A Friend Like No Other
A friend listens with a servant’s heart—not for what they can get or take, but for what they can offer from their heart.
Linda (Visscher) Roorda and husband, Edward, live in Spencer, NY, both former members of the Christian Reformed Church. She is a mother and grandmother, a retired medical/radiology transcriptionist, an empty-nest author, and past speaker at a multi-church women’s retreat. She published some of her ancestral genealogy research in the “New York Genealogical and Biographical Record” in 2004, 2005 and 2008, writing personal-interest interview articles and a genealogy column in a local newspaper. An online blogger for several years, Linda enjoys sharing her faith in poetry and reflections at her blog, “Poetic Devotions by Linda,” and genealogy research tutorials at “Homespun Ancestors.” She also wrote several articles for both the CRC/RCA Disability Concerns newsletter and The Network. Her hobbies include gardening, sewing/quilting, cake decorating, and making silk floral arrangements.
A friend listens with a servant’s heart—not for what they can get or take, but for what they can offer from their heart.
Fran’s photo taken in 2015 instantly drew me in; I loved it at first sight! And it’s literally worth a thousand words.
Why am I talking about broken old rocking chairs this Christmas? Maybe it's because they help remind me why Jesus came.
Recently I read about the Japanese artform of Kintsugi (golden joinery), or Kintsukuroi (golden repair). Typically, the broken vessel becomes even more beautiful. . .
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Diagnosed in 2014, I remain cancer free. Because grieving is normal when diagnosed, I share my story in the hope it helps someone else.
Often, we have no idea how our words and actions affect others now or in the future, especially during our school years.
There are times in life when we each need encouragement—a few kind words, a loving smile, a card expressing concern, or a hand held out when the world knocks us down.
Do we share our love easily with someone different from us? We pride ourselves on maintaining a status quo of acceptable friends, but what about others in various difficult situations?
Our personal trials are meant to draw us closer to God and His Word as our faith is grown with new, or renewed, strength and wisdom.
Our inner foundation makes a difference as we react to life’s challenges, whether it be today’s coronavirus pandemic, unemployment, or a myriad of hassles and even blessings each and every day.
Thank you, Diane! Yes, I wrote it, and yes, you have my permission to share it with your church community. God bless you all richly in this coming new year :)
Thank you, Jon. Her story deeply touched my heart, just as what her husband did for her by having you repair the old chair, and thank you for sharing it with us all!
Jon, thank you very much for sharing with us all this beautiful restoration story, and the great work you did to restore her broken rocking chair! I'm reading it in tears. For those of us who have...
Thank you so much Lynn! Merry Christmas to you, too :)
Coming out of the late '60s/early '70s hard rock genre, my husband and I welcomed Christian Contemporary artists like Jars of Clay, one of our kids' favorite groups too "back when", on local...
Bert, you express yourself well, and are well understood by our having gone through similar situations. My husband Ed had retinopathy of prematurity from pure oxygen in incubator. With only one...
I live in tiny Spencer, New York.
Our church is without a pianist, so I chose contemporary praise song videos or acapela hymns for worship music. There are so many great praise songs it's hard to chose, but a few favorites include...
I'm a music worship leader in a small rural church. With pianist and co-leader/guitarist no longer able to participate, I select lyric videos of contemporary praise and traditional hymns which fit...
Staci, Ed says "Thank you very much, and may this bless someone else going through vision loss."