the biggest issue we face today is a lack of imagination. We get stuck in rigid patterns, thinking that there is only one way to approach any challenge.

It was a quick, foolhardy decision born of a country girl who wanted to see more of the world than pasture fences, cows and hayfields. I came to regret it during all the nights I cried, homesick for all of that as well as the bullfrogs, crickets and dirt roads.

In my last article, we began looking at the complex problems of our world and the issues the trouble us.

One day in early summer when I was walking to the mailbox, I counted about 20 different wildflowers in bloom.

The complex problems of our world, crime, hate, prejudice, rape, carjackings, drive by shootings, terrorism, robbery, burglary, you name it, all have a common source. Jesus identifies that source for us.

In reality, we do not grow old with age, we age because we stop growing.

When we look for those examples of love, when we become those examples of love, be ready for what can happen to our lives. Be ready for what can happen to our world.

“Evil is coming!” That’s the ominous warning being sounded by a TV network as it promotes one of its new shows for the fall season.

Recently I received a summons to appear at the courthouse.

So where can we go to find the strength we need to face life, death and grief?

Last week we introduced the topic of God’s justice and love.

At least once a day, I think of something Mama taught me — like how to match checks and stripes when I sewed.

Isaiah 35:1-2 reads “The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing:… they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God.”

Ground yourself in Jesus and open yourself up to all the possibilities God places before you. 

Making beauty is a never-ending task.

In the human environment there are good times and bad times.

If what Jesus taught us about life after death is true, if you are under a minister who only gives you “the good news,” you are risking an eternity of suffering for a temporary blissfulness.

The three of them were waiting at the church door when I drove up that afternoon. A mother with her two older teenage sons. She didn’t speak any English, but she had a bathroom emergency.

Do we pay attention to the warning signs in our lives of a lack of spiritual power? 

Folks who have been around church life for any length of time can often testify that the doors might be locked and the windows slammed shut, yet the devil will still manage to get inside. Call it a church split. Call it a church fight. Call it the topic of the latest book written by Conyers author Dr. Joe Lester.

Some of us find joy by taking time from our busy lives to observe the fascinating creation God has provided. From today’s wildflower we can observe the great diversity of God’s creation and how we are enriched by that. Diversity as a given in nature should lead us to recognize that the diver…

“My God isn’t like that.” How many times have you been confronted with that statement?

We should seek unity in the Church not only for survival, but also in order to accomplish our mission. 

Last week, I explored figures from the church’s past to inspire us as we respond to the shootings in Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton.

First, in the aftermath of these horrific atrocities, finger-pointing is not helpful and only more divisive.

Church wars are nothing new.

The Wildflower Kingdom, in all its diversity, is dwarfed by the uniqueness of the individuals that make up the 7.5 billion people that inhabit the earth.

One of the very few things I remember from my high school chemistry class is that a compound is the result of several elements that are brought together.

I usually pay attention to the messages on church signs. In them I often find a good reminder of some truth or biblical principle.

I stood in front of my congregation last Sunday and tried to find the words to respond to the shootings in El Paso and Dayton. They felt woefully incomplete.

The 104th Psalm was used by the Hebrew people to praise God for the abundance of His creation.

Recently my sister and I took our parents to visit the north Georgia town in which they had grown up.

A friend of mine posted a meme on social media: “Nothing can separate you from the love of God, not your gender identity nor your gender expression nor your sexual orientation.”

This article is for church people. I am going to air some of our really dirty laundry.

Really now, where would we be if it were not for the long suffering patience of God in dealing with us difficult human beings?

Too many go ahead and do what they want to do, even what they know is wrong or questionable. They prefer to rely on God’s forgiveness rather than to risk God telling them “no” and their missing out on doing it.

I believe the evidence both internal and external points to the fact that what we have contained in our modern Bibles is much more than just lucky guesses by insightful men but has the mark of supernatural guidance.

For the last eight years, our family has gone to Joni and Friends Family Retreat, a special needs family camp in Northern Michigan.

In the summer of 1986, it might have been hard to choose who was more miserable: The farmers of the deep South or me.

The central theme of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is God’s love.

The initial characteristic of a nation’s greatness is its sense of spiritual destiny.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes that our hope for glory is the Christ who is within us.

American artist Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) is perhaps the most outstanding female artist of the 20th century.

We need both the old and the new together to show us God’s kingdom.

We all need the words and routines that remind us that there is a deeper meaning to life, that there is a God who loves us and cares for us and surrounds us with grace and mercy.