Gaining a heart of wisdom
Readers are always fascinated by the people behind the books they love -- the authors who pull characters out of thin air, who create a world that draws us in and who then turn those characters loose to have adventures, solve mysteries, fall in love, and capture our hearts in the process. Irene Hannon has spun… Continue reading Author Interview: Irene Hannon
As one who is eminently shake-able, I look daily and with great need to the unshakeable Word of God. There's no better place to turn when your heart has been shaken -- Truth (with a capital "t") is the solid foundation for a life of stability. The #livefree Thursday community is pondering the word… Continue reading Inerrancy Defined and Defended
Since I'm on vacation this week with the family, it seems good to pause and look at a "big picture" theme that is prevalent in Nehemiah. Early in my preparation for this study, I ran into the statistic that 11% of the book of Nehemiah is prayer, and now that we've made it through chapter nine's longest prayer… Continue reading Just One Thing: Prayer
When I first heard Luci Shaw described as "a poet sorting socks," I was just coming into my own career as a sock-sorter. Her poetry, harvested from the everyday of enjoying nature, relating to family and friends, and living the questions about her faith was soul-food in the midst of all the sorting out that… Continue reading Luci Shaw — A Poet for Life
We are a gulping people -- A swallowing whole, planning the next mouthful before the bolus lands kind of people We're that way with our food, too. Savor by Shauna Niequist is a daily flavor of the Word -- A slow down and think about it experience of considering one verse, one concept at a… Continue reading Pay Attention
The longest recorded prayer in the Old Testament, Nehemiah 9:6-38 is also the fullest summarized retelling of Old Testament history. It's all there, point and counterpoint: the Red Sea crossing, the manna, the subduing of the Canaanites. Ponder these alongside the disobedience, the mutiny, and the faithless complaining. A slow reading of this prayer with an eye… Continue reading Just One Thing: History
John Piper shares a story of his experience at a sky-scraper construction site in Minneapolis. The foundation was in place and he gazed, astonished, into the depths of the hole -- four, five, six stories down into the soil of middle America, ensuring a sturdy foundation. His application from this experience was that a deep foundation is needed to support a lofty… Continue reading Receive. Respond. Repeat.
Linking up today with friends from #livefreeThursday where we are all pondering the topic: "no strings attached." Well, fine, say I, the Bible-teaching evangelical. My confessional theology is all about the sovereignty of God. I love and serve Him, and He gets to call the shots. But when He really DOES call the shots, and… Continue reading Unexpected Life
When I taught my way through the book of Nehemiah with my Sunday School class this year, I was reminded of the context for one of the Bible's most "quotable" verses on joy -- it's not what I expected! Thanks be to God that He is our infallible source of joy during Advent and throughout… Continue reading Just One Thing: Joy
Michelle Lesley is my guest today in this, my first-ever blog swap. Our intent is to give our readers the benefit of a different writing voice and greater diversity of content. I have been following Michelle's blog for some time, and have been challenged by her clarity and confidence as she encourages her readers to pursue righteousness and the wisdom that… Continue reading Blog Swap!
Living Our Days 