Gaining a heart of wisdom
David stooped down and picked up a handful of stones, smooth to his touch and weighty. The rest of his story tumbles effortlessly into memory: the battle with Goliath, David's rise to fame in Israel, the finger of God upon his life. In Five Traits of a Christ Follower, Doug Nuenke fills up the metaphor of those five… Continue reading 5 Smooth Stones
With a huge garden, an apple tree that produced two pies this fall, and a rainbow of full canning jars in my basement, it is quite possible that my life approximates Rachel Macy Stafford's day dreams in the Home Depot outdoor garden section. Or could it be that my brand of rural chaos demonstrates that her… Continue reading Remarkable Things Spoken
Author, Priscilla Shirer, had collected her grandmother, buckled her into the passenger seat, and embarked on a junk food run for French fries and vanilla milkshakes. Knowing that her grandmother was a faithful prayer warrior with a notebook full of specific requests and written prayers that she added to daily, Priscilla queried, "Why do you… Continue reading So You Won’t Forget
Almost twenty-two years ago, I packed up my favorite coffee mug, my personal files, and a few samples of my work, and walked away from my career in human resources. Four babies in eight years, homeschooling, ministry, and a huge vegetable garden each year have hardly left time for me to look in the rear… Continue reading Purposeful, Missional Work
So, it turns out that stroller wheels still run pretty well over hummocky, leaf-strewn garden pathways, and that the thud of a tiny muck boot still makes the same satisfying "bong" against the metal bed of a wheelbarrow. When the going gets desperate with a little guy, the desperate go outside -- just as I… Continue reading 10 Critical Concepts for Women’s Ministry
Humans and horses have worked and played together for centuries, and this bond finds its way into everyday life when you have a child who loves horses. My oldest son read horse books, played with model horses, and sat astride his stick horse to ride far and wide in search of . . . who… Continue reading Horses and Heartstrings
Spare narrative and a stoic reporting of the facts -- this is the tone of the Old Testament book of Nehemiah: "So I came to Jerusalem . . ." (Five words about a dangerous two-month, one-thousand-mile journey.) "I wept and mourned for many days." (Three months!) Based on a careful study of Scripture, Lynn Austin puts… Continue reading Stone by Stone
Sure, the angels told the shepherds that Jesus had been born, but when John said, "We beheld His glory," it would seem that there's an implicit invitation to use our imaginations a bit, and Sally Lloyd-Jones has accepted that invitation! Song of the Stars pictures the occasion of Jesus' birth as an evening of breathless anticipation and enthusiastic sharing of… Continue reading It’s Time!
Big plans are great, and, without a doubt, The Great Commission is an invitation to develop a no-holds-barred, pull-out-the-stops strategy to change the world. History provides rich examples of those who did just that: Hudson Taylor, Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot, Mary Slessor and many more whose names we will never hear. In Overrated, Eugene Cho asks himself… Continue reading Justice 101
Some of our most important and profound words are said in doorways. Because someone is leaving, words spoken at the door are often more consequential, more weighty. Time is short and must not be frittered away. An entire evening may pass filled with light conversation and meandering stories until it's time to say goodbye, and suddenly the… Continue reading Conversation at the Door
Living Our Days 