Today Is a Good and Cold Rainy Day

A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford It’s a cold, bleak rainy December morning, and I’m staring out the window. I’m trying to motivate myself to start doing the “eleventeen” things I need to accomplish today. But the sky is so gray, the cold...

What Happened to the Six-Pack in the Fridge?

A Gentle Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford “Endgate! This is endgate!” Ben greeted Walt, his pastor, at the door, waving a beer bottle. “This is the last drink I’ll ever take, I promise,” he said tearfully. The poor man’s wife had called us because her...

What Does Ebenezer Have to Do with Thanksgiving?

A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Ebenezer? Ebenezer who? If it were Christmas, you’d understand my talking about Ebenezer Scrooge. He’s the stingy boss in Dickens’ story, “A Christmas Carol.” He’s that scowling misfit who mutters “Humbug!” until...

When It Rains, It Pours

A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford Last week, I found myself thinking, “When it rains, it pours.” I was beset by all kinds of problems. I needed a new house cleaner. A pipe broke in my bathroom; another in my sprinkler system. The roof over the guest...

Why Doesn’t God Do Something?

A Word of Encouragement from Elizabeth Rice Handford The child was bullied at school. When he protested to the teacher, she labeled him a troublemaker, and disciplined him instead of the bully. A co-worker made a costly mistake, but blamed her innocent office-mate....