Gaining a heart of wisdom
When he was dying of pancreatic cancer, author and New York City pastor Tim Keller made the surprising observation that although cancer was taking its toll on his body, he and his wife, Kathy, would never want to go back to the kind of prayer life or spiritual life he had before the cancer. Knowing… Continue reading You Are Here—Whether You Like It or Not
Mother's Day can be rough. A day intended to honor and encourage mothers sometimes spirals into disappointment or feeds our feelings of inadequacy. We compare ourselves to other mothers (either in our real world or in the tiny, square pictures on our phones) and conclude that everyone else is doing it "better," having more fun,… Continue reading Wishing You a Happy, Holy Mother’s Day
When I'm teaching a group of women, and I say, "The Bible is a book about God," I expect eyes to roll, because, well.... Isn't it obvious? Yes, it is obvious, which begs the question: Why, then, do we read the Bible as if it's all about us? We open it to our favorite parts… Continue reading Discover the Bible as One Coherent Story About God
Ever since our oldest son was born, I have been inscribing my children's initials in the margins of my Bible next to verses that I have prayed for them. For a long time, there were four sets of initials, but then the wives and the grandchildren started adding to the family. Today, the count is… Continue reading The Greatest Gift You Can Offer Your Children and Grandchildren
Book lovers will understand me when I say that I have been "talking about" decluttering my jam-packed bookshelves for at least a year. I need to do it, and the only way to do it is to rip off the Band-Aid and just start giving books away. In one afternoon of energetic zeal, I culled… Continue reading Own Less, Love More, and Make an Impact in Your World
Do you ever read something in the Bible and think, "Wow, that sounds a little over the top!" I am simply not capable of the emotional range of some of the more expressive prophets and psalmists, but, even more than that, I lack their depth of love and fervor of desire for God and his… Continue reading Love What God Commands. Desire What God Promises.
A photo snapped at just the right time becomes a treasure, a way of holding on to a memory or a season. Twenty years ago, we were visiting friends at a Vermont lakeside cabin. The location was a childhood dream come true. We all swam together—until I realized that we were swimming with big, grumpy… Continue reading Practical Wisdom for an Unhurried Childhood
Here in Midcoast Maine, spring is a transitional season. We all know we're on the way toward something good, but it's sure taking its good old time getting here. And then, blink, and you'll miss it! Whenever I'm in transition, impatience tugs at my coat tails. Neither here nor there yet, I'm tempted to numb… Continue reading Stay in the Present Moment During Your Seasons of Transition
I stumbled upon the Artemis II live stream while I was on the elliptical last week. Seeing what the astronauts were seeing and hearing their voices transmitted from space boggles the mind. To be honest, though, I can't let myself think for too long about their forty minutes on the far side of the moon—forty… Continue reading Even on the Far Side of the Moon
My days in elementary school classrooms offer me a priceless window into the minds of young humans. In some ways, the things they value, the hand-holds they grip for meaning and significance, haven't changed since I was in elementary school. There's really no such thing as "the good old days." Athleticism, confidence, a snappy personality,… Continue reading What Does It Mean to Be a Human Being Today?
Living Our Days 