Episodes
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Reaching
My roots are in Zion; My home is not here. This groaning life is pilgrimage, a tortuous, Path winding where the wind blows. All my stability is in heaven, In the trustworthy promises of God, In the unchanging, eternal Rock of Refuge. All my nourishment comes from His Word, drunk deeply, From…
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Parable of the Waiting Room
A peek into our time capsule… The sparsely adorned walls, uncomfortable chairs, and odd assortment of magazines scattered on the various tables confirmed that the woman was in the right place. She signed in at the front desk and sat down in an empty chair to wait her turn. Rebuking herself for...
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A Prayer for a Life-Changing Diagnosis
So as not to worry you, I myself do not have a new chronic diagnosis or cancer recurrence, thanks be to God. However, I have heard of more new diagnoses these last 2 or 3 years than in any other period of my life. Not yet having written a prayer for such occasions, I have been simmering one for…
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Daleth
When my soul clings to the dust, Let me cling to Your testimonies! Your Word is water for my parched soul, Honeyed bread for my weary heart, Breath for my fainting spirit. Lead me in the way of faithfulness, To love and love and love And follow Your glorious Word. Enlarge my heart to run after…
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Blessed Are the Desperate
The great-crested flycatchers have returned for the season. Photos at crumbsfromhistable.substack.com Blessed Are the Desperate A Poem Blessed are those who are out of their depths, Facing whelms impassable without an ark Or a parting of the waves so complete That the soggy mud of river bottom...
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A Prayer for the Loss of a Beloved Pet
N.B.: Moose Tracks is healthy at this writing. Multiple friends have recently lost dear pets. This post is for y’all. A Prayer Father of life, Creator of all creatures great and small: Thank You for the good gift of our heart animals, the creature companions who help us better understand Your…
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Even If
With God, We don’t have to redact our wrestlings, Airbrush our mascara trails, Mute our howls of anguish, Bury our fears. Whatever the heights or depths Of our feelings, He can bear them. Whether I jump for joy Or collapse on the closet floor, Sobbing, Or pound puny fists on His chest, He invites...
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To My Advocate
How glorious Your garments, Great High Priest, Clothed in glory and beauty, Your people upon Your heart, Holiness on Your forehead, Judgment on Your shoulders, Scars on Your back, Nail prints in Your hands, Spear stab in Your side. You are the merciful and faithful High Priest In the service of…
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Volunteers
“What does it matter? Only that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice.” Philippians 1:18 CSB “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like...
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Lament for the Long Haul
Good Shepherd of the sheep, Master of the great feast, Lord of the harvest, I worship You. O Lord, You see the multitudes still suffering over the long haul from the ravages of the pandemic. Their needs are many, too great for the strongest and most influential, Much less one such as I. All I can...
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Tongues of Fire
“Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs. So too the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. And the tongue is a...
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Amaryllis
Who can find a wife of noble character?For her value is far more than rubies. Proverbs 31:10, NET Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The blooms keep reenchanting my imagination As they unfurl petals like the woman of...
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Book Review: The War for Middle-Earth
In The War for Middle-Earth, historian Joseph Loconte has provided an exhaustively researched and insightful examination of the lives and works of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien in the context of World War II and the decade preceding it. He discussed the ideological water in which Lewis and...
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Evening Prayer and “Jesus of the Scars”
Call to Worship: “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles so that we may be able to comfort those experiencing any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2…
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Further Up and Further In
“In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. Peoples will stream to it, and many nations will come and say, ‘Come, let’s go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us...
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Morning Prayer and Luke 1
In this Christmas week, here is another installment of Pretend Bible Study, where we prayerfully read the Scriptures one chapter at a time. Call to Worship: “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles…
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Solace or Self-Pity
Sidling up in silken slippers, Self-pity seduces with soft sympathy, Never letting slip that Snug comfort of the duvet It slides around my shoulders Is a straitjacket, Binding hands and feet from duty and devotion, Blinding eyes to promises and fellowship of Christ in pain, Stifling with…
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Salvation : A Love Story
It was the foolish thing of my first vocal solo, for the Good Friday church service 38 years ago, which my God and Father used to bring me to the end of myself and show me how crooked my straightest straight line was compared to the straight-edge of Christ. Good Friday is the annual holy day when...
