Gaining a heart of wisdom
"Why would God want us to speak to Him?" William Philip's question stopped me in my tracks because most authors of books on prayer argue from the opposite perspective: "Why should you want to speak to God?" Forever curious about the nature of God and constantly frustrated with my inconsistent prayer life, I found biblically-based and deeply thoughtful reflections… Continue reading Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him
What if you really believed what the Bible says about God -- that He loves you like a perfect Father, like a perfect Husband, like the perfect Friend, like the perfect Leader? What if you let the truth sink into your soul that God's perfect love is not tied to your performance or to your success or to the… Continue reading Trading Guilt for Grace
Soon the Leprechaun traps will appear in our home, constructed from oatmeal containers, Legos, Lincoln logs, and an old cracker box painted green. They get a bit more sophisticated every year, but the bait is always the same: the golden Legos and anything else the boys can find that resembles gold. In the many years… Continue reading A Saint to Celebrate
When we named our four boys, we were careful to discover and to ponder the meaning of the names we were considering before making a final choice. Then, we looked at each newborn and asked ourselves if the name fit and if its meaning would be a blessing to him throughout his life. Names matter. In… Continue reading Names Matter
I did not intend to have a dog in my home who is so tall that he can rest his chin on the dining room table. It was never my intention to take walks with one hundred and fifty pounds of dog on the other end of a leash, and I certainly did not plan to love that long-haired slobber… Continue reading Sit. Stay. Abide.
Going into a job interview, I used to worry about over-selling myself. At some point, I decided that I would rather lose out on a job opportunity than to suffer the indignity -- six months down the road -- of wondering if my boss was wishing she could find that stellar employee she had thought she was hiring. … Continue reading Intimacy 101
Another name has joined Father Tim and the Reverend John Ames in my directory of beloved fictional pastors. Rowdy Slater stands apart from the others (and from most real life pastors, I expect) in two important ways: 1. Neither Fr. Tim nor the Rev. Ames could look out over his congregation and say, "At one… Continue reading The Redemption of Rev. Rowdy
For years I celebrated Easter as if it were a stand-alone holiday, singing "Up from the Grave He Arose" without giving much thought to the horror of the Dying or the silence of the Dead. Providentially, my early efforts to incarnate and to enliven an invisible God in the hearts of four sweet boys found a way into the obtuse heart of… Continue reading One Weekend in History
Is there anything better than a book in the mail? The A to Z Guide to Bible Signs and Symbols landed in my mailbox last Saturday, and I was immediately drawn by its glossy weight. Everything about the book, particularly its colorful images, said "quality." Opening to the introduction, I learned that a symbol's job is… Continue reading A Week of Signs and Symbols
Glory Hunger by JR Vassar: A Book Review A favorite scene from one of my favorite movies is the moment when Anne Shirley learns that she has won the Avery Scholarship. Her fellow students pick her up, carrying her on their shoulders, and they laud her accomplishment with cheers! There's something supremely satisfying about that kind… Continue reading An Invitation to Die
Living Our Days 