The Word Worker

Tag: Nonfiction

  • In Spirit and Truth

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    wordworkerrussell
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    The woman of Sychar belonged to a people with a cobbled together heritage. The poorest, least useful of the Israelite people were left in the war ravaged land to fend for themselves and eke out what existence they could along with floods of foreigners displaced from their rightful homes by their mutual conquerors. Never faithful…

  • Book Review: The Christmas Crocodile

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    wordworkerrussell
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    A most unusual present shows up under the tree on Christmas Eve and begins to wreak havoc! Presents get eaten, the feast gets stolen, even the decorations are shredded. No one knows what to do! Even Alice Jayne finally locks that croc in the cellar where he can’t destroy anything else. But no one should…

  • December 1st

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    wordworkerrussell
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    It’s the countdown to Christmas. Time to decorate the house, finish all the gifts, watch all the movies, listen to all the music, and cook all the food. At least, that’s the plan. The Christmas tub was stored on the porch through all weathers this year instead of making it back to storage where it…

  • Thankful

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    As we enter the holiday season this year I feel the mood around me to be different than past years. Politics, economic uncertainty, and a persistently negative media presence seem to be doing their best to destroy our spirit and leach the joy from the season. It is one of Satan’s most effective tactics to…

  • If You Know How to Look

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    Today my husband and I spent the day outdoors. It’s the height of autumn here in the south, and this year has brought us a particularly fine one. The normally green beauty of the woods has flamed with color, and the lake bottom is rusty with orange and purple. I revel in the crisper air…

  • You Can Know Truth

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    “What is truth?” Pilate asked that question with apparent sarcasm when faced with the Source of all truth in His courtroom. It’s a question our society has taken up as a rallying cry, and one which many who claim the name of Christ have  joined in shouting. Some have even said to me about various…

  • Book Review: Bad Kitty Scaredy-Cat

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    wordworkerrussell
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    Kitty is the boss of the house. At least, until a host of scary and unusual creatures show up at her door! But wait, those creatures have delicious candy! Kitty forgets to be scared, and decides to be very, very bad! This fun story with its colorful pictures will capture children’s imaginations while teaching the…

  • Work and Purpose

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    When people talk about parenting challenges, they usually talk about toddlers or teenagers. No one really addresses the middle years, the years of learning, discovery, and character shaping. My ten year old son is right smack in the middle of those years. For several months now his behavior has been, well, challenging. We’ve been unable…

  • Tuned

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    An old hymn from 1758 begins with the words: “O thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing Thy praise.” These days we have all sorts of electronic gadgets and apps for instrument tuning, which takes some of the meaning out of the phrase. When I began taking music lessons, a few decades…

  • The “Whatever It Is” Life

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    Yesterday my kids held their annual pumpkin carving session. Because buying a pumpkin for every family member in a household of seven puts something of a strain on the already holiday stretched budget, they team up. Boys get one pumpkin, girls get the other. As you can imagine, this is not a situation that leads…