Gaining a heart of wisdom
I've recently taken up my knitting needles and resumed the practice of making mittens. My homemade mittens used to warm the hands of my four sons, but these days I'm working on making mittens for my six grandkids. Right now, I'm over halfway through the second tiny pink pair. I love being “Bam” to six… Continue reading How Has God Demonstrated His Love for You?
On this collision of holidays with ashes for mourning and hearts for love,We are grateful, Lord Jesus, for your perfect love and for your wrath-absorbing sacrifice. We confess that our own love is unreliable, intermittent, and usually utterly dependent upon our feelings and our circumstances. Thank you for your steadfast love that extends to the… Continue reading On this Day of Hearts and Ashes—You Are Deeply Flawed but Also Deeply Loved
An Old Testament Love Story—My Valentine to You! Oh, how she had grown to hate him. Ten thousand offenses, both small and large, had accumulated over the years since their arranged marriage. Practical and traditional, Father had seen a prosperous match: “Abigail, you will marry a descendant of Caleb,” he had exulted. Abigail had found… Continue reading An Unexpected Love Calls You to Rise and Follow
Our son sawed lumber, hammered nails, and used a paintbrush dipped in Mediterranean Olive Green to create custom-made doors for our bathroom closet. There are any number of things a twenty-year-old guy could have done with his Saturday. He chose to give his away. Loving and giving are inseparably linked in Scripture. In the Old… Continue reading Six Encouraging Resources To Prepare Your Heart For Lent
Early in 2024, little Margaret Louise added her voice, her turned-up nose, and her indescribable cuteness to the Morin family. Our sixth grandchild, fourth granddaughter, and sixteenth member of our immediate family, she is already a tiny and unique human. Because she is so very young, much of who she is and who she will… Continue reading Every One of Your Days is Given and Designed by God
Spaghetti sauce bubbles in a pot on the stove, the rich red depths of the kettle wafting fragrance throughout the house. The annual ritual spans three decades: garden-grown tomatoes, hand-picked, and placed into a basket become jars of winter provision. After all, my four sons could eat a lot of pasta! But this pot of… Continue reading How Can Mothers Instill Vibrant Faith in Their Families?
We've all met the woman who treats her daily quiet time like a lucky rabbit's foot or a spiritual vitamin pill. And we've heard from the guy who announces financial blessings in direct proportion to how long he fasts or prays. In an article at Christianity Today, James Bryan Smith pressed on that fragile boundary… Continue reading The Urgent Difference Between Legalism and Faithful Spiritual Practices
I awoke at 3:00 a.m. with the remnants of a dream taking up every square inch of my brain space. Never mind that it was only a dream. At 3 a.m., dreams are more real and more frightening than they deserve to be. I laughed about the dream in the morning, and it made a… Continue reading How to Fear Wisely—What Are You Afraid of Today?
Across the miles they drove, journeying four hours north on washboard roads until they reached this country hill. “We want to talk about the conference,” they had said on the phone. “We can fill you in on the details in person. The more you know about us, the easier it will be for you to… Continue reading Offer The Priceless Welcome And Genuine Hospitality Of Friendship
Most of the time, my habit of living by a list keeps my days on the rails. If I submit to the requirements of Monday's list, I can begin Tuesday with a clean slate and a clear head. But sometimes there are tasks on my list that I'd rather not tackle: The stick horse with… Continue reading When You Wish You Had Just Done the Right Thing
Living Our Days 