Gaining a heart of wisdom
Shrouded in mystery, the ways of God are stitched into stories, carried on the smoke of a burning sacrifice, and sung from the heart with both joy and tears. Through promises and prophecies, God hints at a plan that will reel in rebellion and undo death and loss -- until the silence of four hundred… Continue reading Old and New Testaments: One Great Story
Our first summer living on this country hill, the budget was tight and luxuries were few. I had planted a garden that seemed huge to me at the time, and a friend, intending to surprise me, weeded the entire plot as a generous gift from the heart. How could she have known that those random… Continue reading Culture Care: Filling Up the Longing for Beauty
Wood stoves do not render their comforting warmth without regular tending. Fires must be coaxed along with frequent ministrations, and I never give this much thought -- unless my good husband is away, for he miraculously tends to this important detail, and our house stays cozy and warm. Similarly, since the beginning of our marriage,… Continue reading Your Marriage: From Disappointing to Delightful
"Write what you know." It's good counsel, and, if followed, results in a kind of authenticity that can't happen if the author attempts to write outside her realm of real-life experience. Maybe that's why people are still reading Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss, a fictional journal that follows the life of Katherine Mortimer from her first entry… Continue reading Stepping Heavenward: A Timeless Classic
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
Living Our Days 