Gaining a heart of wisdom
If you want to live well and share wisdom with your children and your neighbors about how they can also live well, the Bible will chart a sound course. If you are looking for inspiration or comfort or if you are preparing a speech, you will certainly want to lift some of the soaring phrases… Continue reading Open Your Bible and Discover the Life-Changing Art of Spiritual Reading
On Friday, August 13th, my cousin reminded me of how superstitious our grandmother had been. The conversation took place on social media, so pretty soon my sister had chimed in and added to the list of things that drove poor Nana to hysteria: seven years of bad luck with a broken mirror, death in the… Continue reading The August Book Talk Where We Are Committed to Being Not Even a Little Bit Superstitious
The book of Revelation is intimidating, and it is often sadly misused as a crystal ball, reduced to a series of apocalyptic charts, or micro-examined as if it were a secret message in need of decoding. The Revelation was written to people who knew their Old Testament a lot better than I do. Therefore, the… Continue reading Two Great Resources to Help You Make the Most of Your Reading in Revelation
Our family has been looking forward to July ever since Joel's and Emilee's engagement in December. Here on the hill, weddings mean family gatherings, lots of laughter and (of course) food. Then, there's also the bittersweet reality that while we rejoice and welcome a new daughter, we say goodbye to a much-loved son and go… Continue reading The July Book Talk Where We Want to Know, “What Are You Looking Forward To?”
The gardening challenge here on the hill every summer for the past twenty-seven years could be summarized in four words: Big Garden, Small Well. Watering the garden has always taken a back seat to laundry and showers, but this year, with our nest officially empty on the date of our son's July wedding, I have… Continue reading The June Book Talk Where We Welcome Summer with Reading Friends
Summer time is famous for its beach reads, for light fiction with a happy ending or lots of breezy self-help selections. If that's you, then I'm not judging. Happy summer reading to you! Sometimes, though, summer is the perfect opportunity to go deep with your reading, to tackle a challenging author, to make time for… Continue reading Did I Hear You Say You Want to Go Deep with Your Summer Reading?
After only five minutes in the presence of my granddaughter, I've already concluded that I don't have nearly enough ruffles and sequins in my closet. Of course, I recover quickly enough, not being even remotely a ruffles and sequins kind of woman, but that doesn't stop me from delighting in her girliness and her love… Continue reading 10 Important Things You Can’t Assume Your Teen Already Knows
Last Wednesday my good husband and I celebrated thirty-one years together. Would it be unromantic to say that a good marriage requires perseverance? Of course, it's pleasant work, and the rewards are great, but here are three small ways that I've noticed us persevering in our years together: Persevere in Believing We've come through some… Continue reading The May Book Talk with Thoughts on Marriage, Perseverance, and 3 Books I Recommend
https://videopress.com/v/gvlodYv6?preloadContent=metadata “Spring is a promise in the closed fist of a long winter,” wrote Luci Shaw. Listen along with me to the sound of winter, unclenching! Of course, the day after I shot this video brought snow flurries. Even so, we are celebrating the season of widening light here in the Northeast! The end of… Continue reading The April Book Talk Where We Read and Rejoice in the Light
Christians, even the most devout, have an uneasy relationship with the Old Testament. We rhapsodize over the psalms and spin heroic tales from Israel's hall of fame, but to be honest, we're queasy over discussions of slavery, God-sanctioned Canaanite slaughter, the exclusion of women from worship spaces, and all manner of bizarre customs. We're far… Continue reading Do We Still Need to Know the Ten Commandments Today?
