Author Archives: dinahoverlien

Hummers

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PB put a hummingbird feeder on the kitchen window. The little hummers buzz around like dive-bombers in the back yard, but I wanted a little action in the front window.

I’ve been watching out the window to see what lessons I can learn from these avian wonders.

This little fella was my first sighting.

He didn’t know Who was providing the nectar or how it got there.
He didn’t know his Benefactor was waiting and watching his every move.
He didn’t know how much joy he was bringing to The One on the other side of the glass.

He knew there was nourishment there, free for the taking.
He knew that in order to receive it, he had to stop his constant movement.
He knew something instinctual was beckoning him toward the beautiful, good and true.

“Come all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!”
Isaiah 55:1

“Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?”
Matthew 6:26

Far and Away

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Do you know how far it is from the north pole to the south pole?

I’ll tell you how far it is from the north pole to the south pole—
approximately 12,430 miles.

A group of explorers actually made the trip.*
It took them through 42 countries and several oceans over a span of 475 days.

What about the distance from east to west?

That’s harder to calculate.
In fact, it cannot be measured.
There is no east pole or west pole.
The distance from east to west is immeasurable.
And I’m so glad.

David the psalmist wrote, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Ps. 103:11-12

Even though David had incomplete knowledge of how vast the earth is, the inspired words are completely accurate. If he had written, “as far as the north is from the south, so far does he remove our transgressions from us,” we would be measuring and calculating our standing with God.  

But east from west—that is boundless, bottomless, limitless, measureless.
A forgiven sin is removed far away, beyond our reach.
Which is far and away the best news. 

Now, how high are the heavens above the earth?

*For more about the expedition, see transglobalcar.com

Old Faithful

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I have been faithful to PB for over 45 years.

I faithfully fed four children three meals a day over a 20 year span.

I have led women’s Bible studies, helped pull off Vacation Bible Schools and Christmas programs, provided music for funerals and weddings, and made oodles of Tater Tot hotdishes for church potlucks.

I have led a faithful life.
I have loved living a faithful life.

As I get older, I’m finding there is less on my plate,
and that’s a wonderful thing.
PB is perfectly content with scrambled eggs and toast for supper.
I can get a week’s worth of laundry done in an afternoon.
No one is depending on me to organize an event.
It’s a wonderful thing.

But I still want to live a faithful life.

So, here’s the truth:
I don’t post these little reflections every Thursday morning because I think I have anything brilliant to say. I don’t expect my words to go viral or even get noticed. There’s one reason I show up here week after week—it’s an exercise in faithfulness.

Some weeks I spend hours pondering a thought, shaping those thoughts into words, and then revising them over and over. Some weeks I throw it together just before hitting “Publish.”

This self-imposed assignment keeps me thinking, learning, growing. The fact that anybody actually reads it— that’s icing on the cake.

I don’t want to get older and fizzle out.
I want to grow old and be found faithful.
As faithful as Old Faithful.
It’s a wonderful thing.

“When the Son of Man comes,
will He find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:8


Distracted

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The other evening I was playing Wordle on my phone,
while working on a blog post on my laptop,
while watching the Brewer game on TV.

Was I being “distracted from distraction by distraction”?
(T. S. Eliot, “The Four Quartets”)
Sure I was.

The only time the word “distracted” shows up in the Bible is in Luke 10:40. “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.” In Greek, the word means “to be driven about or dragged all around.”

I wanted to know more.

So I put down my Wordle game and looked away from the ballgame so I could open up another tab on my laptop and look up the history of the word “distraction.”

One of the meanings of the word comes from a French term related to a cruel form of torture in the Middle Ages, reserved for the very worst of criminals. The offender’s four limbs were tied to four horses……and……well……they got dis-tracted.

The world tries to pull us in different directions
until we feel stretched and about to snap.

