Gaining a heart of wisdom
We picked raspberries a couple of weeks ago -- the free kind that grow along the edges of fields and in the company of thistles. They were succulent. I could wrap words around a description of raspberry picking: the gentle encompassing pressure that releases a perfectly ripe berry from its stem; the empty white cone… Continue reading Life, Life, and More Life
Stuffing a ratty t-shirt into the washer's maw, I try not to think about the fact that it was only yesterday that I hung this very same t-shirt on the clothesline. The laundry is never done -- even though we are down to a family of four these days. How in the world did I… Continue reading “Laundry Is My Overflowing Inbox”: Working within the Home
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 Spiritual Practice of Curiosity
The average human being lives approximately 30,000 days -- which sounded like a long stretch of time until I did the math and discovered that, as of today, I will have lived 20,005 of mine. Catherine L. Morgan envisions these Thirty Thousand Days as a journey home, traveling on a rattle trap train toward a sure… Continue reading Standing Ready to Be Amazed
Last year, I started keeping a list of prayer requests, dated and described, and then, to my great surprise -- answers! Clear direction for a son, help and success in a ministry opportunity, a new and wonderful job for my husband. Reviewing the list from time to time, I'm reminded to give thanks, and I'm… Continue reading God Moves Mountains When Women Pray
It is reasonable to think that a book like Street of Eternal Happiness could be written about any stretch of road on the planet -- even this country hill where white clapboards and long driveways are separated by acres of margin. Even here, I'm sure this winding road is lined on both sides with serial narratives. The… Continue reading Living the Chinese Dream
The Bible is the world's best-selling and most widely distributed book. A Huffpost Survey indicates that 88% of respondents own a Bible, yet only 1 in 5 Americans read the Bible on a regular basis. At one end of the spectrum are those who consider it alongside and equivalent to any other ancient text. At… Continue reading Is Reading the Bible Different from Reading Any Other Book?
Most days on this country hill are a blur. With every line in my planner filled, there's also the background music of laundry and continual cleaning. In the winter, there's a voracious wood stove; in the summer there's a garden that needs constant attention. Of course, at the far right side of this equation of… Continue reading The Work of Home
Rootedness was always the thing that both repelled and intrigued me. I left my parents' home at the age of seventeen and pictured a life unleashed -- no commitments. I copied all my record albums onto small and portable cassette tapes (dinosaur alert!) and prepared for the unencumbered life. With that resolve in my rear… Continue reading A Theology of Home
We were greeted with warm handshakes and pleasantries, an outline of the morning service, and then a startling announcement: "We assumed that your wife would want to take the children." In the early days of our marriage when my husband was the area director of a children's ministry, I used to travel with him to… Continue reading Women in Ministry: What God Wants You to Know
Living Our Days 