Gaining a heart of wisdom
Keeping my voice confident (more confident than I felt!), I greeted my Sunday morning learners with an unexpected request: “Let’s stand together for our reading of God’s Word this morning.” They didn’t know I had chosen a longer passage than usual.They didn’t know I had timed the reading to fill about three minutes.They didn’t know… Continue reading How Can I Cultivate a Listening Life in a Noisy World?
There’s a peculiar satisfaction that comes with being right. Given the opportunity, we’ll make an idol of it and even run roughshod over those we claim to love in order to win an argument, thereby trading peace for the honor of clutching the blue ribbon of "rightness" close to our hearts. Often what’s at stake… Continue reading The Humble Discovery of Truth that Makes Us and Defines Us
If your kids and grandkids haven't already gone back to school and if the retail merchandising freight train hasn't already whisked you into Halloween and Christmas, the imminent arrival of Labor Day weekend and the month of September have likely put you on notice that summer is coming to an end. Maybe you've spent your… Continue reading What to Pray When Your Whole Life Feels Out of Control
Three-hole punched and organized into a shiny new notebook, my teaching notes were ready to go. The call had come, I had done the long work of study and heart preparation – and I was terrified. Tiny voices of doubt nibbled away at my confidence: “You’re such a spiritual lightweight! Nothing you can discern from… Continue reading The Size of Your God is More Important than the Size of Your Strength
Every fall, when the school buses begin their appointed rounds and the very uttermost edges of the maple leaves begin to curl, I’m pulled into a scene from a beloved book – a college campus and a narrative arc that spans a generation’s worth of sorrow and rejoicing. I’m pulled into the longing for a… Continue reading Stories Shape Our Faith and Heighten Our Joy in Every Season
We know from Scripture that Peter, Jesus's outspoken fisherman-turned-apostle, was married, and the tone of his second letter makes me wonder if he was also a parent. Step-by-step, Peter describes an incremental discipleship in which faith is supplemented "with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection,… Continue reading Embrace the Weighty Joy of Living a Reminding Life
I pushed the damp mop across the kitchen floor, knowing full well that I would be finding sticky spots on cupboard doors and drawer handles for days to come. The transformation of a bushel and a half of apples into smooth, pink applesauce is the work of a couple hours on my own. However, with… Continue reading What Does It Look Like to Serve Others as Jesus Served?
God spoke. These are stunning words, especially when coupled with the biblical evidence that God continues to speak to His people in myriad ways. When reading Hebrews, my tendency has been to fly right by this amazing and foundational concept on my way to untangling the mystery of Melchizedek or decoding the significance of the Levitical priesthood.… Continue reading You are a Theologian. Are You the Best Theologian You Can Be?
One summer day, I listened to hard words from a dear woman I had loved and admired for nearly twenty years. We were seated in her small room in a nursing home. My grandson was exploring every nook, cranny, and light switch (and eating one of the cookies we had brought for her!), and I… Continue reading What Do You Do When Looking Back Feels Safer than Looking Forward?
What does your reading life look like in the summer? Mine has to be more "portable" as I'm always throwing a book into the bag with my beach towel, but I usually get to mid-July with some goals in place for my reading life. Memoir and biography are among my favorite genres, so this list… Continue reading Six Books You Won’t Want to Miss When Planning Your Summer Reading
Living Our Days 