Gaining a heart of wisdom
When the Council of Nicaea met in 325, they decreed that Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, is to be celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon that falls on or after the first day of spring. With the stroke of a pen, Easter and spring would forever hold hands. Since I live in… Continue reading When You Celebrate Easter, You Celebrate Resurrection
Fleming Rutledge wisely labeled the days we're living in as "the time between the times." We're a little bit like our Exodus ancestors, set free from slavery in Egypt, but not yet living in the Promised Land—having already received the benefits of a great salvation, but awaiting full redemption from sin's effects and consequences on… Continue reading Living as Family in the Time Between the Times
Living in Maine means that at least once every winter I get to shovel a foot of snow off my deck. This winter has outdone itself in snowfall, so yesterday, after the storm when the sun came out, we strapped on our wooden snowshoes and slogged through the snowy woods. My husband courageously broke trail,… Continue reading How Can Finite Creatures Know An Infinite God?
It goes without saying that my kids are raising my grandkids in a very different world than the world in which they were raised. Cultural pressures have dulled the sharp edge of conviction, leaving many parents unable to distinguish a safe path for their families. Furthermore, cultural change is so rapid that what "worked" for… Continue reading If You Don’t Teach Your Children, the World Will
Prayer is hard. Let's just be honest about it. For me, prayer continues to be the most difficult of all the spiritual disciplines. Maybe it's hard for you, too, and you're thinking, “I don’t like to talk about this, but prayer is awkward, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to… Continue reading Prayer Doesn’t Need to Be Awkward
In declaring war against evil, it's the thoughts, the ordinary workings of our mind, that send us veering off course. These are the thoughts of one ordinary Christian woman in the twenty-minute drive home from church on an ordinary Sunday: She stews over a comment made during the meet-and-greet and plans a subtle stab for… Continue reading How Can the Church Understand and Resist Evil?
Elijah the prophet hung out under a broom tree. Paul, John the Baptist, and even Jesus took to the wilderness when they needed to rest. My favorite restful practice is curling up with a good story, so over the Christmas holidays, I took a break from reviewing new books and simply followed my heart into… Continue reading What Do YOU Read When You Need to Rest?
Last year, I started reading through the Old Testament book of Ezekiel with a friend. Initially, I dreaded the project, my only other exposure to the eccentric prophet having been my annual flyovers, gulping down three or four chapters at a time in a hurry to get to the end. This slow read has been… Continue reading Even After Everything, Will You Make The Choice To Trust?
2024 Best Reads! I'm flinching just a bit over the word "best" here, because what would be a blissful read to me might be torturous for you—or for my good husband who has yet to comprehend my devotion to Wendell Berry's and Marilynne Robinson's fiction. ("Nothing happens!") The four superlatives I've chosen have distinguished themselves… Continue reading My Favorite Books from a Year of Good Reading
We propped the lopsided flannel board against the back of the couch, and my grandkids organized the slightly dogeared images, arguing for a minute about who would get to "do the snake." Apparently, Moses wore a bright pink striped robe in his encounter with the burning bush and didn't have time to change before his… Continue reading Bring the Kids You Love Heart to Heart with the Bible
Living Our Days 