Gaining a heart of wisdom
My ten-thousand-steps-a-day routine is a lot easier to accomplish in June than in January, the month when we all set our intentions for the year. The green world beckons, the garden needs tending, and our mowing business is in full steam ahead mode. (On a recent six-lawn Wednesday, I passed the ten thousand step mark… Continue reading It’s Time to Conquer that Midyear Bible Reading Slump
Sunday Scripture I logged some fairly intense conversations with God the day the transmission blew in our faithful truck--the one that hauls all the equipment for our lawn mowing business. "Really?" "Now?" "God, are you unaware that grass is beginning to grow here in Mid-Coast Maine?" I'm well aware that God is sovereign even over… Continue reading Holy Indifference to the Loss of All Things
There's never been a time or a season quite like the one we are bearing witness to today. Here, at the end of May, we alternate between wanting to whoop and holler, "Freedom!" in our loudest spring voices--and wanting to keep everyone safe in a bubble of virus-free air for at least another six weeks.… Continue reading Concerning the Times and the Seasons: Spring 2020
Parenting is a risky business. Like a high wire act without a net, we hang on to Truth, keep our balance, and trust for equilibrium, but, ultimately, our children are free to choose their own paths. We do not determine their spiritual direction or their response to God's claim on their lives. Nevertheless, wise parents… Continue reading Practical Steps for Nurturing a Vibrant Household of Faith
Sunday Scripture The taste of disillusionment is bitter, and few there are who have not experienced it at some point in life, for God often behaves in ways that puzzle us. His infrangible decrees leave us breathless and wondering, and while it's our default to view New Testament characters as cardboard cutouts, it's clear that… Continue reading What Does it Mean to Be Relentless?
Sunday Scripture I love it when I answer the phone and the voice on the other end is my friend who brings questions. She is a verbal processor, always in big picture mode, and her enormous heart leads the way. I am a slow, internal processor and my friend's questions have a way of jolting… Continue reading Is This a Sign of the End Times?
Church has been the influence that has pushed me, challenged me to a greater faithfulness, and stretched me outside my comfort zone. It has also been the pebble in my shoe, the sandpaper which has knocked off some of my rough edges. There's no doubt about it: Church can be difficult. By definition, church is… Continue reading What to Do When You Think You’ve Found the Perfect Church
Sunday Scripture Some of my happiest mothering memories are set in a blue mini-van on the open road as our family traveled cross-country for five weeks back in the summer of 2010. With very few distractions, our time together was focused on the beauty around us and the many sights we all shared for the… Continue reading Wishing a Refreshing Mother’s Day to You!
Over the weekend, I sat between two of my grandchildren and read them a story for the first time since we began sheltering at home. We celebrated the relaxation of strict quarantine here in rural Maine with our little group of eight. As everyone feasted on pizza and whoopie pies, I prayed that I would… Continue reading When You Just Can’t Take It Any Longer
Sunday Scripture In these days of social distancing, even our worship has taken on a new look and a different feel. An act that has typically conjured images of white-steepled buildings--or polished praise teams, lasers, and smoke machines, depending on your church background--is now taking place in front of screens, in living rooms with only… Continue reading How Do You Whet Your Appetite for God?
Living Our Days 