Gaining a heart of wisdom
It has been said that "imagination" is the 21st-century equivalent to the scriptural word "heart," the center of emotion and intellect in biblical physiology. That may well be true, for many times it is my imagination that causes me to run aground in this following life. As if there were not enough stressful events going… Continue reading Is It Possible to Overcome Worry?
The unexpected takes many forms. A single phone call can change the shape of an entire day -- or a lifetime. A trip to the grocery store can yield blessing or bane, and this truth about life compels me to keep my ears open to the stories that are unfolding all around me like an… Continue reading Listening to the Stories
For Martin Luther's fifty-seventh birthday, his wife designed, commissioned, and then presented to him a carved doorway for their home. It's elegance incorporated numerous features that demonstrated Katharina's knowledge of and devotion to her husband; however, there is no way that she could have realized how completely appropriate her gift would be. Michelle DeRusha's biography… Continue reading Together through the Doorway of Marriage
Because we started our family later than some, my husband and I are well into our fifties and are still up to our fetlocks in parenting. Because our oldest son and his wife started their family earlier than some, we are also beginning the season of grandparenting. Since I'm a bit over-the-top in the whole… Continue reading Staying Strong in the Seasons of Life
Some were mentioned by name. Others were never identified, but throughout the life of Jesus, we learn that there were "certain women" who traveled with Jesus, who welcomed Him when he needed a meal or a place to stay, who "provided for Him out of their means." It is significant that there is no record… Continue reading Join the Women of Easter
It's nearly time. Even two weeks ago, standing thigh-deep in snow beside the bush, I could see that the buds had begun to swell large, and so it won't be long until I lop off some of the bush's waywardness and then arrange the bare branches in a vase of water. I will begin watching… Continue reading The Radical Simplicity of Looking Up
I come from a tradition that is suspicious of written or scripted prayers, believing that spontaneity is a sign of sincerity and casting askance glances at those who must borrow the words of others in order to talk to God. Then I became a mother and realized that not only were my own words in… Continue reading A Mosaic of Images on Joy and Prayer
Apparently, in addition to all his better-known gifts, Thomas Jefferson was a gardener. His experimentation with horticulture added over five hundred new fruits and vegetables to the world, but he was never able to successfully cultivate a vineyard at Monticello, his beloved Virginia home. Here's why: the French varieties of grapes he coveted had no… Continue reading Finding Rest in Humility
It certainly doesn't happen often enough, but when it does, it's a glorious thing -- the meeting over tea that has all the marks of the C.S. Lewis definition of friendship: "“Friendship ... is born at the moment when one [wo]man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . .… Continue reading Embracing Brave
Discrimination, equality, dignity, and justice are abstract, intangible concepts, and some would say that they are beyond the reach of small children -- completely inaccessible to the sippy cup and board book set. But story is an effective conveyance of meaning and The Story of Martin Luther King, Jr. and The Story of Rosa Parks… Continue reading Filling Up a Concept: Black History Month
Living Our Days 