Gaining a heart of wisdom
We just returned from a working vacation, a time to get away from responsibilities here on the home front and be challenged and encouraged in my reading, writing, and studying. However, before we could leave, the garden needed attention! We had to weed around the tomatoes and beets and hill up the green beans. In… Continue reading Do It Today—Don’t Wait for Everything to be Perfect
One of my college roommates designed her whole life around avoiding mornings. She scheduled no classes before 10 a.m., and her skilled sleeping techniques allowed her to sleep through the chaos of two roommates dressing, alking in normal tone and volume, and blow drying our hair (Hey, it was the 80's!). I've lost track of… Continue reading Get Your Day Off on the Right Foot
Going from one chore to another, following well-worn routines, it's easy for me to lose sight of the big picture, which is, of course, my life as a Christ-follower. Does it matter how I weed the garden or hang sheets on the clothesline? Is there one molecule in the universe that is better or worse… Continue reading Overcome Distractions as You Run the Race of Faith
Here on this country hill, we have two lovely apple trees. They have powered through their blossom season, scattering petals on the grass like snow, and are now fully engaged in the work of producing tiny green apples. We're still eating applesauce from their productive past years—and if you walk into my kitchen and smell… Continue reading Making Room for New Growth
Scripture memory is one of the more challenging spiritual disciplines. Right now, I'm working on Psalm 27, and it's reminding me that there's another discipline that's even harder for me. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me!You have said, 'Seek my face.'My heart says to you, 'Your face, Lord, do I seek.'"(Psalm 27:7-8) I… Continue reading Speak To The God Who Has Spoken To Us First
It's only June, but already our calendar is filling up with summer plans. Conversations about beach days and family camping trips have me wondering when we'll fit in the more mundane but necessary tasks of weeding the garden and mowing the lawn. When we had four barefoot boys running summer wild here on the hill,… Continue reading A Life Lived in the Presence of the Lord
We've been watching birds here on this country hill for over thirty years and have compiled quite a long list of regular visitors. Year-round, the chickadees rend the air between forest and feeder, and then stitch it back up again after sampling some seed. Mourning doves are the faithful clean-up crew on the ground below,… Continue reading Why Wise People Pay Attention to the Birds
It's testing week here on the hill! My oldest grandson and granddaughter have been here with me to take their end-of-year standardized tests. Remember those forms with all the little dots to be filled in with Number Two pencils? Testing is a big deal1 because it helps my son and daughter-in-law assess their children's educational… Continue reading What to Look for When Times of Testing Come
Standing in my warm kitchen, I was thankful for a sunny day. The sun streamed through our windows, creating rectangular patches of light on the floor. The truth about that light landed in my mind like a benediction: Those patches of light that warmed and cheered me had traveled 93 million miles to reach my… Continue reading The One View that Changes Everything You See and Do
Peeling potatoes for dinner, I was listening to music, a lovely arrangement around a poem by Robert Frost. Of course, I couldn’t help but sing along until... “BONG!” The clock in the living room began chiming the hour. The sudden dissonance stopped my singing, but not my enjoyment, because I loved that clock, and because I knew… Continue reading Delighting in the Reality of Temporary Dissonance
Living Our Days 