Gaining a heart of wisdom
The perversity of human nature shows up even in our strengths. If it is in my DNA to stand valiantly for truth, I will likely trample the unenlightened. If my heart bleeds for the underdog, I may provide for them a comfortable path to hell. If the world is my personal mission field, I may… Continue reading Blind Spots: A Book Review
Every parent has heard it -- the greatest of all appeals to justice: "You promised!" The promises of a responsible parent are not lightly made; therefore, the power of the appeal. As children of God, we can approach Him with this same confidence, for His Word is full of trustworthy promises founded upon His character… Continue reading You promised!
We live the questions, holding one another's feet to the fire. We raise our kids and pray for each other on those "I'm a Rotten Mom" Days. They know us at our worst, and they love us anyway! They are our Soul Friends: What Every Woman Needs to Grow in Her Faith. Dr. Leslie Parrot writes… Continue reading Soul Friends: A Book Review
The weather here in Maine is warming. Bright green daffodil leaves, the tiny nose of a hyacinth peeking out of the ground, goldfinches mobbing the birdfeeder, and the sound of spring peepers in the early darkness are all telling me that it's time . . . Time to get out my summer clothes. After a long… Continue reading Just One Thing: Change
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
Living Our Days 