Gaining a heart of wisdom
My son rolled his eyes in disdain as he vented his outrage. “Doesn’t she know she’s a grown up? There’s nothing cool about an old person trying to act like a kid!” Leave it to youth to give us the straight and unvarnished story. We’ve all witnessed the desperate measures of the middle-aged, stuck in… Continue reading Spiritual Formation at Mid-Life and Beyond
For years I celebrated Easter as if it were a stand-alone holiday, singing “Up from the Grave He Arose” without giving much thought to the horror of the Dying or the silence of the Dead. Providentially, my early efforts to incarnate and to enliven an invisible God in the hearts and minds of four sweet… Continue reading What You Believe About One Weekend in History
Sunday Scripture In his classic book, Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton described paradox as an affirming of the white and the red but never the pink. Two seemingly opposing truths stand side by side, but never blend. The following life is a call to embrace paradox. We affirm the truth of the incarnation in which Christ remained… Continue reading The Lion, the Lamb, and the Colt
I'd never taught with laryngitis before, and it was enlightening, because in losing my voice, I realized what an important tool it has been to me in the communication of content and the conveyance of mood and emotion. A class on parenting is nothing without a few accounts of real life encounters, and even though… Continue reading The Story You Have is the Story Worth Telling
Sunday Scripture One minute you've lit a candle, settled yourself into your favorite chair, and invited the Spirit to settle your heart. Beginning the day in peace and trust, you've made promises to yourself and to God about how the coming day will be. Then, life arrives with a roar, and suddenly you are Wile… Continue reading Why is Peace so Hard to Come By?
Words have the ability to change our lives. It's no accident, then, that Jesus is referred to as "the Word," and I have to believe that if God had wanted to communicate with us through video, he'd have found a way to do it. Instead, he has chosen to speak to us in written words.… Continue reading Moments of Stillness Focused on the Truth
Sunday Scripture Really? What were they thinking? The Sunday school lesson for my fours and fives featured the life and ministry of John the Baptist. "Perfect," I thought. "He's Jesus's cousin, and two of my little guys are cousins. They'll love that. But what about this...?" "Repent!" That was John's message, and an abstract concept,… Continue reading Do You Have the Right Facts but a Wrong Heart?
I landed in my seat at Bible study feeling like a refugee. Two tiny sons were happily entertained in the nursery, my study questions were only half answered, and I could just barely recall the point of the lesson, but community drew me to that space like a magnet. In that season, I craved the… Continue reading What You Need to Know About Loss
Sunday Scripture The only possible downside I can see in exposing young children to classic hymns and great works of music is that sometimes they mange to misinterpret the lyrics and completely miss the point. Handel's great rendering of Isaiah 53:6 in The Messiah landed on my youngest son's ears as "Oh, we like sheep,"… Continue reading Is There an Upside to Being a Sheep?
It's true that our greatest strength can also become our greatest weakness. In this mothering life, it's a great mercy that I can fold laundry, listen to a podcast, and monitor dinner on the stove, all while pondering the introduction for my next book review. The real question is, "Can I stop the multi-tasking when… Continue reading The Freedom of Choosing an Unhurried Life