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How Happy We Would Be
Once there was a little Johnny Jump-up with a gold and violet face. All day long he hung his head and sighed, “Oh me, oh my. Oh my, oh me. If only I were tall and elegant like the rose, how happy I would be!” On a trellis nearby grew a tall, slender climbing rose with petals like the flush of a...
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Evening Prayer in Psalm 46
The full text of this evening prayer post, with original photos, can be found at crumbsfromhistable.substack.com. Call to Worship: “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. For he chose us in him, before the...
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Contentment
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places….” Ephesians 1:3 ESV Contentment—how impoverished a word To express the riches shed abroad through Christ! “Contentment” hints that meager is the...
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Jack-O’-Lantern
When adversity carves you open,Empties out the flesh and fruitfulnessOf life before the knife;Gouges gaping, jagged woundsToo severe to scar—That emptiness carves room for graceAnd otherworldly lightTo shine salvation into woundsOf this dark, frightful night world.Life beyond the knifeIs not...
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The Anointing
Note: Rabboni is the Aramaic word for “my master” or “my teacher.” It appears in John 20:16 when Mary meets the risen Christ. Broken, Rabboni? The brightness of this alabaster dream Shattered into fragments at Your feet? What preciousness deserves so great a price? This is My body, crushed to…
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Under His Wings
The shelter of the wings of God has long been one of my favorite comforting metaphors in Scripture. We even named our current home, purchased in a time of grief and upheaval, “Wingshadow.” Mother and sometimes father birds of many kinds cover their chicks with their wings for three main reasons:...
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Summer Days
Summer days unspool In long, slow arcs of Fishing line cast Over a pond; Creak like chains On a porch swing, Gently rocking in Veranda shade; Swish like water Over arms and legs Stroking and paddling Around the pool; Buzz like desultory bees Planting kisses on Every flower in The garden; Lengthen...
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The Spiritual Practice of Nature Photography
For Tatie Go to where the wild things are, Or welcome them to you Plant a garden: Milkweed for monarchs, Sages and zinnias, Sunflowers and moonflowers for Bees and hummingbirds, Holly and blackberries For the mockingbirds and waxwings; Watch it grow. Hang bird feeders, Seeds and suets and...
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The French Kitchen
“What would a French glamour girl wear to stash weapons in the dead of winter besides a haute couture gown? Kat Harris wished she knew.” With that, Kristy Cambron (The Paris Dressmaker) launches the reader out of the plane into Nazi-occupied France in 1943. The rest of the dual-timeline story...
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Bible Reading Fellowship 1.1
Welcome, crumbles. This is our first effort here on Substack at seeking the Lord together, wherever we are in the world, through prayerful Bible reading. I’m officially calling it Bible Reading Fellowship, but you are free to keep calling it Pretend Bible Study, as I did on Instagram earlier in…
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Beauty in Wartime
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for...
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Sonnet from the Shadowlands
The sun declines in western sky. Withdrawn Are clarity of light and hue; brought on, Long shadows, foggy veils, the sacred hush Of darkling valley, far from pastures lush. The golden hour rays play hide and seek, Illuminate her face with glorious peek Of unveiled radiance. Then it flies away; The...
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A Prayer for Government Authorities
“First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior,...
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The Song of the Branch {Improved Voiceover}
It’s my honor to have contributed a poem to The Way Back to Ourselves Literary Journal’s Spring 2025 Collection. The first two stanzas are below. To read the entire piece, please visit thewayback2ourselves.com/journal/songofthebranch. The voiceover here includes the complete poem. My apologies…
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Psalm 27 and the Loneliness of Three in the Morning
Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior.Though my father and...
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Psalm 27 and the "One Thing" We Need at Three in the Morning
One thing I ask from the Lord,this only do I seek:that I may dwell in the house of the Lordall the days of my life,to gaze on the beauty of the Lordand to seek him in his temple.For in the day of troublehe will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tentand set...
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Psalm 27 and Saving Light in Our Souls' Dark Nights
Of David. “The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though...
