Gaining a heart of wisdom
When distance separates us from a friend's disaster, when there doesn't seem to be a workable solution to an ongoing problem, we promise to pray. That's what friends and families and church communities do for each other. But sometimes we just don't know what to ask God for. Do we pray for relief or repentance?Do… Continue reading How to Pray for Someone When You Don’t Know What to Pray
Prayer is hard. Let's just be honest about it. For me, prayer continues to be the most difficult of all the spiritual disciplines. Maybe it's hard for you, too, and you're thinking, “I don’t like to talk about this, but prayer is awkward, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to… Continue reading Prayer Doesn’t Need to Be Awkward
How does one live well before God amid life's challenges? Most of our decisions have to be made on the fly—like taking a test we haven't studied for! Sometimes, the wise course of action is hard to discern, and making a call is impossible until the choice and its consequences are already in the rearview… Continue reading 2 Reading Strategies to Get Wisdom from the Word
In declaring war against evil, it's the thoughts, the ordinary workings of our mind, that send us veering off course. These are the thoughts of one ordinary Christian woman in the twenty-minute drive home from church on an ordinary Sunday: She stews over a comment made during the meet-and-greet and plans a subtle stab for… Continue reading How Can the Church Understand and Resist Evil?
This morning I received a text message from a friend. Far from profound, its point was simple inquiry: "How is your week going?You had a busy weekend.Praying for you." The gift of concern was carried on words.We're uniquely gifted in this era of electronic communication. Without stamps or ink or a footstep outside our snug… Continue reading For All the Ravens Who Carry Hope and Encouragement
Elijah the prophet hung out under a broom tree. Paul, John the Baptist, and even Jesus took to the wilderness when they needed to rest. My favorite restful practice is curling up with a good story, so over the Christmas holidays, I took a break from reviewing new books and simply followed my heart into… Continue reading What Do YOU Read When You Need to Rest?
My number one, life-long recurring dream has high school band as its setting. I'm playing the French horn in the front row during a concert. It's lovely, and all is well until I remember... The French horn is not my instrument. I don't know the first thing about how to play the French horn! Needless… Continue reading Have You Talked Yourself Out of Trusting God?
We've all experienced the dissonance of prayers that seem to go unanswered and struggled to understand why God behaves in ways or allows outcomes that seem incomprehensible to us. Bible scholars throughout history have advocated for a position of "holy indifference" to preside over our feelings when we're disappointed with the will of God. Indifference… Continue reading Why the Painful Struggle to Accept the Will of God?
Last year, I started reading through the Old Testament book of Ezekiel with a friend. Initially, I dreaded the project, my only other exposure to the eccentric prophet having been my annual flyovers, gulping down three or four chapters at a time in a hurry to get to the end. This slow read has been… Continue reading Even After Everything, Will You Make The Choice To Trust?
When you’re five years old, baking cookies with your Sunday school teacher at her house on a Saturday morning is just about the best thing in the world. The moment I arrived to pick up my son, I could tell by his beaming face that he had enjoyed every minute of the baking, the snacking,… Continue reading Little People with Big Feelings: 5 Strategies For Emotionally Healthy Kids
Living Our Days 