Gaining a heart of wisdom
A studio upright sat by the door, but the small piano was truly the centerpiece of Helen's apartment. A widow transitioning from married to single, from missionary to retiree, she poured sadness out the tips of her fingers, and the wealth of words absorbed over seven decades found their way into melancholy melodies. Helen introduced… Continue reading Whatever Made You Think the Christian Life Would Be Easy?
The Golden Rule as Jesus has phrased it is one more example of Jesus’s rejection of bare-minimum obedience. Jesus has called us to a deeper obedience whose focus is character and motive—not simply actions.
I have a battered notebook that has been with me for so long that four of its pages date back to the birth of each of my sons. In this notebook, I write down the requests—big and small—that I bring to God. Help my kids to be wise and godly parents.Who gets my vote this… Continue reading Faith Sees as Good Whatever God Has Given
The church has fallen on hard times, and there's no denying that some of the bad press has been well-earned by churches with broken leadership structures, a show-biz mentality, and pastors who prey on their congregations more than they pray for them. Even so, it's hard to get through the New Testament without doing business… Continue reading 3 Reasons You Should Go to Church this Sunday
Here in Midcoast Maine, an alarming real estate phenomenon threatens to deepen my commitment to grumpiness. Storage facilities are springing up in every neighborhood and along every country road. While I celebrate and applaud the entrepreneurial spirit that sees a need in the market and rushes to fill it, I lament the need. (And I… Continue reading Why Do I Worry All the Time?
For me, 2024 has been a year full of opportunities for in-person teaching with lots of invitations to share God's Word here in the great state of Maine. For a writer with mostly invisible online readers, the experience of seeing and interacting with my students is life-giving, and I've loved the personal connections. What most… Continue reading Use the Great Gift That’s Been Given to All Believers!
I've lived through a good many phases of interpreting the Christian life, and maybe you remember some of them, too. In the 80s, young Christian women like me were encouraged to be fervent and verbal about our faith. It helped if somewhere along the way you'd experienced a Damascus Road turnaround with a gripping story.… Continue reading Jesus Answers the Question: What Does it Really Mean to be Righteous?
Sometimes the words of scripture seem to be written in bold type or inscribed on an envelope personally addressed to me. Even the verses about godly mothering and the warnings to contentious wives don't hold a candle to Jesus's cautionary words to teachers in the Sermon on the Mount...
When Jesus encountered the Samarian woman at the well in Sychar, their conversation about water quickly became a conversation about thirst. Her life was leaving her thirsty, and even though she was the person holding the water jar, she realized that Jesus was drawing from a well from which she had never drawn. His words,… Continue reading Genuine Character Leads to Influence: Does Your Life Make People Thirsty?
To live like a Christian, sometimes we have to stand on our heads. A biblical worldview is the polar opposite of the prevailing culture in which straw is treated like gold and everyone can be "right"—even if it's logically impossible.
Living Our Days 