Gaining a heart of wisdom
In a life time of reading, we make friends with a variety of authors, usually total strangers to us in real life, but nonetheless, known and beloved, because we have come to know them intimately through their books. In Writers to Read, Douglas Wilson invites his readers into the circle of friends he has formed… Continue reading 9 Names that Belong on Your Bookshelf
For me, it was a case of the right book at the right time when Girl Meets Change by Kristen Strong showed up in my mailbox. I am walking through a season of boys coming and boys going; setting the table each night with only four plates . . . or hearing that we may possibly need nine plates;… Continue reading Change: Friend or Enemy?
I love a decisive verb, and when it appears in the setting of a solid, declarative sentence? Well, so much the better. When autumn rolls around my mind returns to the pronouncements in Isaiah 12, because I studied and memorized it in the season of bright leaves and stiff breezes. The prophet's bracing words stood up to… Continue reading Giving Thanks Is a Choice
The prosperity gospel is deep in my bones -- not that I technically hold with any kind of "blab it and grab it" theology or the idea that God owes me a BMW. I do know better than that, but truly, I just want to be able to tell you that God has always answered… Continue reading Embrace the Detour
Standing at the water’s edge with the big fluffy towel is one of the perks of being Gram. I can wrap Raymond from head to toe in warmth and snuggle him in my beach chair while his mum and dad enjoy some grown-up swim time. The problem is that, these days, Raymond is not interested… Continue reading Held
Two weeks into the Beatitudes with my Sunday School class, and my ear is finally becoming accustomed to the cadence of another Kingdom, one in which those who are meek and mournful are pronounced fortunate -- even happy. All of this is a fitting backdrop for reading Joshua Choonmin Kang's Spirituality of Gratitude. His collection… Continue reading The Language of Thanksgiving
For the past twenty-one years, my designated occupation on our tax forms and all official (and unofficial) documents has been "domestic diva." Given the flashy title, my house should look a lot better than it does, but my fierce and steadfast focus within that job title has been to raise four young men to love… Continue reading Love Them Into Being
The only thing better than a good biography is SEVEN good biographies, and that's what Eric Metaxas offers in 7 Women and the Secret of Their Greatness. Through touching down at seven distinct historical and geographical points, my mind was coaxed beyond its tendency to "see everything in the dark glass of [my] own era, with… Continue reading Seven Women. Seven Virtues.
A journey through cancer and a journey of joy would seem to be two very divergent paths -- particularly if the cancer is terminal and if it hits in the midst of a season of health and productivity. However, Steve and Sharol Hayner have invited readers into their experience of Joy in the Journey --… Continue reading Finding Abundance in the Shadow of Death
We’re having a tiny drought here in Maine – nothing like the raging, fire-breathing variety that has been defoliating the West Coast. Even so, in these end-of-summer days, my garden and I are feeling this word: LACK As I haul plastic jugs of water that will rescue the geranium, restore the sunflowers, and rejuvenate the… Continue reading A Watered Garden in Time of Drought
Living Our Days 