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Psalm 27: A Psalm for the Soul’s 3 O’Clocks
Have you ever been afraid of the dark? As a child, were you afraid of monsters under the bed or ghouls in the closet? Or perhaps you are not afraid of the absence of light but of the dark night of the soul, the three-o’clock bleakness of spirit? You may know the author Lucy Maud Montgomery from…
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A Prayer for the One Awaiting a Diagnosis
All-knowing Shepherd, Guide, and Counselor, Who knows my frame intimately, Having woven me together in my mother’s womb: You know what ails me; You listen without haste or harshness to my litany of complaint; You feel all my sorrows with me, afflicted in my afflictions. In this season of distress...
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Jesus and Autoimmune Disease
Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. The Thai rheumatologist looked at my husband. “Culture shock,” he said. “There’s nothing wrong with her but culture shock. Just push her through the first year or two and she’ll be...
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Unresolved
Decluttering— Resolutions and regimens— A word for the year, Goal for the year— Plans to grow smarter, stronger, Leaner, faster, more Organized, simplified, efficient— If the “new year, new you” chatter Clatters like cicadas in your ears— If all the motivational Twixstabook posts weigh Heavy on...
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A Prayer for Medical Anniversaries
God of Hope, God of all comfort, God of healing: This day marks a sorrowful anniversary— So many years since the life-changing illness, Since the cancer diagnosis, Since the accident, Since the medical label that transformed every aspect of my days. It is a death without a grave, Grief without a...
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A Prayer for the Threshold of the Year
Eternal God, Thank you for the blessings Your hand has provided us this year. We bring you the challenges You have carried us through, The wounds and disappointments we need You to heal, The ones that may never heal this side of Heaven, The lessons You’ve taught us, The lessons we’ve still failed...
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Salvation
"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21, NIV1984). How can it be thatAll the weight of all the promisesAnd government will restOn the wee shouldersOf this bairnIn a borrowed crib?This wrinkled, ruddy...
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A Christmas Prayer for Those Who Feel Invisible
O Sovereign King, You who see the unseen and forgotten people, Who sent Your royal angelic herald To the unclean, uncouth shepherds, The offscourings of society, Distant from the rites of public worship, But not from Your gaze: Proclaim Your good news of great joy To the invisible souls on the...
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Advent Joy
"The Lord has done this for me. He has looked with favor in these days to take away my disgrace among the people" (Luke 1:25, HCSB). Thanks for reading crumbs from His table fellowship! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and receive the ebook Sehnsucht Season, which includes many other…
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A Christmas prayer for the sick
O God our healer, Who sweetened Mara's bitter waters with wood: Sweeten the bitterness and loneliness of illness with the cross of Christ; Console the ill with the fellowship of His sufferings and the Holy Spirit's comfort; Show forth the sufficiency of Your grace and fullness of Your power…
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The Gift Nobody Wants
Before me rests a package, a gift. The tag clearly reads my name, But what a gift: Wrapped in sandpaper, Encrusted with glittering bits of broken glass, Bound carefully with a bow of thorns and brambles. Who wants to open such a gift? Yet the tag reads just as clearly, “From your heavenly…
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Advent Peace
The suffering saints cried out, "How long, O Lord?How long until You come to reign and judge?Your covenant with Abraham, is itForgotten? Grace depleted? Favor spent?"Then cried a Babe, God's answer in the flesh:The Prince of Peace who came to reign and save;The promises, so many, realizedAt last…
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A Christmas Prayer for the Broken Hearts
Most merciful Father, who draws near to the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds: Who but You can heal a broken heart? Comfort Your bruised and battered children; Minister to their wounds with the intimate companionship of Emmanuel, God with us, so that they might discover treasures in the...
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Enduring Love
My Psalm 136 (No matter our circumstances, we always have reasons to thank the Lord.) “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His loyal love endures. Give thanks to the God of gods, for His loyal love endures. Give thanks to the Lord of Lords, for His loyal love endures, to the one who...
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The Practice of Christian Lament
By the waters of Babylon,there we sat down and wept,when we remembered Zion (Ps. 137:1, ESV). How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1, ESV) Sorrow does not take holidays. Trials do not consult our convenience in scheduling or work around...
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Prayers, essays, and poems read to you by the author
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