Gaining a heart of wisdom
What you believe about God matters. Is He malleable, pliable, well-intentioned, but out of touch? A bit like you, only ever-so-much-more-so? Can you embrace the reality of a transcendent, crucified God who preceded matter and interrupted the natural order "to save mankind in the awful shape of man?" (217) What you believe about humanity matters.… Continue reading What You Believe About God Matters
Ministry professionals rarely lead with their weaknesses. We want church leaders with plenty of personality, charisma, and confidence. Missionary letters and reports may dip into Brené Brown vulnerability territory for a paragraph or two, but the overall theme is generally a litany of accomplishments and success stories. The 21st century church largely agrees that blessing and… Continue reading Pastoral Ministry: The Courageous Calling to a Faithful Love
I have a complicated relationship with parenting books. As a new mother, I read all the books, analyzed all the angles, second-guessed all the decisions, and the only thing that saved my sanity is that Google had not yet been invented. That tightrope walk persisted for years until I learned to view the books with… Continue reading 9 Resources for Parenting Your School-Age Child
As one who lives by a list, I have come to appreciate the satisfaction of a neat column of check marks at the end of a day, the faithful reminder to pray or to do or to go, and the convenience of a resource close at hand: "Didn't we buy slippers for her last Christmas?"… Continue reading Your New Life Beyond the To-Do List
"What would you like to do?" he asked. My good and faithful husband had hired a babysitter for our four sons (Combat pay!), and we were driving away from the house, the cavernous mini-van feeling empty and oddly quiet. "Good question," I thought, "What would I like to do?" As a homeschooling mum, church woman, maker of beds and… Continue reading 4 Ways to Boost Your Self-Care Quotient
In my small, sleepy hometown, the day the Bookmobile parked across the road from Clowater's Market was nothing short of breathtaking. I recall no scheduled rhythm or advance warning, but somehow word reached us, and I pedaled my bike down Route 1 with an empty book bag slung over the handle bars. Filling the bag… Continue reading How Is Your Reading Impacting Your Life?
Part of the delight of spending time with my tiny grandson is that he takes nothing for granted. Nothing. “Bam, why bubble pop?” “Because you stood on it.” “Why?” Well, good question. Why, indeed, but our conversations routinely run on in this vein of relentless curiosity. They move forward not because “Bam” comes up with… Continue reading The Importance of Becoming Curious at Mid-life and Beyond
One true gift of God is the tension of struggle: challenges that come out of nowhere just when you think the coast is clear; the demon Comparison that threatens to anchor you always in the Desert of Lack; besetting sins that cycle and re-cycle in a life that resembles an on-going game of Whack-a-Mole. Up… Continue reading Musings: August 2018
Last summer, sitting on a rocky beach with family all around, I noticed a small white shell among the scramble of stones and shards of driftwood. Soon I had collected a handful, all pure white and perfectly whorled, the former dwelling place for some diminutive, absentee mollusk. For a few days, I carried them around… Continue reading The Ancient Way of Praying Made New
I am, by nature, a do-er, but one of my favorite, long-time friends can "squander" an entire afternoon over tea and conversation without batting a remorseful eyelash. When we were both in the trenches of parenting toddlers, we twirled long phone cords, and I heard her sleep-deprived voice say, "Sometimes I just sit on the… Continue reading It’s Time to Stop Comparing and Start Rejoicing
Living Our Days 