Gaining a heart of wisdom
Maybe I haven't been listening carefully, but I don't recall ever hearing someone say, "It was only after my huge success that I finally got my priorities straight. It was only after the big book deal and the first million in the bank that I cried out to God with sincerity." Isn't it true that… Continue reading The Gift of Grace that Grows from Our Challenges
When I listen with just my ears, my heart can be ten thousand miles away. Just ask my grandchildren. They know the difference. “Bam, LOOK!” they demand until I turn my face toward the block structure, the moth in the jar, or the crayoned masterpiece. A woman on a mission, I need words tattooed on… Continue reading Experience (and Embody!) the Miracle of God’s Presence
Human beings in 2024 are touchy about exclusivity. It's fine for you to have a strong opinion about a product, a candidate for office, or even a moral stance—up to a point. The push-back occurs if and when you have the audacity to imply that your truth, your way, or your lifestyle is the correct… Continue reading In What Way is Jesus The Way?
I discovered Be Thou My Vision, the classic hymn, when I was in my twenties during a season when my own vision was clouded by uncertainty about the future and lack of clarity about my calling. It was a beautiful and poetic way for me to howl, "Show me, LORD! What is true? What is… Continue reading Time-Bound and Short-Sighted, We Need God to be Our Vision
C.S. Lewis famously said, "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good." Any foolishness about humanity's innate goodness goes out the window the first time we try to break a bad habit, adopt a godly practice, or keep our mouths shut in the company of an annoying family member.… Continue reading 6 Course Corrections to Avoid Settling for a Mediocre Righteousness
One of the most frequent questions I've been asked over the years (and one I struggled with myself as a young woman) is this: "I know I'm supposed to be having a devotional time with God every day. What does that look like?" The short answer is that there's no short answer to that question! My… Continue reading What Makes a Rich and Meaningful Devotional Life?
On this collision of holidays with ashes for mourning and hearts for love,We are grateful, Lord Jesus, for your perfect love and for your wrath-absorbing sacrifice. We confess that our own love is unreliable, intermittent, and usually utterly dependent upon our feelings and our circumstances. Thank you for your steadfast love that extends to the… Continue reading On this Day of Hearts and Ashes—You Are Deeply Flawed but Also Deeply Loved
Our son sawed lumber, hammered nails, and used a paintbrush dipped in Mediterranean Olive Green to create custom-made doors for our bathroom closet. There are any number of things a twenty-year-old guy could have done with his Saturday. He chose to give his away. Loving and giving are inseparably linked in Scripture. In the Old… Continue reading Six Encouraging Resources To Prepare Your Heart For Lent
Spaghetti sauce bubbles in a pot on the stove, the rich red depths of the kettle wafting fragrance throughout the house. The annual ritual spans three decades: garden-grown tomatoes, hand-picked, and placed into a basket become jars of winter provision. After all, my four sons could eat a lot of pasta! But this pot of… Continue reading How Can Mothers Instill Vibrant Faith in Their Families?
I awoke at 3:00 a.m. with the remnants of a dream taking up every square inch of my brain space. Never mind that it was only a dream. At 3 a.m., dreams are more real and more frightening than they deserve to be. I laughed about the dream in the morning, and it made a… Continue reading How to Fear Wisely—What Are You Afraid of Today?
Living Our Days 