Jesus offers something different.
“In him all things hold together…
So that in everything He might have supremacy.”
Colossians 1:17-18

Lord, I invite You to rule and reign over my time today. Teach me to set aside worthless idols and be drawn to Your beauty, truth and goodness. Distract me away from distractions with Your loving-kindness. Help me keep my eyes on You.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

45

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This is what 45 Overliens look like.

They came from the east coast, from the west coast, and from down the road.

At the end of the day,
we ate 22 lbs. of pulled pork,
we finished off a DQ ice cream sheet cake and a jumbo box of Bomb Pops,
we drank gallons of lemonade and coolers full of soda,
we talked and talked and talked
(these ARE Overliens, after all).
Some of us swam in the lake.
Most of us sat in the shade.
It was a glorious day.

We were missing a few—27 to be exact.

I noticed that one name kept coming up in conversations—Gigi.
Great-grandma was the matriarch of the family until she passed in 2021.
She prayed for all of her children
and grandchildren
and great-grandchildren
every day.

She prayed for our sick babies and adventurous teenagers and prodigal rebels.
She prayed in four daughters-in-law and one son-in-law.
She brought down blessings on our families.

We’re still reaping the benefits from Gigi’s faithful prayers.
Now it’s our turn.

Ten Thousand Thunders

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One of the goals I set for myself this summer is to read “Paradise Lost” by John Milton. It’s an epic poem, first published in 1667 and considered to be Milton’s masterpiece. Written in blank verse, which means it doesn’t rhyme, every line has exactly ten syllables. And there are over 10,000 lines in this poem. I thought it would take me all summer to slog through this renowned classic.

But I can’t put it down.

The poem tells the story of the war in heaven, the expulsion of Lucifer with one-third of the rebellious angels, and the temptation and fall of humans in Eden.

The other day, I had to put it down because I was weeping.
I had no idea this archaic poem would move me so much.

Here’s the scene:

As the war in heaven between the holy angels and the fallen angels raged on, God called on the great Son to enter the fray. Jesus roared into the battle on a “fierce chariot” with “burning wheels” that shook all of heaven. In His right hand He grasped “ten thousand thunders.” With one look at the Son, the demons “withered all their strength.” They were driven like a herd of goats to the “crystal wall of heaven” where opening wide before them was the “wasteful deep, a monstrous sight that shook them with horror.” But with the Almighty Son closing in on them, they chose to jump—”headlong themselves they threw down to the bottomless pit. Nine days they fell.”

Here’s my thought:

Milton’s depiction of the Son of God in all His power and glory was breathtaking. His account of the decisive and complete victory over evil gave me goosebumps. But what brought me to tears was the realization that Jesus could have shaken earth with ten thousand thunders, but instead chose to withhold His power and submit to death, even death on a cross. For love of you and me.

I know what happens next, but I can’t wait to see how Milton describes it.

He Knows Where to Find Me

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I went to a Christian writer’s conference last week. I didn’t post anything here because I was too busy learning how to be a Christian writer. I met a lot of very nice people and collected a stack of Christian writers’ business cards. I heard some very inspiring presentations and took notes in all the sessions. I pitched an idea for a book to three publishers and learned I need at least 10,000 followers before being considered as a prospective author.

Only 9,700 more to go.

Tim Challies (www.challies.com) was the keynote speaker. As my head was swimming with “10 Ways to Market Your Book” and “Why You Need to Grow Your Reach,” Tim spoke about things closer to my heart.

He encouraged us to resist the pull of popularity.
“The book business is a numbers-driven industry that is extremely competitive.
Be honored that anybody reads your words—that God gives you any readers.
Be content.”

He said success carries a heavy weight of responsibility.
“God expects more from those who have more gifts.
God’s giving of a little might be a gift saving you from yourself.”

He told us that developing character is more important than success.
“Don’t let your success rise above your sanctification.
Most of us don’t have the holiness to handle success.”

I am, indeed, very honored that you stop by here and read from time to time.
I don’t want the responsibility that comes with publishing success.
I’ve got my hands full working on growing godly character.
I am content.

