Revisiting the 2021 Christmas story of one man's unforgiveness and the eternal consequences of holding a grudge. Thank you, dear readers, for traveling with me as we visited a few of my past Christmas stories. We're only one more "year" away from the 2023 big reveal! In the meantime, I pray this story softens your …
Tag: heaven
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
Revisiting the 2018 Christmas story of a grieving dad who learns about Heaven from his little girl. Hey, friends! Thanks for taking this journey with me as we reflect on my past Christmas stories. This year's story is still to come. Stay tuned, and thanks for reading! I’ll Be Home for Christmas I hid in …
“The Thanksgiving Table” – a fictional story
The Thanksgiving Table As I started the coffee early Thanksgiving morning, I remembered this day last year when Mom had relinquished the meal to me. It had been a morning much like this one – the house quiet, the view from the window dark with only a sliver of light emerging on the horizon. I’d …
Continue reading “The Thanksgiving Table” – a fictional story
Calming the Waves of Grief
Over the past nine months, I've learned grief can come in gentle waves, lapping at my toes and tricking me into thinking, "I can do this. This isn't so bad." Other times, the waves hit me so hard that they knocked me down, threatening to drown me. Sometimes, I even wished they would. I carried …
The Empty Table
When my mom passed away from cancer seven months ago, the pain was unbearable. I'd hold my breath as I listened to her voicemail messages just to hear her voice and scroll through my phone to see pictures I'd taken while visiting her last year. Anything I could do to hold on to her a …
God Knows Our Hearts
With dirt caked under my nails from working in the garden, I answered my sister-in-law's phone call and walked around our backyard while we talked. Suddenly, a butterfly floated in front of my face and around my head, its wings grazing my forehead. It landed on my right hand, the same hand I used to …
Your Place
"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to …
When the World Gets Dark
"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise." Hebrews 10:23 NLT. It's no secret that the world is getting darker. Maybe your own corner of the world is darker than it's ever been. The unthinkable happens. Health issues. Financial stress. Daily uncertainties. Maybe …
The End
“God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. But when the Day of God’s Judgement does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will …
A Moment to Reflect – Home
Sometimes you just have to push back the pain, the heartache, and all of the struggling and remember where you're headed. One day you'll see Jesus face to face and all of the sadness and pain of this world will have faded like the setting sun as you bask in the light of His glorious …
Joey Rudder 