Gaining a heart of wisdom
The longer I live, the more dubious sounds the popular wisdom of couch pillows and coffee mugs advising me to “Listen to your heart.” When push comes to shove (as it invariably does), I’m learning the advice my heart dishes out is likely to lead me astray. Let me instead speak to my heart as the psalmist… Continue reading What’s the Worst Advice You’ve Ever Been Given?
Every January 1st, I am greeted by the same bracing truth as I turn again to the first page of my well-worn flip calendar of Elisabeth Elliot quotes: Lord, give me a quiet heartThat doesn’t need to understand,But, confident, walks forward inThe darkness, guided by your hand." In a sense, everyone steps into the darkness… Continue reading 6 Means Through Which God May Choose to Guide You in the New Year
Now that humanity has access to the blessings of Zoom, FaceTime, email, and ubiquitous cell phones, it would seem that loneliness should have been eradicated from the globe—or at least all parts of it that have reliable Internet connections. However, it seems that no one is exempt from the sadness of feeling alone. Loneliness is… Continue reading What If You Could Know That You Are Never Alone?
Over the years, I have kept the same address book, a quaint and archaic practice for sure in this highly digitized world. To accommodate my more transient friends and family, all the entries are in pencil, and many bear the scuff marks of frequent erasures. This year, as I was addressing our Christmas letters, I… Continue reading Ending the Year by Noticing The Names Of The Missing
Winter has officially arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere. The optimists among us are rejoicing that now, with the winter solstice in the rear view mirror, the days will begin to lengthen as the planet tilts toward the sun. Even so, I'm grateful for my window candles and Christmas tree lights—and for whatever ecclesiastical negotiations… Continue reading Celebrating the True Light in a Dark Winter World
Decision-making is hard, and it's a process I never enjoy. Now, we've reached the stage in life when we're bearing witness to the decisions of our sons and their families, which is really a spectator sport—unless we get invited onto the field to share an opinion. Buying a house or a car, changing jobs, or… Continue reading Receive the Gift of Advent Every Moment of Your Life
Generations ago, here in Maine, I imagine one way mothers prepared their daughters for life was by teaching them how to make a good chowder. They would have needed to learn how to regulate the heat on a wood-fueled cookstove, and if they wanted to eat in February, they would have needed to learn how… Continue reading The Best Preparation for a Meaningful Christmas
Was it the pair of turtle doves that tipped him off?Was it the countrified manner of the parents? Or did the Spirit of God produce an aura of light around the Child, visible only to Simeon's Spirit-filled gaze? We don't know how he knew, but since "it had been revealed to him by the Holy… Continue reading Now, We Are the Waiting Ones
They were really just a bunch of good old boys taking care of sheep,sleeping in shifts, trying to stay warm,and to ward off predators around a fireoutside a little town we would never have heard of if it weren't for God's redemptive plan. God's proclamation of peace on earth and goodwill to men landed in… Continue reading Make The Christmas Story Work To Fulfill Kingdom Purposes
We'll never fully recreate the scene:A young girl,An angelic voice,and an impossible-sounding announcement: "It's time for me to break the silence.I have already set my plan in motion.Here's your part." Divine intervention has a way of...Intervening.Definition: "to come in or between by way of hindrance or modification."1 It's safe to assume that giving birth to… Continue reading How to Make the Most of Those Christmas Interruptions
Living Our Days 