Spurgeon said it best:
“When God wants you, He knows where to find you.
You need not go and push yourself to the front;
the Lord will bring you to the front when He wants you.
Oh, for grace to work on unobserved!”

Up, Up and Away

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I missed it.
I always miss it.
I didn’t even know I was missing it.
Did you miss it, too?
Probably.

Last Thursday was Ascension Day.
Until recently, I wasn’t aware there was such a thing.
It’s a big thing.

Ascension Day is celebrated 40 days after Easter Sunday and commemorates the moment Jesus ascended into heaven and took His rightful place on the throne as ruler of the universe.

That’s a really big thing.

Eugene Peterson said, “Ascension Day may be one of the the most under-celebrated events in the church’s life. Part of the reason is that Ascension Day always falls on Thursday, never on a Sunday, and so no sermon is required.”*

There are no presents to buy, no cards to send, no baskets to hide.
Mail gets delivered, banks are open and nobody gets the day off.

“When Luke set out in Acts to tell us the story of the church, he began with Jesus’ Ascension. It’s the opening scene that establishes the context for everything that follows: Jesus installed in a position of absolute rule—Christ our King.”*

So, why should we celebrate Ascension Day?

  • It’s the day Jesus entrusted us to take His message to the world
  • It ushered in the coming of the Holy Spirit ten days later
  • It gives believers hope for a future resurrection
  • Jesus, the divine, went up without abandoning His humanity
  • The ascension gives us a picture of what His return will be like
  • It shows Jesus’ triumphant victory over death
  • This day crowns Him King over the universe in glory
  • It begins Jesus’ role as intercessor for us in heaven

Celebration is in order, my friends.

Mark your calendars for Thursday, May 14, 2026!

He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
Why do you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.
Acts 1: 9, 11

God has gone up with a shout!
Sing praises to our King.
He is king over all the earth;
He sits on his holy throne.
Psalm 47:5-7


*Eugene Peterson, Practice Resurrection, p. 43

Now I Know My ABCs

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The Alphabet Song—it’s one of the first songs we learn as children.

We sing “A-B-C-D-E-F-G….”
before we know the sound each letter makes,
before we understand that letters can be combined to make words,
before we comprehend that words can be put together to make sentences,
before we grasp that sentences can create stories that can become books.
The letters of the alphabet are the building blocks of language.

The next time you go into a library or book store,
look at the plethera of books and think,
“Every word in every book on every shelf has used the same 26 letters.”

From Goodnight Moon to Paradise Lost—
from People magazine to Encyclopedia Britannica.
All we have is 26 letters.
And endless combinations to make millions of words. 

The ancient Hebrew alphabet had 22 letters.
Back in 2020, I did a series on each of the letters in the Hebrew Aleph-Bet.
Every day, those blog posts are still read.
Every single day.
Five years later.
I don’t know who you are, but thanks for reading!
To make it easier to access, I created a category called “Hebrew Alphabet.”
May God bless the letters in both of our alphabets.


For further reading:
ABCs
Aleph
Bet


Liquid Prayers

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Is there a wrong way to pray?
It seems to me we’re invited to pray in all kinds of ways.

Pray in the Spirit  in every situation.
Use every kind of prayer and request there is.
Ephesians 6:18

We can pray spontaneously from the heart or speak words that the saints have used for centuries.

Our prayers can be praise and thanksgiving or confession and repentance.

We can pray on our knees or stand with our hands raised high.

We can pray at set times or anytime.

We can sing for joy or lament in sorrow.

We can use lots of words or no words at all.

When we don’t know what to pray, “the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26) Groans can be prayers.

When all we have is tears, that’s enough.

“Let us learn to think of tears as liquid prayers.”
(Charles Spurgeon)

Perhaps tears are the most precious prayers.

You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
Psalm 56:8

So whether you’re coming to God today
with shouts of praise or groans and tears,
know that He hears all kinds of prayers.
There’s not a wrong way to pray.
Just come.